Communication Improvement Program (CIP)
The Communication Improvement Program (CIP) offers a treatment option for people wanting to improve their communication abilities. The program shares facilities and staff with ISTAR, with which it is affiliated.
Since its inception, CIP has helped clients of all ages with widely differing needs develop the communication skills that are so important to social and educational success.
CIP can help improve speaking ability in many areas including:
- improving clarity of speech or language
- expressing thoughts clearly
- accent modification
- assisting stroke survivors who have difficulty communicating
- improving conversational and/or public speaking skills
A few of these areas are available in small group format workshops, in addition to our regular one-on-one speech therapy.
2025 CIP Workshops
Public Speaking Workshop
Rehabilitation Medicine's Communication Improvement Program is offering an "Intelligibility of Speech / Public Speaking" workshop. This workshop is for professors, students or anyone who is required to do public speaking or interact with people in order to succeed in their professions. Participants will be introduced to the concept of speech rate and clear articulation and how it can vary across situations. Participants will be introduced to skills and techniques needed to manage fears of speaking to groups as well as to achieve effective communication. The workshop will be delivered in an online format and participants will get hands-on experience in delivering presentations to groups via virtual platforms. Please note that this is not a technical class to learn all the features of platforms and to perform troubleshooting, but rather it is focused on clarity, effective communication and presentation practice. The workshop is presented by a certified speech-language pathologist.
2025 Dates & Times to be determined
To be added to the waiting list or ask questions, please contact us at istar@ualberta.ca or 780-492-2619.
Accent Modification Workshop
Accent Modification Workshop with a certified speech-language pathologist. These workshops are designed for participants who have an accent or are English as a second language learners and who wish to increase their intelligibility through modification of their accent. It is not designed to be a workshop to learn the English language. General instruction about how to produce the English sounds and how to reduce speech rate for improved intelligibility will be provided.
2025 Dates & Times to be determined
Space is limited, maximum 3 attendees per workshop.
Comparison of Accent Modification workshop to one-on-one speech therapy:
- The workshop is approximately 10 hours of therapy time and does not require a separate assessment. Normally an assessment costs $210, and 10 hours therapy is $1450 = total $1600. Savings of $645 (almost 40%)!
- The development of skills follows the same general format as during one-on-one speech therapy.
- You will be working in a small group, with others working on the same skills so you get the added benefit of practice partners at key times.
- There may be a wait time for one-on-one therapy due to our busy schedule, however, the workshop dates are already booked.
- The Accent Modification workshop is currently only offered at 1 specific time per year. Sometimes the dates are not advertised due to registrations being confirmed in advance.
To be added to the waiting list or ask questions, please contact us at istar@ualberta.ca or 780-492-2619.
Accent Modification II and Effective Business Communication Series
This course series includes both Accent Modification and Effective Business Communication.
Accent Modification II: This includes 6 hours of instruction and is intended for clients who have completed a basic Accent Modification course. It will primarily focus on refining accent modification skills (rate reduction, phoneme production, intonation contrast and focus on the stress and rhythm of English speech) and increasing practice with these techniques in functional communication tasks (e.g conversations, phones etc.). Sessions will include individual goal setting, skill instruction, clinician feedback and practice in real-world situations with volunteer conversation partners.
Effective Business Communication: This includes 6 hours of instruction and is intended for participants who are wanting to improve confidence and expertise in communicating with colleagues and customers in presentations, meetings and other interactions. Participants will develop individualized goals, learn speaking skills will focus on both non-verbal and verbal aspects of speech and will target functional needs of participants including relevant topics to the business, interactions in group meetings, customer interactions and possible conference presentations.
Please note, group or series sessions are held at pre-scheduled times and at a package rate. Due to this, any portions missed due to late client attendance, illness, etc will not be rescheduled unless approved by the Clinic Director
2025 Dates & Times to be determined
To be added to the waiting list or ask questions, please contact us at istar@ualberta.ca or 780-492-2619.
Art of Conversation
This workshop is designed for participants who wish to improve the ease and flow of conversation during one-on-one, small and large group gatherings. Participants will learn about important elements of conversation and practical strategies that can be used to begin, maintain and end conversations successfully. During the two-day workshop, participants will be provided with individualized feedback from a certified speech-language pathologist. This workshop is for those who wish to increase their comfort with participating in group discussions, holding conversations during formal or casual gatherings, and one-on-one conversations.
2025 Dates & Times to be determined
To be added to the waiting list or ask questions, please contact us at istar@ualberta.ca or 780-492-2619.
For all sessions, space is limited and payment is due at the time of registration.