"This is an excellent program and anyone who needs to make presentations or run large meetings should enroll in it."

Fleet Bank

Presentation Skills

Objective: You will gain the confidence and comfort to present in the most dynamic, effective way possible to any audience from one to one thousand. You will learn how to organize persuasive messages for every speaking situation from impromptu to prepared.

Program Outline:

Learn A Successful Presenter's Mindset
• Define your role as an expert
• Understand the presenter-audience partnership
• Develop a motivational mindset

Develop Your Natural Speaking Style
• Blend energy, technique, thinking, & feeling
• Make each talk your own
• Avoid pitfalls: fear of failure, perfection

Hone A Flexible, Resonant Voice
• Articulation, rate, pitch, tone, projection
• Vocal variety, pauses, relaxed voice
• Avoid the distracting "ah's, umm's"

Prepare Via The Decker Pyramid©
• Gather pre-communication research
• Assess the motivation of audiences
• Organize your thinking and knowledge
• Define purpose via the "30 second" exercise
• Expand/contract talks to fit expected time frame

Organizing Persuasive Messages Via The Stones Across the Brook©
• Motivate listener buy in of ideas
• Select and order ideas
• Enhance understanding: metaphors, visuals
• Enliven potentially dry material, statistics

Present your Ideas
• Capture immediate listener attention
• Develop eye and emotional contact
• Accent ideas: body movement/gesture
• Read and respond to listener cues
• Stay on track with minimal need of notes
• End with maximum persuasive impact

Overcome Nervousness To Gain Confidence & Comfort
• Understand psychological causes of anxiety
• Proven strategies to avoid pre-talk jitters
• Overcome fear of the spotlight
• Break the link between anxiety and presenting

Field Questions with Strategies to:
• Develop immediate, concise responses
• Reinforce your message
• Deal with difficult, hostile, challenging questions
• Maintain credibility when you lack an answer

Enhance Messages With Visual Aids
• Choose visuals to support, not supplant you
• Tap creativity of PowerPoint, video
• Use visual aids effectively
• Maximize persuasive value of handouts

Additional Coaching In How To:
• Think on your feet to speak "off the cuff"
• Organize and deliver team presentations
• Rehearse
• Communicate from a script
• Choose attire that projects your image
• Use microphones, seating, acoustics
• Develop and use introductions

Develop an Action Plan to Build on Your Gains

Personal video reinforces workshop training

All programs are tailored to your exact needs.