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Visual aids can help or hurt a presentation. Whether you are using PowerPoint, Keynote, Prezi, slides, video, a software interface, or other visual support, you need to make sure that the visuals won’t distract from the presentation. Many speakers have chosen abandon visual aids altogether and even proclaim that they are above using such tools. However, well-utilized visuals will significantly improve a presentation. This training will teach the best visual aid practices and offer the opportunity to practice techniques with individualized coaching feedback. Listeners will appreciate how the skillful use of visual aids truly enhances your presentations.
Speakers must prepare to answer real questions about their topic. Sometimes, listeners ask friendly, genuine questions, but often, you might be tasked with answering aggressive or set-up questions. In either case, the ability to handle even the most challenging question in a clear, comfortable, and competent manner is an important skill. Whether you have been called to answer questions at a congressional committee, in a sales meeting, or during a team presentation, this module will teach you how to hear and understand questions in order to respond with practical answers.
Have you ever wondered how some people always have the right thing to say at the right time? There is an art to handling yourself well in just about any setting—from dealing with an angry customer to holding a political debate or managing a contentious investor meeting.
Imagine yourself in front of the executive committee, the board of directors, the press, or a client, and someone requests that you speak on an unfamiliar topic. Perhaps you are asked a tough question that you hadn’t anticipated. What do you say? Thinking on your feet is a module that teaches you how to process and organize your thoughts quickly in a way that will help you communicate clearly and with confidence
What two words would you like people to say about you after you have left a meeting or a conversation? The answer defines your communication style. Style coaching is one of our most popular leadership and management offerings. It allows senior executives, managers, and emerging leaders to achieve their personal vision of how they wish to present themselves. Our coaches work with clients on their core communication skills, beginning with their two style words. The result is authentic, comfortable, and effective leadership or management capabilities.
Most crucial business communication occurs between leaders, managers, board members, and shareholders. Because Boards advise and direct management teams on key decisions, it is critical that leaders and managers clearly communicate the vision, metrics, and progress of the organization. Having worked with thousands of managers and board members, we have developed valuable insight into how relationships, presentations, handling questions, and more can affect your communication success. Whether you’re new to senior management or an old pro, this module will allow you to hone your Board and shareholder presentations and share your thoughts in a clear, concise manner. Our guidance will help you strengthen your relationships and effectiveness with your Board and shareholders.
Since the 1990s, coaching and mentoring have become widely used to develop employees in the business world and are important skills for anyone in a managerial or leadership role. Learn how to communicate in both coaching and mentoring styles while learning the differences between the two. Among other things, learn Socratic questioning, goal setting, skills in accountability, and ways to inspire that lead to complete development.
At times, speaking with coworkers, your staff, your boss, and, yes, your customers can be difficult. They may come to you with stories about their problems or your mistakes. They might even mistreat you. We need to remember that there are always two sides to every story. Learn how to diffuse difficult situations and become the difficult person’s advocate rather than the enemy.
When relationships are strong, you can communicate anything. When they are not strong, even the simplest feedback becomes difficult. This module provides an understanding of why and how strong relationships are created using our original research, which has unveiled the two most essential characteristics for building a solid working relationship. This module utilizes practice to strengthen the techniques and skills that foster trusting relationships.
Listening is not just about hearing—it involves the understanding and evaluation of what is heard. Whether you’re in a face-to-face meeting or talking on the phone, leaders and managers must exhibit comfort and proficiency in six specific areas of listening, or messages can be misunderstood. These qualities and techniques are the focus of this module. In addition, this module covers the top ten barriers to listening and how to overcome them. This is one of our most popular topics.
Have you ever felt that your listeners were confused? Have listeners ever asked you to get to the point? Truly connecting with your listeners is fundamental to all communication and critical for a successful presentation. This module teaches you how to make your point and engage all of your listeners. It does not provide a one-size-fits-all methodology but instead covers a whole range of skills from which you may choose the best approach for specific groups.
Business speaking requires a mixture of information and persuasion. Both are critical, and you use both in different situations and for various reasons. The distinction between these two types of speaking is that informative speaking lists data and impartially clarifies and enlightens with no particular goal other than making information clear. Persuasive speaking urges a partisan decision, favors a position, and tries to garner acceptance for that position. In many presentations, the speaker will use both information and persuasion in order to convince the listeners.
This training will help you understand the difference between informative and persuasive presentation. It teaches how to implement these concepts in your content and delivery and the three ways of persuasion that are used in virtually all presentations we see today. You’ll learn how to choose the proper mode of persuasion and how to match your message to your listeners.
Do your listeners ask you to repeat keywords? The ability to speak clearly is an important skill, no matter who you are. There are several ways to lose your listeners, but poor articulation, mumbling, and lack of volume are the most preventable. Don’t force listeners to work harder to understand the words coming out of your mouth! This module on communication excellence will teach key sounds and practice techniques to ensure that you are speaking clearly.
Your customers will often pay attention to how you sound as much as what you are saying. A positive interaction can depend on your tone and inflection, speed, and projection.
Plus, words matter! Your choice of words, such as “customers,” “clients,” “guests,” or “patrons,” will shape their perception, and perception shapes service communication. Don’t let your choice of words become a distraction during a customer interaction. This teaches participants the various sounds of service and how to master their sounds to best communicate with customers.
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Speak with Confidence
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Helpful, practical advice on how to communicate better at work and at home.
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What Continued Zoom Fatigue and the COVID Delta Variant Means for You and Your Team
If you’re like me, you’ve experienced heavy Zoom fatigue in the last 16 months. During this ongoing pandemic, it’s earned its slang term, right alongside “Quarantine” (the drink you make with whatever you can find in your fridge or freezer), “Blursday” (an unspecified day because of lockdown’s disorientating effect on time), “zoom bombing” (hijacking a Zoom video call). “WFH” (working from home) and “quaranteams” (online teams created during lockdown).
As we enter this new hybrid workplace, some groups are still 100% remote, some are hybrid, and some are back to the office full time; the screen fatigue still applies, whether you use Google Hangouts, Microsoft Teams, FaceTime, or any other video calling application.
Curious to get an expert’s perspective, I asked the founder of our organization, The Speech Improvement Company, Dr. Dennis Becker, with over 56 years of experience in communication, why he sees these virtual interactions to be particularly difficult on the brain. Here is what he shared: “Zoom and the like are the latest technologies producing fatigue because we are being forced to use them. Whether it’s our typical work habits or our interactions with friends and family, it has become mandatory that we make ourselves available for work and social encounters on video if we want to connect. At first, it was acceptable and even enjoyable. Then it got tedious, and now it is producing fatigue with continued extensive use.”
Dennis continues, “Here’s a slightly different view based on my 60 years of study and technology for The Speech Improvement Company, the nation’s oldest communication training/coaching firm. As a technology, Zoom and the rest are great and can enhance learning and understanding. Although they weren’t forced on us, there were other shiny objects – technologies that drew our attention and influenced our behavior – introduced over the past 60 years. I recall what a game-changer it was for learning when audio taping became available and compact and portable. When videotape came on the scene, I was an early adopter. Yes, I carried around that huge camera and even larger battery pack. Who can forget carrying around those big boom boxes and bulky headsets? All of these technologies have been productive game-changers for training/coaching and learning. It took time, trial and error, and ultimate acceptance. The biggest game-changer now is that we are being forced to use Zoom and others. Hence, excitement and fun at first, now fatigue. This, too, shall pass.”
Dennis’s timely advice reminds us that it takes trial and error to use technology in the ways that best serve us, and when it’s forced on us, we feel particularly drained or resentful. I’m hoping the options for in-person interactions will open up to the world sooner rather than later for everyone’s mental and physical health. Between COVID breakthrough infections and the Delta variant, there is a potential pause in workplace re-openings, and businesses must adapt as we learn more. Travel advisories could be reinstated, lines are being drawn between vaccinated and unvaccinated employees, and executives might have to return to mandated COVID tests after business travel.
People are fatigued in general, not just from Zoom. After feeling like we were almost out of the woods, there will be a backlash and level of frustration if we go backward instead of forwards.
But all is not lost. Below are my most recent suggestions for dealing with screen fatigue, based on the latest research, but more importantly, what I see and experience every day as an Executive Communication Coach and excessive Zoom user.
By considering the advice of Dr. Dennis Becker and myself, you can find ways to reduce screen fatigue and have some energy left to wash those reusable cotton face masks. Admittedly, it feels like we are going two steps forward, one step back, after 16 long months. I’m open to using video technology as long as it serves us (and since 2018, virtual 1:1 coaching and virtual group training have ALWAYS been effective and convenient for our clients, with clients close to us and worldwide). Still, I’m drawing the line at any more Virtual Happy Hours. There’s no reason to regress that far back. If I want to feel awkward and disappointed, I’ll go try on pants in a Banana Republic fitting room.
Laura Mathis & Dr. Dennis Becker
Author
Laura Mathis
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