Need to sharpen your presentation skills, but you and your team are short on time?

Consider our half-day presentation skills training workshop series as an ideal solution. You can get the training you need and still get your regular work done!

These modules are designed to deliver the core training content in our Motivated Presenter series (normally a 2-day program) in a series of four mini workshops. Complete all four workshops and you earn a certificate of Level 1 The Motivated Presenter.

• Workshop #1: Success by Design: How to Effectively Plan and Organize Your Presentation Content
• Workshop #2: The Power of Personal Narrative: Story Telling for Greater Presentation Impact
• Workshop #3: Improve Your Presentation Visuals: PowerPoint Do’s and Don’ts
• Workshop #4: Masterful Delivery: vocal power and body language intelligence for presenters

Below is a brief synopsis of each half-day workshop module.

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Workshop #1

Success by Design: How to Effectively Plan and Organize Your Presentation Content

Most presenters fall short because of a failure to plan the presentations properly. In this half-day workshop, participants will learn how to work with new tools to help them save time and increase focus during the presentation planning process. They will also learn how to identify, organize and structure the core content to support their key message and presentation goals.

Below are some of the key benefits and take-aways from this half-day workshop:

• How to use the Clean Sheet Thinking™ pre-planning template to get a clearer picture of why you are giving the presentation and specifically what you hope to achieve;
• How to identify and polish your key message so that it resonates with your audience;
• How to identify, limit and organize your core content so that your audience can actively absorb it;
• How to bring your presentation content to life from opening comments to a powerful closing using the Full Nelson™ presentation tool.

Workshop #1 introduces foundational tools and techniques that all high engagement presenters must master. Ideal for subject matter experts who give presentations occasionally to frequently.

To get maximum value from this workshop, participants are encouraged to bring a a real, upcoming presentation assignment with them to work on during the workshop. Participants will leave this workshop with completed high level game plan and basic structure and outline of their upcoming presentation and practical tools that they can use in the future.

Workshop #1 can accommodate up to 25 people per session.

Note: there is no presentation delivery practice or slide building during workshop #1.

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Workshop #2

The Power of Personal Narrative: Story Telling for Greater Presentation Impact

“Never make a point without telling a story and never tell a story without making a point.” Stories remain one of the most powerful forms of communication and are a secret weapon for high engagement presentations. Brain research shows that adult brains fatigue every ten minutes or so. Story telling is an effective presentation technique to re-engage your audience and hold their attention to the end. This half-day workshop is designed to help participants learn what stories that can tell and how to shape them into effective teaching and illustration tools.

Below are some of the key benefits and take-aways from this half-day workshop:

• What is a high engagement presentation and how does it differ from “ordinary” presentations;
• How and why you should tell more stories during your presentations to elicit a greater response from your audience;
• What kind of stories you can tell during presentations and what stories you should not use;
• How to shape your stories and master the art of the short story using the Incident-Point-Benefit story-telling template;
• How to use stories to open and close your presentations to create a strong first and lasting impression;
• How to deliver your story with impact by incorporating vocal intonation, pausing and appropriate movement.

Workshop #2 introduces specific story telling tools and techniques that will elevate the effectiveness of good communicators. Ideal for more confident presenters who give presentations occasionally to frequently.

Participants will leave this workshop with a least 2 personal stories developed and honed that they can use in future presentations. Participants will practice telling their stories as part of this workshop.

Workshop #2 can accommodate up to 25 people per session.

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Workshop #3

Improve Your Presentation Visuals: PowerPoint Do’s and Don’ts

Do you suffer from too much PowerPoint clutter? Are your slides overcrowded, complicated and confusing to your audience? Do you have too many slides for the time allotted? These are some of the common pitfalls that presenters face when using Microsoft PowerPoint and other presentation software systems. In this half-day workshop you will be inspired to reduce the number of PPT slides you show and discover creative alternatives to provide the necessary visual support and engagement for your audience’s benefit.

Below are some of the key benefits and take-aways from this half-day workshop:

• How to achieve greater simplicity with your visuals to better serve your audience;
• How to embrace the “less is more” philosophy when it comes to the number of slides and charts;
• The good – bad and the ugly: How to improve the “look” of your PowerPoint slides;
• Why you must have a well-rehearsed back-up plan in case your technology fails you;
• When to go “dark” and not show any slides at all, and instead use a flip chart, physical prop or story to illustrate your key point;
• How to replace your bullet points and lengthy headlines with more striking images and compelling headlines;
• Where to get great images for low prices and how to embed video into your presentations;
• How to work with crowded, over-branded corporate templates;
• Striking the balance between consistency and creativity with your presentation visuals;

Workshop #3 introduces basic design principles and requires a working knowledge of PowerPoint and other software tools to manipulate images, videos and presentations. Ideal for subject matter experts who are computer savvy and are motivated to give more engaging presentations.

Participants will be asked to bring a laptop computer to the workshop. Wireless internet access is also required. Recommended firewall access to YouTube and other video-based web sites.

Note: there is an additional material fee per participant for this workshop to supply reference books and materials.

Workshop #3 can accommodate up to 10 people per session. This more intimate class size will allow for more 1:1 feedback, hands on application of new concepts and greater class interaction.

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Workshop #4

Masterful Delivery: Vocal Power and Body Language Intelligence for Presenters

When it comes to presenting, your audience will put more weight on how you use your voice and body movements and how confident and comfortable you appear, than the actual words that come out of your mouth. Research studies suggest that over 55% of what’s being communicated in face to face situations such as presentations, is visual, and 38% is verbal (the rest is influenced by specific words you choose). Therefore, to be an effective presenter, you must not only strive to be articulate and well organized, but also that you are aware of and in control of your body language and voice. Effective delivery can make or break your presentation success.

Below are some of the key benefits and take-aways from this half-day workshop:

• How the 7%-38%-55% Rule impacts your communication when you are presenting live in front of people;
• What you are signaling with your body language during your presentation that you may not be aware of;
• Common body language mishaps and how to correct for them in your presentations;
• Why standing behind a podium may not be in your best interest and how to find the courage to move beyond the lectern;
• Why you should never back up when giving your key message and why pointing a finger could dampen your presentation results;
• How your posture and breathing makes a significant difference in your presentation skill, confidence and results;
• How to avoid the pattern of “upspeak” which puts doubt in your audience’s mind;
• How to use your “vocal dashboard” to become a more interesting and credible presenter to listen to;
• Why silence is golden and how to use strategic pauses in your vocal delivery for greater impact.

Workshop #4 introduces some of the advanced delivery techniques for presentation and communication mastery.

Participants will be asked to bring with them a script of a presentation opening, closing and key message that they would like to use in a future presentation. During the workshop, participants will rehearse and practice delivery of these short segments and messages. With the focus on live presentation delivery, no computers or PowerPoint presentations will be included in this workshop.

Workshop #4 can accommodate up to 10 people per session. This more intimate class size will allow for practice time and coaching feedback for each participant. Video taping and 1:1 post-workshop executive coaching review and consultation is available for an additional fee.

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For more information about our half-day workshop presentation training modules or to discuss your specific training needs, please contact Kathy McAfee at (860) 408-0033.