Anyone who feels they are not communicating the message they’d like others to receive may be interested in attending a pair of upcoming seminars at the Cole Auditorium on the mornings of Nov. 17 and Nov. 8.

Richmond Community College’s Small Business Center is hosting a pair of programs by professional speaker Jane McMurry concerning the way individuals communicate with and feel about each other.

McMurry combines her experiences from the worlds of business and academics to help others learn better ways of presenting themselves in their interpersonal communications.

“These programs are for anybody who has to sell anything,” McMurry said in a recent interview. “This applies to everyone. You may say you don’t have to sell anything at your work, but everyday we have to sell others on ideas, whether it’s a house, a mortgage, insurance or just the image of who we are.”

She said her personal interest in communication began while studying theater at Oxford University, where she faced a culture shock being a southern, American person in a European setting.

“What I took away from my time there was that it’s not so much what people are doing, but how they are doing it,” she explained. “There’s no right or wrong way to do things, there are just different ways of doing things that apply differently to different situations.”

According to her Web site, www.janemcmurry.com, McMurry received a Master’s degree from the UNC-Chapel Hill in Communications Studies. She has gone on to teach Communication Studies and English at UNC-Chapel Hill and the UNC-Wilmington, as well as implementing an English as a Second Language program in the Research Triangle Park area of the state.

She will offer two seminars in the upcoming weeks at the Cole Auditorium.

The first program is planned for Tuesday, and is entitled “Executive Presence.”

According to McMurry’s Web site, www.janemcmurry.com, this program is intended to help people “acquire the skills you need to be a polished professional in this crash course!”

“We’re targeting people that are needing to look at new areas to the business survive and thrive in these economic conditions,” RCC Director of Customized Training Lee Eller said. “The first program, Executive Vision, is going to be really help business people to communicate with the customer, and be sure that they are sending out the message they want customers to get from them.”

He said these lessons apply to both large and small businesses in Richmond County.

McMurry will also offer a second seminar on Dec. 8 at the Cole Auditorium. The second program is entitled “Professional and Social Versatility.”

According to a brochure produced by McMurry, this program is also targeted at business people, and beyond.

“Business people must effectively interact with various personality styles in order for their professional network to run smoothly,” it reads. “Have fun learning how to recognize, understand and communicate with the four major personality styles for business and personal success.”

She said that once you recognize the different types of communication styles, and know what style you are, “you can bend your personality to communicate more effectively.”

“There’s another type of person this seminar is for than just business people, though,” McMurry explained. “There’s the guy who has fallen in love and has to go meet the parents. This type of knowledge about the way you communicate can benefit you in many ways.”

The first seminar will take place at the Cole Auditorium from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. on Nov. 17, while the second seminar will take place at the same place and time on Dec. 8.

The cost for the seminars are $5 a person. Refreshments are served.

For more information, or to register, please the Richmond Community College Small Business Center at (910) 410-1687.

n Staff Writer Philip D. Brown can be reached at (910) 997-3111 ext. 32, or by e-mail at pbrown@yourdailyjournal.com.