Workshops

A Harvard Business Review* article entitled Strengthen Your Ability to Influence People defines influence as ‘the ability to affect the character, development, or behaviour of someone or something’ and, significantly, ‘requires developing a strong emotional connection with yourself and others’.

Influence is associated with leadership because professionals who have acquired this skill are often able to connect with other people’s emotions that in turn drive their actions. Fundamentally, strong executive presence requires a level of self-knowledge that will inspire trust, increase impact and enable influence to come naturally.

Take just one day to empower yourself to:

• Communicate with authenticity even when the stakes are high
• Come across according to how you want to be perceived
• Show up with impact, in alignment with your goals
• Overcome feelings of low confidence
• Develop strategies that allow you to connect
• Learn techniques for conversations that influence and inspire
• Develop awareness of unconscious bias and unintentional communication
• Use voice and body language to strengthen your leadership style
  and …
• Lead the room while staying true to your values and who you really are!

* Strengthen Your Ability to Influence People (hbr.org)

It has been said that only 7% of the success of a presentation is actually down to content. How you use your voice, however, accounts for 38% of your impact and, incredibly, 55% is down to non-verbal communication. 

And one more thing… 75% of adults are estimated to be affected by a fear of public speaking. 

And yet, strong presentation skills are known to be absolutely fundamental for career advancement, good management, strong leadership and visibility.

Whether it’s for a small team, for conferences with big audiences or for slick online presentations, this workshop will provide you with the tools you need to:

 

• Communicate with authenticity
• Tap into your natural charisma
• Create powerful introductions
• Adopt body language that will position you for success
• Use your voice effectively
• Use clear structuring techniques
• Manage your stress
• Use great visuals people will remember
• Produce strong messages and engaging content
• Keep your listeners with you
• Get the room on-side
• Conclude with confidence
• Deal with tricky questions
• Influence and inspire
  and…
• Simply shine! 

Whether you’re selling your idea to investors, pitching to a prospective client or even negotiating a new salary or going for a promotion, how you pitch your ideas, and position yourself, is key. Even a chance encounter at a conference or social event can require a spontaneous but strategic and deftly-executed pitch. 

The right pitch at the right time can transform your career and open up new possibilities. The key is to be prepared – knowing what to say and to whom, knowing what angle to take and how your ideas will be received.  

For your business, your product, your ideas, your career, give yourself the tools you need to:

 

• Get and keep the attention of your audience
• Get your listeners emotionally engaged with your idea
• Establish a selection of stories to tell according to context
• Use intrigue effectively and arouse curiosity
• Establish a hook and know when to use it
• Understand how information lands and use it to your advantage
• Know what to include and what to leave out in different contexts
• Adopt body language that will position you for success
• Use your voice effectively and convincingly
• Use clear structuring techniques
• Manage your stress
• Project yourself with calm confidence
  and…
• Get the deal!

Storytelling is as old as humanity itself, and has been used through the ages to entertain but also to explain and inspire. Stories help us to navigate life’s complex problems and help ensure our survival – we are master creators of stories to help us find our way in the world. 

In a professional context, storytelling humanises the working environment, and provides a vehicle for strengthening identity and pinning down shared values. Well-crafted messages and strong storytelling skills are fundamental for communicating a shared vision, enabling inspiring leadership and a sense of common purpose. Corporate storytelling helps cement the identity of an organisation, a community and a brand identity in the pursuit of a shared vision.

Fully adaptable according to the storytelling context, this workshop will enable you to:

 

• Establish your storytelling purpose
• Draw on your gifts and talents to tell a story with authenticity
• Use techniques that will connect with your audience
• Develop interconnected stories to use across different media
• Craft powerful messages that support your strategic goals
• Use emotion to engage your audience
• Adopt body language for presence and connection
• Use your voice to create the right mood
• Structure your stories for maximum impact
• Create moments of heightened intensity
• Move the room
  and…
• Tap into your inner performer, and dare to talk like TED!

A new study conducted by Yale University* has revealed that women are consistently judged as having less leadership potential than their male counterparts, making them 14% less likely to be promoted each year. The research showed that even though women scored better performance ratings, they tended to receive low ‘potential’ scores – deemed to be a measure of how much their managers believed that they would grow and develop in the future.

The reasons are many and varied, but significantly, data also suggests women tend to undersell their work, rating their own performance as 33% lower than their equally performing male colleagues. Female managers can tend to lack self-belief, and are less likely to expect to reach director level by the end of their careers. Hiring managers might be failing to see potential among their female workforce, but it’s also possible that women aren’t talking about their potential the same way their male colleagues do.

Take a day to invest in your potential. 

This workshop will enable you to: 

• Introduce yourself with style
• Pitch your ideas and your talents with ease and authenticity
• Use your voice to project confidence and strength
• Learn techniques that will help you hold the room when speaking
• Identify and tap into your own, personal charisma
• Adopt body language for presence and authority
• Employ techniques to help manage stress
• Create high-impact messages that people will remember
• Use language that will increase influence and self-confidence
• Communicate effectively in meetings
  and…
• Make sure your voice is heard, and your ideas are valued!

* https://insights.som.yale.edu/insights/women-arent-promoted-because-managers-underestimate-their-potential

Be it for meetings, presentations, speeches, pitches, interviews or everyday leadership situations, sometimes it can be helpful to take time out, take a step back, and take a look at how effective our communication really is. 

Did that last presentation really inspire, or is the key message actually starting to sound hackneyed? How could it be reworked to increase engagement?

Did the opening speech at the global sales conference really light the fire you wanted it to? 

Is your everyday communication in line with the leadership style you want? 

Do you need credible storytelling techniques to drive transformation in line with corporate values and long-term goals? 

Take a day, for tailor-made coaching and consulting, in areas where you would like some extra support. 

Examples:

• Write and deliver a memorable speech
• Develop a storytelling strategy
• Build and deliver a pitch that gets the deal you want
• Prepare a strategic meeting or sensitive negotiation
• Craft and deliver a high-impact presentation
• Work on personal communication techniques for effective leadership across a range of contexts
  and…
• Get the specific help you need, so you can rock your high-stakes communication!