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Positive Life Courses - Unlocking Potential

 
Our Positive Life courses are a series of short, supportive sessions designed to help you build confidence and strengthen everyday life skills. Each course offers practical tools and helpful insights around well-being, health, relationships, and work. It’s a safe, welcoming space to explore real-life challenges, discover new possibilities, and take steps toward positive change at your own pace.
Website banner 2025
Everyone’s welcome and it’s all FREE
All courses and materials are completely free of charge.
Sessions take place at Purley Baptist Church with two time options to suit you:
Mondays 7:30–9:30pm or Wednesdays 10:00am–12:00noon.

Browse the course descriptions below or click a title for a quick summary.
You’ll find upcoming course dates and times 
here


The series of Positive Life Courses

 
WELLBEING COURSES
#1 Boosting Life Skills: An Introduction
#2 Boosting 7 Highly Effective Characteristics
HEALTH COURSES
#6 Boosting the Benefits of Sleep
#7 Eating & Drinking for Health
RELATIONSHIP SKILLS COURSES
WORK SKILLS COURSES
#8 Professional Writing
#9 Presenting for High Impact
#10 Meeting Management
#11 One Minute Praising & Redirecting
#12 Deadline Management & Progress Tracking

Register your interest for a course via the Church Office

#3 Boosting Relationship Skills: How to understand people and establish a strong connection 


Course dates: Mondays 7.15-9.15pm, 7 weeks: 2025 April: 14,28 May: 12  June: 2, 23, 30 July: 7

This course covers how to boost the top 20 interpersonal skills needed to effectively relate with people. Topics include how to:  
  • listen really well, fully engage in conversations, recognise & use body language
  • how  to de-escalate conflict and handle 'Difficult People' 
  • identify Personality Styles and relate better with those different to ourselves
  • avoid comparisons with other people
  • use Values to effectively engage with others
  • improve self-confidence about dealing with others
  • associate with 'positive' people - and avoid negative people
  • earn respect and gain from helping others
  • ask for what we want
  • develop friendships and network effectively
  • master assertiveness skills.
After attending the course, you should be better equipped to build strong relationships of all kinds (friendships, work & family relationships, as well as romantic relationships). 
Good interpersonal skills and strong relationships are an important part of looking after our wellbeing and mental health. 


Mainly based on books: How to Start a Conversation & Make Friends, Don Gabor; How to be People-Smart, Les Giblin; The Definitive Book of Body Language, Allan & Barbara Pease; Assertiveness at Work, Ken & Kate Back; and a talk by Rick Warren entitled 10 Steps to De-escalate Conflict

More details are in the Course Syllabus. To find out more or join the course, ring or email the course organiser: Nick Waters, or contact the
 Church Office.

#4 Boosting Highly Effective Relationship Characteristics


How to be a highly effective relationship builder with all types of people
Course dates: Mondays 7:15 -9:15pm | Sept: 29, Oct 13, 20, 27, 27 ( 4 sessions) 

How to build all types of relationship by:
  • boosting characteristics key to all relationships
  • advancing listening skills
  • working with personality style differences.
Mainly based on books: Love As A Way of Life, Gary Chapman; The Five Love Languages, Gary Chapman; The Marriage Book – How to build a lasting relationship, Nicky & Sila Lee; Personality Plus, Florence Littauer; Positive Personality Profiles, Robert A. Rohm

More details are in the 
Course Syllabus. To find out more or join the course, ring or email the course organiser: Nick Waters, or contact the Church Office.

#5 Handling Conflict & Difficult People


How to cope with conflict & difficult people
Course dates: Wednesdays 10am-12pm: 2025 Nov: 5, 12, 19, 26 (4 sessions)

How to:
  • de-escalate conflict
  • restore relationships
  • better handle anger & 21 types of ‘difficult people’.
Mainly based on the book Powerful Phrases for Dealing with Difficult People,  Renée Evenson; a Fred Pryor seminar entitled How to Handle Difficult People and a series of talks by Rick Warren entitled De-escalating and resolving conflict

More details are in the 
Course Syllabus. To find out more or join the course, ring or email the course organiser: Nick Waters, or contact the Church Office.

#6 Boosting the Benefits of Sleep


How to get a good night's sleep every night

Wednesdays 10AM-12PM - Dec 2025 3rd & 10
(2 week course)
  • Good sleep ‘hygiene’ & sleep strategies.
  • Tackling insomnia.
  • The impact of not getting enough sleep.
Based on the books: Why We Sleep by Matthew Walker and Sleep – Harness the power of sleep for Optimal health & wellbeing by Petra Hawker.

More details are in the 
Course Syllabus. To find out more or join the course, ring or email the course organiser: Nick Waters, or contact the Church Office.

#7 Eating & Drinking for Health


New dates coming soon

From the latest research, we:
  • de-mystify guidance on what food & drink will keep us healthy
  • learn about losing weight & keeping it off.
Based on books: will be based on the books The Fast 800 by Dr Michael Mosley; The Diet Myth by Dr Tim Spector; Eat More, Live Well by Dr Megan Rossi

To find out more or join the course, ring or email the course organiser: Nick Waters, or contact the
 Church Office.

 

Glenys
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