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TRAINING PROGRAMS
STORYTELLING FOR INFLUENCE
Storytelling is as old as the human experience. At its essence, story helps us develop and maintain connections and community, and we now know more about how the human brain responds to story than at any other time. The history of American business is filled with great storytellers; the best among them used their story to change the world. And while we are inundated with data and information, story undeniably remains a pillar of power and influence.
Whether you’re seeking to move internal stakeholders or develop relationships with external business connections, storytelling matters. And while data and information are crucial, without story they do not inspire behavioral change.
The content delivered in this training is applicable for audiences in the contexts of:
- Business development
- Recruiting
- Communications
- Team building
- Moving internal stakeholders
- High-stakes conversations
In this session, you’ll learn:
- Why our brains love story — and what makes a great one
- Why storytelling is critical to building and maintaining influence
- The elements of story and examples of where it’s appropriate
POWERFUL TOOLS FOR NEXT-LEVEL STORYTELLING
This session, delivered in a three-hour “laboratory” workshop format, will begin with a brief review of the elements required to make a good story influential and persuasive. The remainder of the session will be devoted to real-world workshopping, story sharing, and refining of participants’ best professional stories.
Learners will listen to the presenter’s model stories about specific areas and will then break out into small groups to share stories with one another. After the breakout sessions, participants will share their best stories. The facilitators will discuss what worked exceptionally well and what could have made these stories even better. (Note that rules of engagement will be covered in advance of giving feedback.)
- Participants will learn:
How to use storytelling as a team building tool - How to use storytelling as part of presentation planning
- The importance of their origin story as a BD and recruiting tool
- How storytelling and story listening contribute to a positive culture
- How to access their best stories – and when to use them
EXECUTIVE PRESENCE
Executive presence is the embodiment of confident, empowered leadership. How we show up physically and emotionally informs how we behave and how others inside and outside an organization receive us. Executive presence can often be an extremely amorphous concept that while easy to identify can be hard to quantify.
This highly interactive workshop will focus on defining what constitutes executive presence as well as how to engage with behaviors that contribute to elevating one’s executive presence.
Participants will leave the workshop understanding:
- The role authenticity plays in engaging as our best and highest selves
- How to display confidence before we feel confident
- How to “take up space” in a positive, respectful fashion
- How to be leaders of action and why decisiveness is critical to executive presence
- Why mindset and cognitive behavior are critical to building executive presence
FEEDBACK
If there’s a hard conversation you’re avoiding, you’re not alone. Welcome to the human race! We get it: it can be hard to give or receive feedback, ask for resources or set expectations. But avoiding critical conversations is expensive and is an impediment to growth.
In this session, participants will learn:
- How to identify beliefs that may be impeding your advancement
- How to actively and elegantly seek and process feedback – and how to give better feedback to others
- The role of feedback in enhancing executive presence
PRESENTATIONS THAT MOVE PEOPLE
Presentations can serve as exceptional outlets to express your expertise and differentiate yourself, but too often they’re wasted. We want to change that.
This high-impact training is designed to help improve the creation and delivery of your presentations immediately. We know that your time is valuable and we aren’t going to waste a minute of it. We also know that your expertise and knowledge are only part of the equation when it comes to presenting. How you present matters as much as the content itself.
Participants will learn:
- How to draft a clear training objective to guide content design
- The science of storytelling – and why it matters for professionals looking to expand their influence (and books of business)
- How to source stories from your own experience and integrate them into presentations you deliver
- The do’s and don’ts of presenting and slide design
- The role executive presence plays in influence and persuasion
STORYTELLING AND BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT
Most professionals know that business is about building trust and relationships, but how exactly do you build a relationship from the ground up? Do you really need to be meeting all those people for coffee every week and going to a hundred awkward networking events? This program will transform what you feel and think about business development. This training is infused with humor, heart and humanity to teach you to do business development elegantly and ethically. This program is not a pep rally. This is a game changer.
Participants will learn:
- How to build your social capital, have meetings that move people, and build influence
- How to craft a business development and marketing plan that aligns with your distinct personality and style
- How to distinguish between business development and marketing and to understand the differences between internal and external marketing
- The role of cross-functional sales
- How to differentiate yourself in a crowded marketplace
PEER ADVISORY
No single individual, no matter how smart and capable, can compete with the collective intelligence and dedication of a dynamic group of interested individuals working in consort to achieve greatness. In this dynamic six-month program, we train organizations how to implement a peer advisory coaching model that is self-sustaining long after we’ve left the building. Participants will learn the essential building blocks of a successful peer advisory model, rules of engagement for creating a high-performance coaching group, and coaching techniques for professional development.
Three-fourths of those who have implemented our peer advisory model have increased their client base or sales conversion rate, 78% say they are better at crisis management, 81% have improved interpersonal and professional communication, and 91% have an enhanced referral network. Nearly 85% says they feel less anxious about their ability to progress in their career.
Participants will learn:
- The essential building blocks of a successful peer advisory model
- Rules of engagement for creating a high-performance coaching group
- Coaching techniques for professional development
- How to identify and address obstacles that are in the way of your growth
- How to implement peer advisory within your organization
MEDIA TRAINING
We are in a time unlike any other. Everywhere we turn, we are pummeled with information in a media marketplace that’s increasingly crowded: from Facebook to blogs to traditional print outlets and 24-hour news channels, we now have access to more stories than ever before. And as the landscape evolves, one thing remains clear: he or she who tells the best story wins.
For the uninitiated, navigating media can be complicated and nerve-wracking — but it doesn’t have to be. Our media training is designed to demystify the process of crafting media pitches and landing and executing media interviews with finesse, elegance, and authenticity.
Participants will learn:
- The ins and outs of creating effective media pitches that snag reporters’ attention
- Practical ways to elevate themselves as subject matter experts journalists call on for comment when news breaks
- The rules of engagement for interactions with journalists — and how to avoid pitfalls common to radio, TV, and print interviews
CREATIVITY FOR THE MODERN PROFESSIONAL
The pace of business is changing with ever-increasing speed. Predicting the impact of new technologies, paradigm shifts, and evolving thought is impossible – but what we can emphasize is the unflinching need for flexible, adaptable, and dynamic human creativity. As automation and artificial intelligence become more ubiquitous – and against the backdrop of unprecedented environmental factors like the global pandemic which changed the way we work – harnessing your own creativity has never been more critical. This demands that we double down on our investment and focus on human contribution.
The goal of this unique offering is to train professionals to disrupt and overcome their own fixed patterns of thinking, to challenge antiquated paradigms that are holding them back, and to empower individuals to contribute to their personal and professional circles at the highest level.
Participants will leave the session:
- Able to identify and overcome barriers to creativity
- Equipped with tools to challenge fixed and biased thinking and to engage both sides of the brain in “outside the box” solution-gathering
- With exercises to jumpstart creativity
- Understanding the neuroscience and social science of storytelling and the skills to build better teams using narrative influence
- Knowing how to craft better questions for more dynamic, creative thinking solo and in teams
- Understanding how space and movement can impact creativity
- Understanding how to develop an environment for greater creative engagement
- Understanding how creativity can impact culture
FACILITATION
People spend time and money doing loads of internal training and continuing education without understanding that without quality facilitation, there is no retention, development is hindered, and valuable time is wasted. We are typically the highest-rated speaker for our clients, and this training was borne of our experiences conducting hundreds of sessions training thousands of people virtually, in person, and in a hybrid format.
Participants will learn:
- What defines quality facilitation
- The role of the facilitator
- Rules of engagement and how to effectively set the tone for transformational sessions
- How to integrate storytelling into facilitation
- How to manage difficult participants
Psychological Safety for an Empowered, Engaged Culture
Psychological safety is the cornerstone of a healthy, engaged culture capable of navigating challenges and performing at the highest level. In this session, participants will learn:
- What impedes psychological safety
- How a psychologically safe environment impacts team building, trust, and culture
- How to enhance psychological safety within your organization to improve the quality of agency, engagement, and productivity
Building Your Personal Brand Through Storytelling
To succeed in the workplace, you’ve got to know your brand. Communicating your value and selling your ideas revolve around how well you tell your personal story, and nobody else can (or will) do it for you.
In this interactive session, you’ll learn:
How to identify your differentiators — what makes you stand out — and develop a memorable narrative about what you bring to the table
How to promote your value proposition and sell yourself to a variety of internal and external stakeholders through creative, engaging storytelling.
Strategies to advance and leverage your ideas, your capacities, and yourself in the most effective, thoughtful way possible.
You’ll also learn how to use your personal brand as a springboard to better approach high-stakes conversations, express what you want, and push for more. You’ll leave the session with specific, actionable ways to champion who you are and what you do.