We are pleased to confirm the date of our first public workshop!

Many of our clients have been asking for this workshop for a long time.

Details:

Date: Saturday, 18 September 2010
Time: 10:00am to 5:00pm
Venue: TBC - HK Island
Cost: HK$1,888

Register for two: 10% off
Register for three: 20% off

Register online

For one $1,888.00 For two $1,700.00 For three $1,530.00

Looking for a new job or a promotion? Are your speaking skills holding you back?

One short speech to the right group of potential clients, seniors or colleagues has the power to double or triple your income and open doors of opportunity that are closed to 95% of people.

Great speakers are seen as leaders in business. Public speaking is the single most important skill you can possess as a leader.

This workshop is for you if:

you’ve attended interviews and not been offered the job

you are stuck in your career and need a leg up

you feel shy/scared/stupid in social situations with people you don’t know
you know that excellent speaking skills are necessary for the success you want.

Your workshop leaders: Brian Hodgson/Ruth Benny

Brian and Ruth walk the talk.

Chances are that any presentation skills classes you’ve taken before were not very effective. The reason is simple. Most classes are taught by teachers, not speakers. Both Brian and Ruth are very much in-demand speakers and regularly speak at professional events.

They are champion Toastmasters. Collectively, they have won more than 30 contests in Hong Kong and Asia.

Ruth and Brian have more than 30 years' of corporate training experience between them.

Improve your speaking skills in just one day and have fun doing it!

A presentation is one of the most important business tools. Whether you are persuading colleagues, selling to a client, energizing a team or showing an idea to senior management, the power of your presentation makes the difference between success and failure.

With so much riding on your presentation ability, you will not want to miss this opportunity to sharpen it to perfection.

You will learn to:

defeat your natural public speaking fears

overcome negative or distracting mannerisms

speak of the solutions to your audience’s problems

create a sincere rapport with your audience

create a great first impression

turn a “speech” into a “conversation”

use your eyes, gestures and voice for maximum effect

develop, organize and design a presentation for any occasion

discover your own intuitive presentation style

move past “presentation skills” to natural ease

involve the audience

use personal stories that will connect with your audience immediately

avoid the five critical mistakes that trap most public speakers

answer questions spontaneously and impressively

You will discover that its considerably easier to look and sound great than the way you're doing it now. Believe it or not, you will actually look forward to your next presentation!

interactive approach • supportive environment • plenty of practice • outstanding results

"Forget all the conventional 'rules' but one. There is one golden rule: Stick to topics you deeply care about and do not keep your passion buttoned inside your vest. An audiences' biggest turn on is the speakers' obvious enthusiasm. If you are lukewarm about the issue, forget it!"
Tom Peters

We all know how passion is the basis of public speaking. But, it's an abstract concept.

The best concrete illustration of passion I have seen recently is Benjamin Zander. Watch his passion and learn:

Came across a couple of interesting videos today.

Interesting from my perspective for three reasons:

- such a diverse group with members from so many different countries
- clearly, the meetings differ from Asian meetings, yet are so similar too
- whilst the formats of the meetings vary, the benefits remain constant.

Enjoy:

I had the honour of judging a public speaking contest at the weekend (not Toastmasters).

The speakers were professional adults; the standard variable. Without a doubt, the stand-out speakers were the storytellers. Yet, many of them made a basic error. This error, in my opinion, reveals the speaker to be inexperienced, unconfident and unaware of the audience's needs.

When I arrive at a venue to deliver a talk, I usually find myself rearranging the furniture. I am often met with objections and/or surprise. Yet, the way most rooms are set up are NOT conducive to delivering a good presentation. No matter how good a presenter you are, if the audience can hardly hear you or see you, it's going to be a challenge to connect.

Most rooms are set up all wrong.

Nuff said!

I'd arrived early to hear the previous speaker. I thought it was a good idea to get a feel for the audience, know what they'd heard and generally get 'in the mood'.

Big mistake!

Well, normally, it might not be a mistake. It's sensible advice that most professional speakers give out. It's just that the speaker before me was so BORING that he zapped all my energy. As I observed the audience chatting, playing with their phones or PCs, sleeping and staring into space, I started to get annoyed with them. I felt they were not being respectful to the speaker.