Presentation Skills & Executive Presence Coaching

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The Business Writing Institute division of Nancy Flynn Public Relations, Inc. offers one-on-one professional coaching to help executives and employees improve their communications skills (written and verbal) and enhance their executive presence. Coaching covers four topics:

1. Business Writing Skills
2. Grammar for Business Professionals
3. Presentation Skills: Speaking Effectively to Small & Large Groups
4. Executive Presence: Enhancing Professionalism & Leadership Skills

Coaching Goals

1. Gain an awareness and understanding of the important role effective writing and polished speaking play in the development and careers of leaders.
2. Communicate professionalism in every written document and presentation.
3. Develop the skills necessary to communicate executive presence through the written and spoken word.
4. Effectively engage and clearly communicate with internal and external audiences via email, traditional documents, social media, and other forms of electronic and traditional business writing.
5. Write for results, persuading even the most difficult readers to take the desired action.
6. Write with purpose, passion, poise, and professionalism.
7. Create strategic, stylish business documents that really work for the organization and high-potential leaders.
8. Write with precision and self-confidence, using appropriate language, correct mechanics, and effective style.
9. Write in a clear, compelling, and conversational tone.
10. Write thoughtfully and logically, incorporating effective sentence, paragraph, and document structure.
11. Apply the ABCs of effective business writing (accuracy, brevity, and clarity) to internal and external documents.
12. Inject sincerity, openness, and warmth into written documents: an important skill for leaders who must deliver bad news and respond to challenging questions.
13. Master tricks for starting quickly and capturing reader attention from the first sentence to the last word.
14. Overcome fears, apprehensions, and insecurities about business writing.
15. Create professional, readable, persuasive documents, resulting in more streamlined & speedy internal and external communications.
16. Polish grammar, punctuation, style & mechanical skills.
17. Help position participants for continued success and promotion.
18. Become a credible, professional spokesperson for the organization.
19. Increase comfort level as a speaker.
20. Improve effectiveness when making presentations to internal leaders, peers, external audiences, and other groups.
21. Improve delivery style, pace, and tone. Ensure that the participant is using appropriate language, speaking clearly and slowly, and communicating effectively.
22. Learn to identify, develop, and deliver key messages.
23. Develop and deliver effective, professional, and persuasive PowerPoint presentations.
24. Understand and respond appropriately to audience needs.
25. Anticipate and respond to challenging questions or opposition to presentations.
26. Recognize and overcome any distracting habits or "quirks" when speaking.

What Participants Will Learn

Communicating Professional/Executive Presence Through the Written & Spoken Word

Learn how to communicate professionalism in business documents and presentations. Learn to create strategic, stylish business documents and presentations that really work for the organization and potential leaders. Effectively engage and clearly communicate with internal and external audiences via email, traditional documents, social media, and other forms of electronic and "good-old-fashioned" business writing. Effectively engage and clearly communicate with internal and external audiences in presentations to large and small groups.

Improving Business Writing Skills

Learn the skills necessary to make immediate and continued improvement in business writing. Discuss writing conventions including pre-writing, writing, and post-writing strategies. Conduct a grammar refresher.

Applying Three Secrets of Effective Business Writing & Presentations

Learn the three secrets of effective business writing & presentations: pre-writing, writing, and post-writing. Gain an understanding of the critical role planning plays in the pre-writing stage. Learn how to focus on communication goals, think strategically about audience needs, and write/present material that really works.

Capturing Reader & Audience Attention

Gain an awareness and understanding of the important role effective writing and polished speaking play in the development and careers of leaders. Review and discuss writing samples that exemplify positives and negatives. Discuss audience needs and the writer's "unwritten contract" with the reader. Review the inverted pyramid approach to writing. Discuss effective leads, the active voice, and other tools and techniques designed to capture and hold the attention of readers and live audiences.

Writing & Speaking for Results

Learn to recognize, understand, and meet the communication needs of audiences. Learn how to write for results, motivating target audiences to read and appropriately respond to written documents. Learn how to speak for results, ensuring that your message is clear, convincing, and compelling.

Using Language Effectively

Learn to maximize readability and enhance communication effectiveness by writing and speaking in plain English; choosing "the right" words to communicate with diverse audiences, including those for whom English may be a second language; keeping sentences simple; focusing on readers' needs; using gender-neutral language and otherwise maintaining sensitivity to all readers and cultures.

Writing Effective Email and Social Media Content

Learn how to write effective email messages and other forms of electronic content. Gain an understanding of online risks and best practices. Review content, usage, and compliance. Discuss the importance of netiquette, or electronic etiquette. Discuss and learn from real-life email, blog, and social media disaster stories. Discuss email/online risks including litigation, regulatory violations, business record mismanagement, employee terminations, security breaches, lost productivity, and ruined reputations. Discuss the fact that the easiest way to control email and electronic risk is to control written content. Review tricks and techniques to ensure that email, blog posts, and social media content is read and acted upon, not ignored and deleted. Review organizational email and social media policies.

Grammar, Mechanics, Word Choice & Tone

Use the active voice & power words to help keep presentations brief, powerful, persuasive. Use business-appropriate language & tone. Remain gender-neutral, culturally attuned, and civil. Apply the ABCs of effective business communication (accuracy, brevity, and clarity) to internal and external presentations. Benefit from a punctuation refresher.

Editing & Proofreading

Discuss the participant's editorial responsibility: the need to edit others' email and other writing to help ensure that all written materials reflect positively upon the organization.

Presentation DOs & DON'Ts

Learn how to communicate individual and departmental expertise. Recognize and overcome challenges. Rely less on written notes and PowerPoint slides. The goal: know the presentation thoroughly, so slides and notes are strictly used as "place holders."

Message Development & Delivery

Effectively engage and clearly communicate with internal and external audiences via PowerPoint and other presentations. Define and deliver messages for results, persuading even the most resistant audiences to take the desired action. Speak with purpose, passion, poise, and professionalism. Create strategic, stylish business presentations that really work for the organization. Reassure audiences that you understand the problem, have the solution, and will get the job done. Speak with precision and self-confidence, using appropriate language, correct mechanics, and effective style. Speak in a clear, compelling, and conversational tone. Speak thoughtfully and logically, incorporating effective sentence and paragraph structure. Inject sincerity, openness, and warmth into verbal presentations. Master tricks for starting presentations quickly and capturing audience attention from the first to the last word. Overcome fears, apprehensions, and insecurities about public speaking and one-on-one interactions.

Videotaping & Critique

Coach Nancy Flynn will videotape presentations and discuss strengths, challenges, and opportunities for improvement with the participant. Videotaping will help the participant develop into a more effective and confident speaker.

Training Materials

• Writing Effective E-Mail, 3rd Edition by Nancy Flynn
• Business Writing Rules: Grammar Rules, Capitalization Rules, Punctuation Rules by Nancy Flynn
• Customized Business Writing Skills Worksheets
• Exercises & Homework Sheets: Grammar & Punctuation, Writing & Editing
• Grammar Skills Recap & Tip Sheet
• Videotaped Presentations for Playback & Critique
• Presentation Skills Dos & Don'ts
• Exercises & Homework Sheets: Presentation Skills & Executive Presence
• Coaching Evaluation Form
• Other Books, Exercises & Materials as Deemed Necessary Over the Course of Training

Contact Nancy Flynn to discuss your Presentation Skills & Executive Presence Coaching needs, get a quote, and schedule your program.