Public speaking and presentation skills are critical to the high tech executive. Even the most well-written material will be ineffective if not presented in an entertaining and engaging manner. Your convincing pitch will not reach the ears of your potential clients if you mumble unenthusiastically. Your employees will daydream through your discussion of the company’s goals if you do not maintain eye contact. No matter how interested we are in our own speech, unless we engage the same amount of interest from the audience our speech has failed. Public speaking skills do not always come naturally. Successful speakers are not created overnight, nor are they merely “talented.” Like any skilled or specialized professional, they learn through training and practice. If you have ever heard your voice on an answering machine, you have noticed how different we sound to others. In addition, each of us has nervous habits that are obvious to a trained professional but initially undetectable to ourselves. - Do we punctuate every sentence with “um, ah” or “you know?”
- Does our voice sound monotone and devoid of emotion?
Contact Allison for a series of sessions that will have a direct positive impact on your presentations and maximize your speaking potential. Email her today at allison@allisonshapira.com or visit her website at: www.allisonshapira.com Private Coaching There are basic steps you can take to develop public speaking and presentation skills, and there are specific actions that can make you an outstanding speaker. Allison will teach you these steps and help you implement them to the point that they will become natural. Practicing with a coach is an invaluable experience, as you receive instantaneous feedback along with techniques that will reduce your nervousness and make you confident speaking to any audience. As an experienced public speaking consultant, Allison works one-on-one with clients who give speeches or presentations, from a 30-second toast to a 30-minute lecture with PowerPoint. As a speechwriter, she assists clients with the content of their speech, ensuring that the text is relevant, to the point and appropriately written in the language of their target audience. She is also available to write speeches. Group Workshops Sometimes we improve our public speaking skills by watching others. Workshops are a useful way to learn not only from Allison's experience but from everyone else involved. Allison's in-depth workshops include a presentation on public speaking followed by intensive personalized work with each person in attendance, one at a time, to ensure that all participants can listen. As each person gives a brief prepared speech, Allison's feedback and suggested techniques are relevant to everyone. Workshops are an outstanding way to train your employees in basic public speaking skills and ensure that your company’s messages are being effectively portrayed to your potential clients. Contact Allison to discuss private coaching sessions or group workshops at allison@allisonshapira.com or visit her website at: www.allisonshapira.com Obtain Additional Information |
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| Allison Shapira
 Allison is a seasoned public speaker and performer. She is an active member and past president of Boston Toastmasters, a local chapter of the worldwide public speaking and leadership organization "Toastmasters International." She belongs to several professional associations, including the Association of Professional Communication Consultants (APCC) and the Association for Business Communication (ABC). Her clients include executives in the fields of finance, medicine and the arts. Allison lectures extensively on various Israel-related subjects, from "Current Events" to "Public Speaking and Israel." She writes and distributes printed and electronic publications, serves as webmaster, and markets all Consulate events, speakers and materials. She writes speeches, editorials and commentaries for the Consulate's diplomats. These writings are often published in The Boston Globe, The Boston Herald, and The Jewish Advocate.
allison@allisonshapira.com |
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| BOOKS, WEB SITES, AND ORGANIZATIONS BOOKS
Effective Presentation Skills: A Practical Guide for Better Speaking
Steve Mandel
Menlo Park, California: Crisp Publications, 2000
94pp ISBN: 1560525266
This basic overview of presentations offers advice on topics including skill assessment, presentation planning, visual aids, teleconferencing and videoconferencing, the presentation environment, and dealing with hostile questions. It contains an especially useful section on dealing with anxiety and projecting confidence.
Knockout Presentations: How to Deliver Your Message with Power, Punch, and Pizzazz
Diane Diresta
Madison, Wisconsin: Chandler House, 1998
300pp ISBN: 1886284253
This experienced coach presents a clear and precise method of approaching public speaking. Her
suggestions are easy to implement, and many readers have found this book an invaluable
reference tool.
Point, Click and Wow!: A Quick Guide to Brilliant Laptop Presentations 2nd ed.
Claudyne Wilder, Jennifer Rotondo
San Francisco, California: Jossey-Bass, 2002
240pp ISBN: 0787956694
Aimed at business people of all levels, this book offers a practical guide to using technology in
effective presentations. The authors explore how to balance on-screen activity and human
interaction, how to deal with software and hardware issues, and how, when, and where to
practice. The book includes checklists and illustrations.
Say It with Presentations: How to Design and Deliver Successful Business Presentations
Gene Zelazny
New York: McGraw-Hill, 1999
153pp ISBN: 0071354077
Intended as a simple overview of presentations, this book is targeted mainly at beginners but
could also offer some tips to experienced presenters. The topics it covers include defining the
purpose of the presentation, keeping the audience in mind, designing charts, and using humor. Its
main focus is on how to deliver presentations with confidence and conviction.
Speaking for Impact: Connecting with Every Audience
Shirley E. Nice, William D. Thompson (editor)
Boston, Massachusetts: Allyn and Bacon, 1998
167pp (Essence of Public Speaking Series)
ISBN: 0205270255
Whether speaking to a small or a large group, chairing a sales meeting or giving a formal
presentation, this book offers tips on how to get your message across effectively. The text
suggests how you can identify the similarities and differences within audiences so you can
’connect’ with everyone in an audience made up of a diverse range of people.
WEB SITES
Advanced Public Speaking Institute
www.public-speaking.org
This site offers free advice and articles on all aspects of public speaking, including performance
and storytelling techniques, how to develop a topic, the use of props and handouts, humor, tricks,
gimmicks, and stage fright.
Art of Speaking in Public
www.artofspeaking.com
This site offers a collection of over 60 rapid read tips for effective public speaking and effective
performance in classes, presentations, conferences, seminars, events, and discussions.
PowerPointers
www.powerpointers.com
This site has many articles on making and creating effective presentations. Areas of interest
include communicating effectively, building and planning a presentation, and communicating in
your specialty.
Presentations.com
www.presentations.com
The online counterpart to Presentations magazine, the site offers news, articles, information on
upcoming conferences and events, technological information, and resources.
Virtual Presentation Assistant – University of Kansas
http://www.ku.edu/cwis/units/coms2/vpa/vpa.htm
Created by the Communication Studies Department at the University of Kansas, this Web site
uses material by Diana Carlin to give an outline of what a good presentation should incorporate
and what the speaker should think about when presenting. Organizations Toastmasters International
23182 Arroyo Vista, Rancho Santa Margarita, California, 92688
T: +1 949 858 8255
F: +1 949 858 1207
E: tmembers@toastmasters.org
www.toastmasters.org
A nonprofit, member-based organization, Toastmasters International was established in 1924 with
the aim of helping people to speak more effectively in public. It provides members with manuals
on effective speaking and other resources, as well as a subscription to its monthly magazine, The
Toastmaster. All clubs offer members the opportunity to develop presentation and leadership
skills through chairing meetings, presenting impromptu and prepared speeches, and offering
constructive evaluation. Advanced Public Speaking Institute
Box 2630, Landover Hills, Maryland, 20784
T: +1 301 577 3166
F: +1 301 552 0225
E: cmckinney@public-speaking.org
www.public-speaking.org
This organization offers free advice and information on all aspects of public speaking and making
presentations.
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