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Workshops |
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27 Workshop Modules - Detailed Descriptions |
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Most people want to be perceived as 'professional' but are unable to say, clearly, what this word means. Some people even think it means just wearing a suit! In this workshop, we examine the meaning of the term 'professional' in a concrete and practical way. This allows you to formulate a realistic plan of personal development. Our focus will be to help you define what your core competencies are as well as your business identity. Once you are able to articulate this, it becomes easier to improve, and you are able to clearly communicate with others. See follow-up Article: "What Does it Take to Get a Promotion?" |
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You can cultivate those 'Something Extra' attitudes that set you apart and move you ahead. In this workshop we examine:
Each person will determine the characteristics that are the most important for him or her personally. Follow-up Article: "Guidelines for Professionalism" |
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If you understand how the process of face-to-face communication really works, you will maximize your impact and presence whenever you speak. You can learn how to effectively project your best qualities through:
This course offers an eagle's eye view of communication, allowing you to control yourself, your voice, and your impact. Follow-up: Review Material |
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Many kinds of 'noise' get in the way of your otherwise, effective, presentations.
You cannot afford to be passive in the face of 'noise'. You must demonstrate leadership in the skillful handling of interference. Wouldn't it be helpful if you knew how to identify them and effectively deal with them? Follow-up:Rreview Material |
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You do. Everybody does. Most of us are unaware of the degree to which important decisions are made based on your visual impact. Issues of posture, size, wardrobe and health are frequently used to make judgments about people. Do 'good looks' really matter? This workshop will allow us to understand how this process works, and identify the steps a person can take to render this information valuable. We will also examine the research that identifies how nonverbal information is processed. Video taping of a brief presentation is optional. Follow-up:
Roper Survey |
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Most of us hope that we can reveal our good characteristics and that people will be able to know (rapidly) that we are decent and "promotable" people. Is it in your best interest to appear to have integrity, for example? Dignity? Intelligence? Maturity? (and a number of other lovely characteristics). You may feel that you have these attributes but, how do you demonstrate them so that other people know it too? If you are like most people, you may find that you can't really define a number of these qualities. (What does it really mean to have integrity, for example?) How are you supposed to manifest this quality if you are fuzzy on what it means? In this workshop, we examine some of the behavioral components of these inner qualities - to better create the impression we want to have on other people. Follow-up: Review Material |
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Do you think that tension and pressure in the workplace affect the sound of your voice and your overall communication impact? You're right. Stress has marked influences on voice quality, speech rate, emphasis, and nonverbal communication. It doesn't help your language usage either. The problem is that the acting out of stress diminishes your image of competence. Learn to identify the signs of stress in your communication. You can learn how to spot the sources of your stress (people, technology or information overload) and decrease their influence on your effectiveness. The class will focus on breathing techniques that will pull you out of emotional disasters, exercises in carriage that make you appear to be cool and centered, throat relaxing techniques and speech analysis. You probably cannot get stress (change) out of your life, but you can learn to make big changes in how you handle it. Follow-up: Review Material |
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8. The Five Top Tips for Increased Impact in any Presentation |
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If you are ready to stop self-destructing in front of people and would like just a few solid "tips" to pullyou through a presentation, this is the workshop for you. We focus on the five most often repeated bits of advice that really improve the speaker's comfort and effectiveness. These "tips" have to do with projection, message organization and clarity, confidence and carriage. Follow-up: Review Material |
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Would you like insurance that you will be comfortable, natural and well organized in your next presentation? The usual way most people prepare for a speech is probably the worst way to do it, creating more 'blocks' and dead-ends than necessary. How often have you sat down with a blank piece of paper and found yourself just as blank as the paper? Have you tried to start at the beginning and work you way to the end, but found yourself lost in the swampy middle? Of course, you have. We all have. Want to make it easier? Learn a special 'brainstorming' technique that doesn't let 'blocks' occur and that actually supports you in identifying what you need to say. Follow-up: Review Material |
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Getting spooked by stage fright puts a serious cramp in your ability to speak out and assume leadership roles. Overcoming this obstacle is surely one of the most rewarding events of your personal and professional development. We have good news! There are a number of successful techniques that will help you deal with this oh-so-human phenomenon, so that it doesn't have to bother you ever again. You will learn practical stress reduction techniques - both theory and practice - that will be there for you when you need them.
Follow up: Building Ourselves from Scratch |
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Your speaking effectiveness depends on your eyes.
So why are you not making eye contact in your presentations? If it's difficult for you, this workshop is for you since we will focus on making eye contact. Learn the specific errors you will want to avoid. Each individual will learn a technique that will allow them to establish the interaction and create a sense of sincerity that is important for speaking effectiveness. Follow-up: The Trouble with Eye Contact |
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"Projection" is not just a matter of your voice being louder; it's having increased presence in front of a group. We need to examine how much energy we bring to the situation, our carriage (the way we hold our head and body), and use of articulation to clearly express our words, so that others can hear them. Of course, the voice must be produced with the intention of filling the room. Short presentations will be audio taped so that the participants can gauge their need for greater projection or articulation. Follow-up: Review Material |
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Do you have to go out into the business world and community and make contact with new people? Do you have to start conversations with people who are strangers? This is as scary to most people as giving a speech. Contacting new people is an important part of your future. How else do you make the sales, get the job, negotiate the contract, or deal with that problem? You probably have to talk to somebody that you don't know! There's an easy way to get the social interactive process going and that's by making it easy for people to come to you. Learn the six nonverbal steps that send out the signal that you are an interested (and interesting) person. Make people want to talk to you. Follow-up: The Body Language of Conversation |
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The social side of your career success begins with developing initial conversation. How do you get started? There's a good answer to that question because there really are steps and rituals of beginning a conversation that are very easy to learn. These are the 'bare bones of small talk' that anybody can put to good use when starting new relationships. With this information, you can transform that 'stranger' into a comfortable conversation partner. You will learn how to come up with 'starting points' to get the conversation going, how to start the 'trust building' right from the beginning, and how to encourage the other person to respond. With this technique, you have started the ball rolling toward a relationship, business or personal. Follow-up: Anchor, Reveal and Encourage |
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"Small Talk" gets a bad reputation because of the many miserable experiences we've all had with dumb conversations that don't get off the ground. You can learn how to rescue these situations and turn them into truly interesting conversations by learning some simple rules of conversation development. You are in a position to direct the conversation to the areas that are the most important to you when you take charge of topic development. Perhaps you want to get them to feel at ease with you, perhaps you want to interest them in your business, and perhaps you want to feel out the status of some project. Unfortunately, most of us are fairly passive and so let the conversation just drift where it will. (Or, not go anywhere at all!) It doesn't have to be that way. This technique will save you a lot of misery! Follow-up Article: "What Do You Say After You've Said, 'Great View!'" |
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Meetings with new people usually start with introductions. Many of us go to pieces at this point. What to say? Who is presented to whom? Does it matter? What should you include in a introduction? It's not that difficult, once you know the basic pattern that will be taught in this workshop. The 'basic pattern' will get you through any situation without embarrassment or fumbling. Then there is the matter of remembering (and forgetting!) names. If this is a recurrent nightmare of yours, you have a lot of company. Come and learn an essential strategy for holding on to names and graceful ways of recapturing them when they have flown away! Follow-up:
"Excuse me. You Don't Happen to Remember Your Name, Do
You?" |
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It is one thing to start a conversation with a complete stranger. It is another to break off that conversation and move on. I don't know which one you find the most difficult but most people have problems with both of these delicate situations. Help is on the way! You can learn the skills that enable you to enter conversations comfortably. You can learn the specific techniques that allow you to (politely) get out of a conversation that has gone on far too long (for you). Many people get trapped by their own fear of being rude to someone. We'll get you over that bump. Follow-up:
Review
Material |
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Instead
of dreading the mixer, the conference or the meeting where
you don't know a soul, you can take certain steps that will
ensure that you have a comfortable, successful experience,
whether your goals are business or social. Many people show up, hope for a 'good time' at community or business events, and are not aware that the success of the event depends entirely on what they do. This passivity frequently translates into discomfort and lost opportunities. This workshop can change how you approach these events and prepare for maximum benefit. Follow-up:
Small Talk Reading Guide |
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You know that just the sound of a person's voice can be a turnoff or it can be extremely compelling. People can develop much better voices when they know exactly how to explore and develop their natural aptitudes for voice production. In this workshop (small group) you will learn techniques for lowering pitch, increasing resonance, and for using your voice to your best advantage. It is not unusual for people to discover that they have a voice capacity that they have never developed. If you can change your voice, you can change your life. Follow-up
Article: The Sound
of Your Voice |
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Are you a professional voice user? You are if you need to depend on your voice in your career. Teacher, sales person, leader, trainer, receptionist, and anyone who depends on talking in their work will be interested in learning how they can protect and preserve their voice. Each person will be able to identify the particular voice hazards they each face and will learn effective ways to handle these threats. Have you had the experience of having to cope even if you have 'lost your voice'? If so, you will want this workshop. Follow-up
Article: Can
Your Voice Survive the Holidays? |
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Are you one of those people who always cringe when you hear the sound of your own voice? Many people feel that way and they don't know what to do about it. They are also not sure that something can even be done about it. For most people the answer is, 'yes, it can!'. In this workshop, you will get a helping hand (ear) in identifying those areas of your verbal communication that would benefit from some attention. Dr. Fleming will listen to your speech, voice and language and give you helpful feedback on exactly how you can improve your verbal communication impact. Follow-up
Article: Do I Really
Sound Like That? |
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You hope to make a good impression, you want people to understand your speech and you want everyone to hear what you have to say. It sounds so simple! Just stand up in front of a group and introduce yourself. How many times have you seen this simple act of communication botched by poor projection, mumbled speech, vague language or a spilled glass of water? (Don't laugh, it happens!) For the individual who's speaking, it's a wasted opportunity to present him/her self effectively. For the rest of the group, it's a frustration and a waste of time. Participants in this workshop will learn how to present themselves effectively and will have practice in using these techniques during the session. You'll never have to waste another opportunity again. Follow-up Articl: Stand Up and Introduce Yourself |
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Since the traditional workplace was invented by men, it is usually imbued with the ethos of the male. This has serious implications for savvy career women who want to make the system work for them, who want to reduce the male/female difficulties and who intend to play the game of work… and win. Yes, that's what I said - to play the game of work. This (for women only) presentation is a no-holds barred discussion of the many ways that women get into trouble in the masculine workplace. We discuss strategies that will help you understand what is going on around you, and the ways men can sabotage women (and what to do about it). In addition, we must look at the ways that women unknowingly bring out the beast in men by unconscious sexual signals. Follow-up: A Woman's Voice in a Man's World |
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Have you ever gotten voice mail that made you tear your hair out in frustration? Why don't they get to the point? They're speaking faster than I can listen! What was that phone number? Mary who?! You can drive people nuts with:
Following a few simple rules can translate into efficient and welcomed messages that elicit a courteous response. Follow
up Article: Leave
Me Voice Mail… and Let Me Tell You How |
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(Social Class and Communication) We have all observed that there are differences in the speech and behavior of individuals that come from different places in life. Sometimes these differences are of little consequence. At other times, they can lead to personal discomfort. Some people may feel awkward when they must succeed with others who seem more sophisticated and polished. However, your mindset and attitude can propel you to levels where you feel at ease and confidant with these people. Fortunately, there is a lot that you can do to attain self assurance and poise. You can learn exactly what cues people use to make social judgment and, most importantly, how to use that information to increase your own polish and sophistication. Carriage, language usage, articulation, intonation and demeanor are the areas that cue cultural recognition. You can find out what your Mom never knew or couldn't tell you. What's more, you can become skilled at reading the signals others are sending out. The workshop format allows opportunities to try things out in a structured, supportive setting, and it's fun. Follow-up: How we Listen to Each Other |
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Sometimes our ability to express ourselves gets sabotaged by our own self-evaluation. We let the rat of low self-esteem eat the cookie of our self-confidence. You can literally talk yourself into doubt and silence. Let me talk you out of that destructive habit and teach you how to see yourself in a more positive light. You will learn to appreciate your own attributes and genuine accomplishments. This technique has been successful with hundreds of people who have held themselves back. They found that this concept liberated them to be more fully expressive and contented with their positive attributes. It can help you too. Follow-up:
Review Material |
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Certain differences between the English of the native born speaker and that of the foreign born can cause a great deal of communication trouble for the speaker and for the listener. Although these speakers may have a superb educational background and highly developed skills, they often have not had access to training in speech clarity. This makes all the difference in communicating easily with English-speaking colleagues and customers. When there are problems in the efficient transfer of information, unfortunate and embarrassing mistakes are made, and the individual is avoided as an information source. Coworkers may seek the information from someone else just to avoid the delay and difficulty. This means that the person with the strong accent is not likely to be promoted, included, or asked to deal directly with important customers. This means a serious career barrier. It doesn't have to be this way. This workshop offers drill on the most difficult speech sounds and on the principle of 'linking' that is the single most important technique for increasing clarity. Each person will receive individual feedback from the instructor. There will be appropriate take-home materials to continue the progress after the session. Enrollment is limited to 6 participants who share similar language difficulties, such as Indian, Asian and Filipino background and the content will be flexible. Follow-up
Article: By
Their Accents Shall You Know Them |
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Contact us today to discuss how our workshops, coaching and training products can improve your Personal Professionalism and Communication Impact. |
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Home | What's New | About Us | Coaching | Workshops | Articles | Products | FAQs | Contact Us |
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T:
415.391.9179 | F: 415.391.3640 | Email:
| www.speechtraining.com |