Why is the Dale Carnegie Program from Generation Next so important to St Peters’ students?
Dale Carnegie International has seen a rapid decline in interactive communication skills which has been driven by the overuse of technology. We are finding that a lot of teens are anxious about face-to-face communication, particularly where there is potential conflict and unease when required to connect socially. St Peters has a reputation for helping young adults to be thoroughly prepared for their academic world as well as preparation for life. If there is a trend towards social awkwardness, then it makes sense to strengthen the weakness that most people have; interactive communication, handling difficult conversations, selling yourself and your abilities, the art of storytelling and the ability to overcome internal fear to gain external results.
What changes do you see in students after going through the Program?
All young adults are different, and it depends on where they are starting from as to what type of results you will see. The trend we have noticed globally is that young adults are more confident in the way they handle problems, they are able to communicate more effectively, as well as push themselves forward. With some young adults who are expressive, it is easier to see the transformation shift. With others who are more introverted, they can internalise the training and this may be displayed by internal confidence rather than external expression. There is definitely a deeper understanding of others and how to connect with people. Some of our most famous graduates such as Michael Hill, Warren Buffett and Steve Forbes have all commented they would have liked to have done the program far earlier than when they did.
How the Program began at St Peters
Dale Carnegie was invited to present at the St Peters symposium in 2018. The topic was Building Future Leaders and approximately 500 parents attended. Our organisation addressed some of the data around social awkwardness and the impact it has when it comes to leadership. Building Future Leaders looked at the mastery of skills that adults and our younger generation need to excel in today’s dynamic world. We discussed the five drivers of success:
- Build greater self confidence
- Strengthen people skills
- Enhance communication skills
- Develop leadership skills
- Control worry and stress
We looked at how to improve human relations skills in order to connect with other people in order to understand what motivates and inspires others to take action.
Many parents gave us feedback regarding a trend towards overuse of iPads and technology, and they have seen the gap in real-time communication with their teens. The advantage for students, like those at St Peters, is being able to have strength in all areas, especially when dealing with people. The Generation Next program is open for Years 9–12 students; the first program was enthusiastically embraced by many parents and the class was filled within weeks of its release. A second Term 2 program is now open for bookings.
St Peters is the first school in Australia to launch Generation Next. We are in discussions with several other Australian schools and universities and have no doubt that over the coming years, Generation Next will be rolled out Australia wide.
How long is the Program?
The program is a six-week adaption of the world-famous Dale Carnegie Course for adults. It runs after school from 3:30pm – 6:30pm on Monday afternoons at the P&F Centre, Indooroopilly campus.
For enquires and Term 2 bookings, please contact emma.henry@dalecarnegie.com