“Of the 150 pharmacists
in attendance at a recent continuing education program,
90% gave me a rating of ‘excellent’ –
thanks to your class!”
James T. DeVita, R.Ph., President
Massachusetts Board of Pharmacy (Jim's
story )
more
participant stories |
Develop self-confidence and leadership communication skills
in our comprehensive 12 week public speaking trainings for
the business professional
Speaking with Confidence for Results
is a highly effective approach to acquiring the important
leadership skills of speaking with confidence, credibility
and authenticity in any business setting. This public speaking
course is designed specifically to meet the needs of busy
business professionals. With a maximum of eight people in
each course, our emphasis is to help you develop practical
solutions to complex, work-related communications and interactions.
This comprehensive leadership skills training program can
help you:
- Develop essential leadership speaking
skills
- Improve presentation skills
- Overcome your fear of public speaking
- Improve self-confidence when speaking
to a group
Although we focus on public speaking, this course is about
much more. This course will also help you:
- Gain self-confidence in any situation
- Advance your career
- Become a better listener
- Enhance your self-esteem
| “Perhaps most importantly
to me, this change feels permanent, like I've stepped
over some kind of line – a threshold and I'll
never revert back to the way I used to be.”
David Wolf: Director, A financial
firm in Boston (David's
story )
more
participant stories |
To learn more about why public speaking is an essential leadership
skill and our unusual approach to developing this competency,
go to:
Public
speaking is an essential leadership function
Some additional features of this unique approach to gaining
confidence as a leader include:
- After each session, you will take home a videotape of
your presentations to review privately, thus enhancing your
growth beyond the group experience.
- As part of your tuition and as a way to supplement your
learning, you are invited to attend concurrent ongoing SpeakingPresencesm
sessions held regularly on Wednesday evenings.
- You will receive an Elemental
Speakingsm Planner
which will be covered in depth in this course.
“It’s been
more than a year since I participated in your public
speaking program and I’m amazed that not only
have my new speaking skills not diminished, but they’ve
actually improved.”
David Gumpert, Writer and
entrepreneur, (David's
Story) |
Upcoming Schedule
When: (Both sessions will skip the week
of July 14)
- New morning
Starting Date - Thursday,
May 22, 2008: 12 week morning series begins (9:00am
to 12:00)
- New Evening
Starting Date - Tuesday,
June 3, 2008: 12 week evening series begins (6:00
- 9:00 pm)
Location: 185 Alewife Brook Parkway, Suite
407. Click
here for directions.
Price: $2,195 (Early bird price of $1,995
if paid 14 days in advance of the start date for the course.)
Payment: We accept checks or major credit
cards.
Space is limited to 8 people so register early. Please contact
us for more information about this program or
call Anne at 617-232-3644.
register
If you like the comprehensive nature of this program but
would like more flexibility check out our ongoing
classes and workshops.
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What
people are saying about this program
Here are some of the stories of participants in our Speaking
with Confidence for Results program:
James
T. DeVita, R.Ph.,
President Massachusetts Board of Pharmacy
I cannot thank you enough
for the confidence I have gained from the entire experience
of your seminar. The program exercises allowed me
to discover that before I started your program I was
focusing on the stress related aspects of speaking
that were beyond my control. I also set unreasonable
performance expectations for myself and the negative
energy generated by these aspects would consume my
concentration.
The lessons from your seminar
have improved my creativity, command and poise. I
learned that memorized perfection is not a requirement
of a successful presentation. Rather, I now enjoy
a sense of accomplishment from spontaneity and connection
with the audience.
I eagerly anticipate the next
opportunity to speak and as I continue to apply the
skills learned at your seminar last year, my reviews
have been improving.
I want to share an evaluation
of my presentation at a recent continuing education
program. When I read the evaluations, I thought of
you. Of the 150 pharmacists in attendance, 90% gave
me a rating of 5 on a scale of one (poor) to five
(excellent). Here are a few examples of their comments:
Excellent, very involving presentation.
Clear, interesting presentation by a knowledgeable
speaker.
Excellent, excellent speaker.
Best of the day.
Get him next year!
He was excellent.
He is a great speaker.
Great job!
Nice presentation.
Excellent, kept my attention!
Very informational, great presentation!
Great speaker!
Interesting subject matter and fantastic speaker.
Best law program I have attended!!!
Very good speaker with useful information.
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Min Wu
Scientist
I want to share with you a
recent public speaking experience I had which shows
how valuable what you taught me has been. I was asked
to present our technology in a scientific meeting last
week with a one-week notice.
What I found most helpful
for me is the grounding exercises. I have been occasionally
practicing feeling the ground and "growing"
roots since the class. While I was practicing the talk
last week, all the sudden, I found I felt grounded and
was able to speak slowly and loudly without much effort.
I was very excited about the finding and couldn't believe
it!
In the hours before my talk
sitting in the audience, I started to feel very anxious
because I really did not have sufficient practice -
I only ran it once from the beginning to the end in
the morning. What I did was try to ground myself by
sitting on the edge of the chair as you showed me. That
calmed me down. By the time I was on the podium, I was
well grounded and the presentation went well.
I am sure many more people
like me will benefit from your class!
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David
Wolf
Director, A financial firm in Boston
I've had a very deep, life-long fear of public speaking
dating back to when I was a very young child. It is, perhaps,
the biggest fear I've had to live with. For several days
before any presentation, I would be continually overcome
with waves of physical anxiety that resulted in my feeling
a high degree of stress, an inability to sleep, and a
plague of constant negative thoughts. On some level it
even seemed that I unconsciously conspired to do a bad
job. While presenting I just wanted to get it over with
as fast as possible, doing the bare minimum. While
I was participating in the Speaking with Confidence
for Results series I had the opportunity at work to
present to a group of people five or ten times larger
than any I had presented to before. In the days, hours
and minutes before the presentation I kept waiting for
my typical reaction to kick in. But it never happened.
Instead I had the sense that I was very prepared for
and capable of making this presentation. I felt very
much at ease and with a sense of this is where I'm supposed
to be. I was in control and had an inner calmness that
I have never felt before. It was actually enjoyable.
There’s really not one particular
thing that stands out in my Speaking Circle experience
that contributed most to this new attitude toward public
speaking. Instead, all the exercises and discussions
that were part of this program combined together to
create a significant personal transformation. It is
such a rare opportunity to take time out from our busy
lives to work on an inner skill with others who are
dealing with similar issues. The discussions with others
and watching their progress made me realize that I was
not alone in my fears and that growth and change could
happen. Through the exercises I learned how to ground
myself and how to breathe. I learned about the power
of silence and about the potential that exists when
it seems like I have nothing to say. I really valued
the opportunity to practice over and over again, and
found that by watching the video and hearing the feedback,
I realized that I'm really not as awkward as I thought
I was.
Perhaps most importantly
to me, this change feels permanent, like I've stepped
over some kind of line — a threshold — and
I'll never revert back to the way I used to be. I no
longer feel like I'm just getting by. Instead I feel
like I'm pretty good at public speaking and I can now
work on getting better. I now have faith in myself and
my abilities. The things I perceived as negative I now
see as relatively small and fixable. It feels like I
have overcome a large personal stumbling block and that
I've moved to a different plane. It's incredible!
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Alex
Pelletier
Learning Solution Consultant, A Fortune Ten Company
I’m a telecommuter, which
means that all of my business interactions and conferences
are over the phone or on the computer. In addition, I
am not just an individual contributor but part of a large
team where coordination and communication among team members
are critical to project success. Because of the nature
of telecommunication, we have the barriers of no face-to-face
interactions. I’ve never actually met some team
members including some of the people I report to.
Before I participated in the Speaking
with Confidence for Results program, I would be very
nervous and anxious during a teleconference because
I couldn’t tell what effect my words were having
on other team members. I couldn’t see the typical
visual cues, such as someone grimacing or nodding their
head. I would get especially anxious when I was presenting
difficult news or an unwelcome project status report.
I knew that the tone of my voice would convey my nervousness.
I would speak faster and my communications would not
be very effective. People were listening not just to
what I was saying but were also hearing my anxiety.
This would really hinder my ability to communicate over
the phone. Changing this was really critical to my business
success.
In the Speaking with Confidence
for Results program, I learned that it’s not always
the words that you are saying; it’s also how you
are saying them. Even though all our interactions in
class were face-to-face, I learned how important and
effective it was to be present, to change my relationship
to time by slowing it down, and to tune in to my audience
even when the only form of communication is through
telecommuting channels. This program has significantly
enhanced the depth of my interactions and has helped
me to better understand the dynamics between team members.
I learned to be present and calm with what I’m
saying regardless of the distractions. This program
has improved my interaction with the team and reduced
my stress on the job. And, it’s helped me not
just in business but in my personal life too!
The nature of what we learned
in this class is not something that’s offered
in a traditional learning environment. It was a treat
to have the experience of this untraditional learning
method and realize how fulfilling and applicable it
really was.
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Elizabeth
Liebow
Sr. Director of Business Development, Dana Farber Cancer
Institute
I got so much out of this
Speaking Circle program and even now, several years
later, the changes are still in place.
Before I participated in Speaking Circles, I felt a
tremendous amount of anxiety about all forms of public
speaking. My head was filled with noise - thinking about
what I was going to say, how people would respond to
me, what kind of questions they would ask, how I should
respond with the "right" answer, etc. I was
trying too hard at the wrong things, over-compensating
for my nervousness. Before, I had a set of challenges
-- now I have a set of tools that really work!
I think that a lot of public speaking programs focus
on tricks or techniques that would make people effective.
Carla assumes that people know what they have to talk
about. She allows them to eliminate the barriers so
that they can do the best of what they are already capable
of doing. What they end up getting is not a checklist
of 10 things that they have to be really nervous about
remembering, but rather, it's easy access to what's
already there.
In the Speaking with Confidence for Results program
it was great to be able to talk about what it can be
like with other people who had similar business experiences.
From our group discussions, the practice I had presenting
to the group, the feedback I received and the videotapes
of my turns, I learned about how important essence,
authenticity, and connection can be, and how powerful
they are as tools in a high-pressured business setting.
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John
Pryor
Group Director, Learning and Development Division, A Boston
Financial Services Firm
Having
completed the Speaking with Confidence for Results program
eight months ago, I have been very pleased with how much
it has impacted me on many different levels. When I speak
to a group now, I might still be nervous but I know just
how to get centered. My presence is larger, too. Rather
than tightening up from the fear, I now feel expansive
with the sense that “Yes, this is where I’m
supposed to be.” In my teaching, I have learned
that using silence effectively is a very powerful tool
that creates focus. It’s not an attention grabber
– it’s an attention enhancer. And finally,
Speaking Circles taught me not only how to be a much more
relaxed and confident speaker, but also how to engage
different levels of listening in one-on-one meetings.
Clearly, this program
has stayed with me and has had long lasting and wide-ranging
benefits.
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CLIENT STORIES AND testimonials |
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