CTC (Travel Agent Certifications) key terms

A longer-term developmental relationship in which a more experienced person shares knowledge, perspective, and networks to help a less experienced person grow in their career and profession.

A goal-focused partnership that uses structured conversation, questions, and reflection to help a person build skills and take action, usually over a defined period rather than an open-ended relationship.

A four-stage coaching conversation framework: Goal (what the person wants), Reality (the current situation), Options (possible actions), and Will (the commitment to act).

A situation in which two or more parties perceive their needs, goals, values, or interests as incompatible, producing tension that can be handled constructively or destructively.

A framework describing five ways people handle conflict based on how assertive and cooperative they are: competing, collaborating, compromising, avoiding, and accommodating.

A voluntary process in which a neutral third party helps disputing parties communicate, clarify interests, and reach their own agreement rather than having a solution imposed.

A thinking mode that generates many varied and novel ideas by widening possibilities without judging them, so quantity and range come before evaluation.

A thinking mode that narrows options by analyzing, comparing, and evaluating ideas against criteria in order to select the best solution.

A group idea-generation technique in which participants offer many ideas freely, defer judgment, build on others' contributions, and record everything before any evaluation.

A tool that organizes a large set of brainstormed ideas into themed groups by clustering similar items, revealing patterns and priorities that are hard to see in a raw list.

A behavioral assessment framework that describes four observable styles - Dominance, Influence, Steadiness, and Conscientiousness - reflecting how people tend to act, communicate, and respond to tasks and people.

The DISC style marked by directness, decisiveness, results focus, and comfort with taking charge and making fast decisions in competitive or high-pressure situations.

The DISC style marked by sociability, enthusiasm, and persuasiveness; people with this style tend to build relationships, inspire others, and prefer collaboration and recognition.

The DISC style marked by patience, calm reliability, and loyalty; people with this style prefer stable environments, steady pacing, and harmony among team members.

The DISC style marked by accuracy, analysis, and rule-following; people with this style value precision, planning, and quality standards and prefer to think before acting.

The ability to recognize, understand, and manage your own emotions and to sense and respond to others' emotions in ways that support effective relationships and decisions.

The capacity to notice your own emotions, triggers, strengths, and impact on others as they happen, which is the foundation for regulating behavior and making conscious choices.

The ability to manage impulses and emotional reactions, staying calm and choosing responses that fit the situation instead of reacting automatically.

The practice of sensing and understanding another person's feelings and perspective, then communicating that understanding so the other person feels heard.

A listening approach in which you give full attention, withhold judgment, and confirm understanding through paraphrasing, questions, and reflective summaries rather than planning your reply.

Best Alternative to a Negotiated Agreement: the course of action a party will take if the current negotiation fails, which sets the real minimum acceptable outcome.

Zone of Possible Agreement: the range between each side's minimum acceptable outcome where a deal is possible for both parties.

A bargaining approach that seeks to expand value by focusing on underlying interests and trading across issues so both sides can gain, rather than dividing a fixed pie.

A bargaining approach that treats the deal as a fixed pie to be divided, with parties competing over price or terms and one side's gain matching the other's loss.

Researching and considering who will attend a presentation - their roles, knowledge level, needs, and attitudes - so content, examples, and tone fit them.

Verbal cues that tell an audience where the presentation is going, such as previewing sections, numbering points, and summarizing transitions, making the structure easy to follow.

A clear, specific request telling the audience what to do next, such as approving a budget, adopting a process, or booking a follow-up meeting.

Any slide, chart, prop, or handout that supports a spoken message by showing key data or concepts simply, rather than duplicating the speaker's words.

A financial report showing revenue, expenses, and profit or loss over a period, revealing whether the organization earned money from its operations during that time.

A snapshot of what an organization owns (assets), owes (liabilities), and the owners' residual interest (equity) at a specific date.

A report tracking cash coming in and going out over a period across operating, investing, and financing activities, showing whether the business has enough liquidity.

A performance measure calculated as the benefit or profit from an investment divided by its cost, usually expressed as a percentage so options can be compared.

A document that formally authorizes a project, naming its purpose, objectives, scope, key stakeholders, and high-level constraints before detailed planning begins.

A hierarchical breakdown of the total project scope into smaller, manageable deliverables and work packages that can be estimated, assigned, and tracked.

The longest sequence of dependent tasks through a project network, which determines the shortest possible project duration and shows where delays directly push the finish date.

The gradual, unapproved expansion of project requirements or deliverables beyond what was agreed, which adds work, cost, and time without matching resources.

A model describing four predictable stages of team development - forming, storming, norming, and performing - that groups move through as they build trust and effectiveness.

A team climate in which people believe they can speak up, ask questions, admit mistakes, and offer ideas without punishment or humiliation.

A written agreement among team members defining purpose, goals, roles, decision rules, and working norms, created early to align expectations and prevent misunderstandings.