Friday 7 August 2026, 8.30 am-11.30 am
This dynamic and highly engaging workshop is tailored for Executive Assistants ready to move beyond everyday communication and step into purposeful, outcome-driven dialogue. It focuses on strengthening your ability to contribute meaningfully in high-pressure environments, equipping you to communicate with clarity, credibility, and professional confidence in every interaction.
Throughout the session:
- You’ll examine how influence differs from persuasion and negotiation, and learn when each approach is most effective within an executive setting
- You’ll develop the ability to approach conversations with intention, establish and maintain professional boundaries, and
- You’ll apply advanced techniques that enhance trust, deepen relationships, and uncover the insights needed to support sound decision-making.
In a practical way:
- You’ll work through realistic workplace scenarios to strengthen collaboration and build constructive relationships across teams
- You’ll understand how different communication and personality styles shape executive-level interactions, and adapt your approach accordingly
- You’ll create tailored communication strategies that support your executive’s priorities, guide outcomes, and elevate your role as a strategic partner
- You’ll develop a practical toolkit of ready-to-use resources, including refined language techniques, email frameworks, and stakeholder engagement strategies
By the end of this interactive three-hour workshop, participants will be able to:
- Align organisational priorities with clear, targeted communication approaches for a range of stakeholders
- Select the most effective communication channels, tone, and timing to minimise friction and accelerate outcomes
- Apply advanced listening and questioning skills to interpret nuance, navigate complexity, and respond with both empathy and authority
- Confidently manage high-stakes conversations, challenging correspondence, and sensitive situations using a personalised communication framework
You’ll leave with practical, immediately applicable tools to elevate your impact in critical moments, enabling you to communicate with purpose, handle complexity with confidence, and influence outcomes that matter.
Katrena Friel, International Speaker, Award-Winning Author, Business Mentor, Becoming The Expert
Katrena Friel is a business mentor, speaker, trainer, and coach with more than 25 years of experience helping professionals communicate with clarity, confidence, and influence. As the founder of Becoming the Expert, she has built her work around guiding people to step into their authority, articulate their value, and create meaningful outcomes through the way they think, speak, and lead.
Known for her practical, engaging, and transformational style, Katrena brings a unique blend of strategic insight, deep human understanding, and real-world business experience. She has worked with leaders, founders, and professionals across Australia and internationally, supporting them to strengthen their personal brand, navigate complex conversations, and move from self-doubt to decisive action.
Her approach is grounded in the belief that influence is not about force, pressure, or manipulation. It is about presence, clarity, trust, and the ability to create strategic dialogue that moves people and priorities forward. This makes her a natural fit for Executive Assistants who are increasingly required to communicate with diplomacy, confidence, and credibility in fast-moving, high-pressure environments.
In her workshop, Driving Outcomes Through Your Influence Edge to Create Strategic Dialogue, Katrena draws on decades of experience in coaching, mentoring, facilitation, and leadership development. She equips participants with practical tools, refined language strategies, and adaptable communication frameworks they can use immediately to manage stakeholders, support executive priorities, and elevate their role as a strategic partner.
Katrena is also the creator of multiple transformational programs and is widely recognised for helping people unlock confidence, overcome limiting beliefs, and lead with greater impact. Her sessions are known for being highly interactive, insightful, and immediately applicable, leaving participants with both the mindset and the skillset to influence outcomes that matter.