Stop Your Stinking Thinking: 7 Ways To Use Neuroscience To Sharpen Your Mind and Be a More Powerful Communicator and Leader

Have you ever watched your client on television and thought: “Oh, my! Look at how many chins he has, and what’s that terrible glare coming off his shirt and forehead? I never noticed in our meetings that he was that heavy. He also looks scared to death – and why does he keep licking his lips?” You tried to coach him on his message. In fact, you did all you could do to help him develop sound bites, and now you can hardly concentrate on the message with the way he looks, because he is doing so many distracting things.

This CD will teach you how to effectively coach your clients and colleagues for appearances on TV, both live and prerecorded. It will teach you when and how to offer praise and criticism without being offensive. And it covers how interviewees should dress, posture themselves and provide effective message delivery. Your purchase also includes a slew of extras – at no extra cost!

Learning Topics:

• The tricks of the trade to help people appear calm and confident on camera, even if they are not
• How to look natural — from make-up to body language and movements
• Tips and techniques to help prevent some of the unexpected distractions that can prohibit your true message from getting out to your audience
• How to motivate your clients and colleagues to improve their media performances
• How to tactfully and effectively learn to stress the need for “rehearsal”

TJ answers real-world questions on:

• Suggestions to get your boss to undergo some training
• How to convince your CEO to talk to the press
• Techniques to overcome annoying speech tics
• How to keep your answers concise and to the point
• How to provide constructive feedback in a jiffy
• How not to come off as though you’re dodging a question—even if you are
• What your executive should bring into a television or radio interview
• How to prepare an executive for the hard questions

Instructor:

TJ Walker, president of Media Training Worldwide, is one of the world’s leading authorities on media and presentation training. With more than 20 years of media training experience, TJ has trained thousands of CEOs, authors and experts, including Nobel Peace Prize winners, leading government officials in the United States, European prime ministers and African diplomats. He is producer and host of daily audio and video Speakcast broadcasts, covering media and presentation training tips and techniques. A leading corporate trainer, he has personally trained top executives at Unilever, Bank of America, Hess, Allstate Insurance, Charles Schwab, Akzo Nobel, US Trust, Dun and Bradstreet, The Hartford and EMC. He is also the official media trainer of the Miss Universe Organization.

TJ is the world’s most widely published and produced media trainer, with more than 50 books, training videos, CDs and software programs to his credit. He has also been a media columnist for Investor Relations Magazine. Additionally, Walker is known internationally for his many years as a political commentator for the Voice of America Radio Network. More than 65,000 readers subscribe to his weekly Media Training Tips Newsletter, including most of the Fortune 500 corporations. He is a frequent news commentator and has appeared often on MSNBC, Fox News Channel, Court TV and Bloomberg TV. He also has been a syndicated TV and talk show host, appearing on or hosting more than 2000 TV and radio shows. He has also hosted talk radio shows on seven different networks and has been featured in the New York Times, NBC News, ABC News, CBS radio and most major radio news outlets.

Walker was a merit scholar at Duke University, where he graduated magna cum laude. He has lectured or conducted trainings at Yale University, Columbia University and Princeton University. He is also co-leader of the Communitelligence Media Training community and posts a daily video clip on the site.

Who should Purchase:

This practical, information-packed learning opportunity is ideal for public relations professionals, as well as professionals in:

• Corporate Communications
• Internal Communications
• Public Affairs
• Public Relations
• Marketing
• Webcast Marketing
• Anyone who is associated with television broadcasts
• College/university libraries and bookstores

Think of any great presenter—Steve Jobs, Richard Branson or Jeff Bezos—and it won’t take you long to figure out that they are also master storytellers.  Storytelling is increasingly becoming a “must-have” skill for business leaders, but you still won’t find it on any MBA curriculum.  

This webinar will give you a deeper understanding why story is such a powerful strategic tool and how it can be used in the business setting.  We will show you a specific “before and after” example of how a case study was transformed into powerful case story for pitching new business.  We’ll also give you some key tips on how to craft and use stories to make an impact in your next big presentation or business meeting.

“As an ex-newspaper reporter, I have always recognized the value of storytelling. This webinar helped provide a great framework for bringing people into the important strategic and cultural stories I need to be communicating.”

What You Will Learn:

• The neuroscience and psychology that proves why stories work
• Tips for transforming run-of-the-mill presentation content into powerful stories that engage audiences 
• How storytelling can be used as strategic tool to build chemistry and trust with others  
• How even data-driven presentations can benefit from the art of storytelling
• The difference between conventional storytelling and strategic storytelling for business purposes.  Please bring your ideas and questions!
  

Who Should Attend

This webinar is primarily aimed at those in the early stages of implementing or learning about strategic business storytelling, although it will also help more advanced practioners to focus their efforts. It is especially suitable for:

• Small and mid-sized business leaders
• Corporate executives who are new to storytelling

Presented by:

Jane Praeger is a former documentary filmmaker and faculty member in Columbia University’s M.S. program in Strategic Communications and Communications Practice where she teaches presentation design and delivery, communications strategy, strategic storytelling and writing. She founded Ovid Inc. in 1992 to help people find their public voices. Since then, she has provided speech, presentation, media training and customized workshops, to corporations such as Nickelodeon, Coach, Estee Lauder, McKinsey & Company, Euro RSCG Worldwide, as well as other technology, entertainment, and consulting firms. On the non-profit side, she has worked with Open Society Foundations, Doctors Without Borders, Atlantic Philanthropies, The Ms. Foundation, Harvard University, Columbia University Business School, and many others.

Heather Thomas is a business builder who has clocked countless hours performing “on stage” in the presentation spotlight. She earned her stripes in the agency world, working at Agency.com, Modem Media and the digital agency Critical Mass where she built their Business Development and Corporate Marketing practice from the ground up, ultimately tripling their revenue. After crafting hundreds of high-stakes presentations to win clients such as Procter & Gamble, NASA and Dell, Heather joined Ovid in 2010 to pass what she learned about persuasive presentations to others. In addition to her work with Ovid, Heather runs Winsome, a business development consulting boutique.  She is also an adjunct instructor at Columbia University where she teaches Masters students the art of strategic storytelling. Heather is a cum laude graduate of Princeton University.

Connection is the force that inspires employees to give their best efforts and align their behavior with organizational goals. In this webinar, Michael Lee Stallard and Jason Pankau describe how Steve Jobs of Apple, Ed Catmull of
Pixar, A.G. Lafley of P&G, as well as other successful leaders, communicate to connect with employees.

Learn how you can help leaders by:

• Communicating an “Inspiring Identity” that makes employees feel proud of their organization,
• Communicating with “Human Value” that makes employees feel valued as human beings and not just as human doings,
• Communicating to increase “Knowledge Flow” that make employees feel informed and heard in ways that improve employee engagement, the quality of decisions made and stimulate innovation

Presented by:

Michael Lee Stallard is the co-founder and president of E Pluribus Partners, a consulting firm based in Greenwich, Connecticut  Michael’s work has also been featured in the media including The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, Human Resource Executive, The Economic Times (India), Developing HR Strategy Journal (UK), Rotman (Canada) and Fox Business Now.

Jason Pankau is a leading authority on leadership and teams as they relate to employee and customer engagement. Jason’s clients have included Johnson & Johnson, NorthwesternUniversity, UBS and several hedge funds.

How effective CEO presentations can help companies rebound during an economic downturn

When a company’s earnings and stock price are on the rise, it may not be critically important how well a CEO performs behind a lectern, in front of cameras and microphones, or at a hearing table. But as earnings and stock price head south, a CEO’s ability to inspire confidence through speeches and presentations can prove essential to a company’s ability to survive and recover. CEOs who communicate well can, at the very least, buy the time needed to put an effective turnaround strategy in place.

With the economy battered by the credit crisis, high fuel prices, and other maladies, growing numbers of corporate leaders face the challenge of finding ways to inspire key audiences who are both very worried and extremely important—employees, analysts, stockholders, regulators, and the press.

This webinar offers some very specific, hands-on advice how CEOs should communicate during tough times. The advice is based on the experience of key CEO’s who have been there and done that –Former CEOs Lee Iacocca of Chrysler and Champ Mitchell of Network Solutions, Jack Welch of GE, as well as current CEOs John Chambers of Cisco Systems and Brightpoint’s Robert Laikin. All used first-person communications effectively to turn companies around or dramatically boost their performance.

Sun Microsystems CEO Scott McNealy once said, “Communication needs to be a core competency of any business. It starts with the CEO.”

You Will Learn How CEOs Can:

• Make communication a priority.
• Be proactive, not reactive
• Handle problems and mistakes.
• Develop and present a recovery plan.
• Match their presentations to their audience
• and much more

Presented by:

Dr. Jeff Porro, Ph.D. has written “first-person speeches” and provided communication strategies for the CEOs of Sodexo, Eastman Chemicals, the McGraw Hill Companies, Office Depot, the COO of General Mills, as well as for diplomats such as former UN Secretary General Kofi Annan, and other government leaders, and presidents of some of the nation’s leading trade and professional associations. He helps corporate, government and nonprofit leaders take their visions to a new level, moving key audiences with speeches that engage minds, open eyes, touch hearts and awaken the spirit. In addition to offering his expertise to world and business leaders, he has extended his skills to the world of entertainment. Dr. Porro discovered and researched the true story of a Jim Crow-era African American college debate team, and helped turn it into the 2007 feature film The Great Debaters starring Denzel Washington.

As head of Porro Associates, LLC, Dr. Porro draws on his background as a research scholar and a Washington policy analyst to weave persuasive arguments. At the same time, his creative writing has given him the skill and empathy to capture a speaker’s voice and evoke the speaker’s passion. Dr. Porro holds a Ph.D. in political science from U.C.L.A..

Robert Laikin, founder of Brightpoint, has served as a member of Brightpoint’s board of directors since its inception in August 1989. Mr. Laikin has been Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer of the Company since January 1994. Mr. Laikin was President of Brightpoint from June 1992 until September 1996 and Vice President and Treasurer of Brightpoint from August 1989 until May 1992. From July 1986 to December 1987, Mr. Laikin was Vice President, and from January 1988 to February 1993, President of Century Cellular Network, Inc., a company engaged in the retail sale of cellular telephones and accessories. His honors and awards include:

• Recipient of the William L. Haeberle Entrepreneurial Legacy Award for 2008
• Inducted into the Central Indiana Business Hall of Fame in 2008
• Received a Stevie Award for Best Turnaround Executive in 2007
• Recipient of the Distinguished Entrepreneur Award by the Kelley School of Business Alumni Association (1999)
• Recipient of the Indiana Entrepreneur of the Year Award (1995)
• Received an honorable mention in 1995 Inc. Magazine National Entrepreneur of the Year Award

Kelly R. Lang is Director of Strategic Communications in the Corporate Communications department of Cisco Systems.  Ms. Lang joined Cisco in 2001 as Marketing Communications Manager and in 2003 joined the Office of the President as John Chambers’ Executive Communications Manager. Today, Ms. Lang is responsible for the Executive Communications and Operations functions including the Office of the Chairman and CEO (OCC), the Chief Financial Officer (CFO), and the Chief Globalisation Officer (CGO). Prior to joining Cisco, Ms. Lang was Program Manager for a Global Event Marketing Organization, Nth Degree, from 1998-2000. From 1996-1998, Ms Lang was Assistant Director of Administration with RCI Group, Inc. after graduating with a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Maryland, where she was recognized with outstanding student achievements including Maryland’s Talent and Tutor Search Program.

Ms. Lang is passionate about business and how communication helps drive business strategy to become a change agent for the organization.  Her focus on process, operational excellence and hiring the right talent to support highly visible executives helps drive a more integrated, cross-functional communication effort that highlights the increasingly complex and important role of the communications professional.   

Who Should Attend

This webinar is primarily aimed at communicators and executives trying to cope with a slowing economy, including external communications, internal communications, and shareholder communications.

In this information-packed webinar you will learn how to turn your trusty old laptop or desktop into your very own personal writing assistant. Listen to Daphne, a writing coach and former corporate communicator and journalist offer dozens of neat tips to make your computer and software work wonders for your writing effectiveness and speed.

What You Will Learn:

• The powerful tools hidden within MS Word you can harness to make yourself a better writer.
• The exact number of words you should write per sentence for maximum reader appeal.
• Three poweful and unusual ways to use the “search” function for better writing.
• The common misunderstanding about correct paragraph length (hint: your high school and college teachers had it all wrong!)
• The names of powerful pieces of software that you should rush out and buy immediately  (it costs less than $40!)
• Two tips for better incorporating research and interview notes into your writing
• How you can become your own best editor.

Presented by: 

Daphne Gray-Grant started her writing life as a journalist at her family’s weekly newspaper in Vancouver, B.C. – and then quickly advanced to become features editor at a busy metropolitan daily. From there she moved into corporate communications, producing newsletters, brochures and annual reports for a wide range of clients. Despite her many years of experience she never really enjoyed writing — until she set about developing the tools and techniques to do it better. To share this knowledge, in 2005 she launched an online coaching business, http://www.publicationcoach.com , working with individuals and companies seeking to improve their writing skills. Through her site, she offers a popular and free weekly newsletter called Power Writing. 

Who should purchase:

• Writers
• Editors
• Designers
• Publishers, print and electronic

Learn the laws and myths that can help keep you out of copyright hot water 

As the topic of copyright use and abuse grows in importance in both commerce and everyday life, so do the assumptions about how the law works. This session focuses on 10 of the most significant misunderstandings and misperceptions about the role of copyright in commerce and culture. It reveals the philosophical and economic foundations of American copyright and considers ways that globalization is changing the system. 

Learning topics:

• What may be protected by copyright and what may not
• What rights copyright holders have and how they can enforce them
• The limitations of copyright and why it’s important to know what they are
• How digital technology and networking are complicating the copyright system
• How the globalization of culture and commerce is complicating the copyright system

Siva answers real-world questions on:

• The ability of reusing one’s original material after one has left a company
• Using other’s words and images, externally and internally
• How to indicate copyright in text
• Grabbing other’s graphics off the Internet and using them in one’s own presentations
• Using client logos in one’s marketing brochures and Web sites without their permission
• Copying-and-pasting text from other Web sites to use on one’s own site
• The best way to protect one’s writings and photographs published on the Web

Instructor: 

Siva Vaidhyanathan, a cultural historian and media scholar, is the author of:

• Copyrights and Copywrongs: The Rise of Intellectual Property and How it Threatens Creativity (New York University Press, 2001)
• The Anarchist in the Library: How the Clash between Freedom and Control is Hacking the Real World and Crashing the System (Basic Books, 2004).

Siva has written for many periodicals, including American Scholar, The Chronicle of Higher Education, The New York Times Magazine, MSNBC.COM, Salon.com, openDemocracy.net, and The Nation. After five years as a professional journalist, he earned a Ph.D. in American Studies from the University of Texas at Austin. He has taught at Wesleyan University and the University of Wisconsin at Madison and is currently an assistant professor of Culture and Communication at New York University. He lives in New York City.

The reality is that everything you do and say communicates something. The most successful leaders know that communication is the competency most critical to moving businesses forward, is the best defense in managing change and difficult situations, and is the driving force in engaging others.  Since you are always communicating – you might as well be great at it. This luncheon is a unique opportunity to learn winning strategies you can use every day and engage in thought-provoking discussion so you can differentiate yourself, elevate your leadership impact, and accelerate business results. David Grossman will share practical insights, best practices, and proven tools to help top leaders differentiate themselves, including:

• The three fundamental truisms every leader must understand
• Three myths leaders believe, and that every communicator must address head-on
• The most common traps leaders face
• The Great Eight communication basics; What great leaders do

• David Grossman ABC, APR, Fellow PRSA, President & Principal thoughtpartner™ of the Grossman Group

I’m president and founder of The Grossman Group, an award-winning Chicago-based communications consultancy focusing on organizational consulting, strategic leadership development and internal communications. With a roster of Fortune 500 clients including Cisco Systems, Heinz, Intel, Lilly, Lockheed Martin, McDonald’s, WellPoint and Virgin Atlantic, we work at the highest levels within organizations to utilize communications as a strategic business tool to help engage employees and drive performance. I’ve spent my entire career helping leaders use communications to be more successful and after working with leaders for more than 20 years, I’ve seen a lot. Many of my clients have been telling me that that I should write a book that encapsulates the insights, lessons and strategies I’ve gained over the years so that other leaders — from seasoned veterans to first-time managers — could benefit. This is finally coming to fruition and my book, “You Can’t Not Communicate: Leadership Solutions that Power the Fortune 100” was published in late 2009. Prior to founding The Grossman Group in 2000, I was director of communications for McDonald’s, where I helped to evolve what was the Publications Department into a world-class internal communications function and pioneered the “agency model,” building a leadership communications support function for the company’s senior executives. I also teach the only graduate-level course in internal communications in the U.S. at Columbia University. I’m thrilled to a part of the Communitelligence community and look forward to sharing ideas and learning from all the great minds that are gathered here.

PowerPoint is one of the most used and one of the most loathed tools in the world of technology today. Reminiscent of the old Listerine commercials (“I hate it…but I use it, twice a day), use of PowerPoint has become standard operating procedure for 99% of the business population that needs to communicate with others. The problem is that most people learn PowerPoint in about 15 minutes and then declare themselves proficient. They spend the next 10 years using the same 15-minute skill set. No wonder “Death by PowerPoint” is in everyone’s vocabulary.

This webinar replay will help everyone understand how easy it is to fall into the trap of creating boring, annoying, and useless slides, and how rewarding and easy it can be to fix what is clearly broken.

What You Will Learn:

• Bullets can make you stupid
• Reading bullets can make you stupider
• Conversations aren’t linear; why are most presentations?
• If it moves on screen…kill it!
• Single most important tip? The B key!
• Well-placed photos can save the day
• Simple design tips that anyone can follow
• Use templates smartly

Questions that are answered:

• How can you begin to use PowerPoint to enhance your message instead of risking having it get in the way?

Instructor: 

Rick Altman is the host of the PowerPoint Live User Conference and a long-time crusader of bringing a sanity check to the presentation community. Through multiple books, training videos, dozens of online articles, and now a blog and webinar series, Rick offers advice, strategy, and technique for those seeking to master their presentation projects.

PowerPoint Live is attended by over 200 annually and has become one of the must-attend events for those in the business of creating and delivering professional-grade presentations.

Who Should Purchase:

• Communications professionals who want to enhance their partnership and value to the business.