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Private Coaching Stories
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When
she scheduled her first private coaching session with Carla, Tracey Vincent,
an electrical engineer, was concerned about one thing in particular: she
didn't want to bore her audiences.
"With technical talks, you have to know your audience and pitch
the presentation at the correct level," Tracey says. "I have
seen many presentations that are very detailed, and within two to three
minutes the audience has drifted off. I knew it would affect my confidence
a great deal to look out into the audience and see rows of bored expressions!"
A doctoral candidate and part-time instructor at Worcester Polytechnic
Institute at the time, Tracey had been addressing groups of up to 100
people at professional conferences—giving presentations, chairing
sessions, and introducing speakers. In their private sessions, Carla worked
with Tracey on developing the openings to her presentations so they would
draw in the audience right away. Before Tracey defended her doctoral dissertation,
Carla observed the first ten minutes of her talk and gave her pointers
on posture and eye contact.
"While the group sessions help you become more relaxed in general about public speaking and help you think on your feet, the one-on-one coaching session is tailored to what you want to focus on," Tracey says.
David
Gumpert, a multi-published author, consultant, and columnist for BusinessWeek.com,
scheduled coaching sessions with Carla before three very important, and
very different, public speaking engagements: a keynote address on entrepreneurship
at a major university in Honduras; a series of talks on his book, The
Raw Milk Revolution; and a toast at his daughter's wedding.
In each situation, Carla helped him fine-tune the presentation according to its context. For the talk in Honduras, she suggested he skip a long list of thank-yous and get right to the meat of his topic. For the book talk, he spent two hours with Carla going through an initial version of a PowerPoint presentation he had prepared, which Carla helped him revise so it was less wordy and more focused.
"I've since given variations of the talk about ten times, and it's been a big hit so far," David says. As for his wedding toast: "Carla helped me focus on the key feelings and messages I wanted to get across. In the process, she helped me deal with the nervousness I was feeling about this highly personal life event. My toast was very well received, much more effective and memorable than if I hadn't worked it through with Carla."
"The
tailoring that goes on in a one-on-one session is so far beyond what is
possible in a group setting," says Rich Polt, owner of the public-relations
company Louder Than Words. "You can really hone in on the issues
you're dealing with."
For Rich, one of those issues was a fear of "drifting into uncertainty" during a talk and losing his ability to tap into his wealth of knowledge and expertise. "I would get so caught up with second-guessing myself that I was never able to plan anything," he says. "Working with Carla was an amazing opportunity to tackle that problem head-on."
Over several private sessions, Carla helped Rich shape a three-hour presentation for clients that included breaking the audience into groups and doing creative exercises. "I was struggling with coming up with activities to engage my audience, and she really drilled down and understood the content, and helped me develop some useful, engaging exercises," he says.
John
Sullivan, Managing Partner of SalesVision, a consulting firm focused on
sales optimization, has worked extensively with Carla in both private
sessions and workshops (including working on a wedding toast for his
daughter). He sums up the benefits of one-on-one consultations like this:
"When you are in Carla's presence, you are the most important person in her world. She is working with the 'whole you,' not just the speaker in you. Any apprehension or anxiety that you have when you arrive for your private session is removed during your work with Carla, replaced by a deep sense of confidence and competence."
For Tracey, private coaching meant a chance to work on a specific sticking
point and fine-tune one of the most important presentations she would
ever make: her dissertation. For David it meant fine-tuning three very
different talks. For Rich, it was a chance to gain confidence as well
as practical tools. And for John, it was a place to find the confidence
to just be himself when he presents. Coaching can meet different needs
for each person, but no matter what your needs, it's an opportunity to
truly hone your skills and effectiveness as a speaker and leader.
Click here for more information about private coaching with Carla or call (802-436-1144) or email to explore how she can support you in becoming the speaker you long to be.
You can follow Tracey's professional progress by connecting with her through LinkedIn http://www.linkedin.com/in/traceyvincent.
To learn more about David Gumpert and his books and blogs, go to http://www.davidgumpert.com.
Follow Rich at his blog, Communicate Good, or on Twitter.
To learn more about John and his work in sales, go to http://www.salesvisionco.com.
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We are centrally located in the Upper Valley region of Vermont and New Hampshire close to the intersection of Interstates 89 and 91. As such we are in in the heart of New England and close to Boston and all of Massachusetts, Vermont, Connecticut, New York and Maine.
Travel time from:
Albany, NY — 2.75 hours
Boston, MA — 2.25 hours
Brattleboro, VT— 1.25 hours
Burlington, VT — 1.5 hours
Concord, NH — 1 hour
Hartford, CT — 2.5 hours
Portland, ME — 3 hours
Portsmouth, NH — 2 hours
