How do I hook my audience? - September 2014

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I recently taught a corporate executive, who was up for a divisional presentation representing his marketing department. His native language was Indian, and he was unsure how to captivate an audience, within his own language barrier,  to deliver a clear, concise message.

We worked together for 2 hours, implementing tools to help encourage his message and delivery, and bridge it from his own experience rather than speaking “to” his audience. “What did it mean to you when you first came to this job”?”Did you ever want to express but were too afraid to know how?” These were 2 of the questions we worked through. Before we knew it Subhash shared of his own perceptions of travel on business, what he anticipated when he would land in Newark, and what he anticipated on the way to his business trip home. Before we knew it, magic started appearing, he was captivated in sharing  the details of his first landing in Newark and the differences when landing from his native land of India. He spoke of the excitement, the details, the textures, the details, and this became his canvas. You see, when one shares from their own experience, it IS a language understood by all because it is sincere, honest, relaxed and engaging.

Subhash expressed he had finally understood the language of “tech and marketing” as only words. It’s the nuances of each experience that brings value, and cohesion to a team, an audience, and that is what hooks and draws in for effective presenting.

I’m shy.. so how do I? - June 2014

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Being shy is something I like to say as a strong personality trait. Shyness, after all can feel just as “loud”, then one who is out spoken, or an extrovert. This can feel as if it’s an obstacle in the work place, especially within pitch presentations, and presenting leadership comfortably.Leveraging our own voices through technique is a necessary tool to turn up that volume button. But tapping into knowing how to engage through the universal language we all know best? The key to all: Humor.

I recently provided a seminar to a well known Gas Company, and had an executive present his memorized speech, he was to give at the annual fundraiser coming up in November. It was ok, it was safe, it was clean, it was memorized. But it wasn’t HIM. After just 2 hours, we had lifted his speech into HIS words, his point of view, his perception, still incorporating the valuable facts, statistics, and information. How did he (Gary) feel after? The smile said all, the interest to want to continue said even more the reaction said all.

And shy no more..

Back to work can be fun? (August 2013)

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We recently had a great workshop in Princeton, NJ where we turned the summer tan lines into happy laughing lines!

The beginning of a new quarter can have lists of challenges: deadlines, presentations, maintaining budgets, new hire orientations the list goes on. Finding a way to engage these tasks by enhancing leveraging tools through humor is a recipe for success! In Princeton NJ, we administered a week corporate seminar at The Sonesta Embassy Suites which was enormously successful!

Fun outside, doesn’t mean the sun can’t shine just as strong inside. Even if the lights can be fluorescent.