Jim Pirrie | Confidence, Presence & Purpose Workshop | Public Speaking & Leadership Skills

Why Does This Workshop Matter?

"I'm terrified by public speaking. What can I do?" "I have to face difficult audiences. How can I best do that?" "I've seen too many tedious presentations. How can I make mine different?" "I have to break bad news. How can I do that without being seen as the villain?" "I want the group to reach a decision. How can I make that happen?"

The ability to speak, present, influence and work with groups is not a 'nice to have' for a business professional. It is a critical leadership capability, whether you are leading a task, a team, a project or a business. The better able you are to communicate one-to-many with confidence, clarity and authenticity, more effective you will be.

Demands and opportunities come in many forms. Sometimes it is giving a presentation to share information. Sometimes leading a group to a decision or facilitating a group to get to the bottom of an issue. Whatever it is, a successful outcome rests on your ability to engage with the group and have the group be engaged and responsive with you.

In-person one-to-many communication in business is much more than just 'giving a talk'. It also requires knowing how to plan and structure your message. How to read your audience and engage with them. How to use space and gesture to support your message. How to handle difficult subjects and difficult audiences. And, importantly, how to stay calm and resourceful when things go wrong.

This is a critical leadership skill, whether you are leading a task, a team, a project or a business. The better able you are to communicate with confidence, clarity and authenticity, more effective you will be.

This workshop is designed to help you be relaxed, confident, authentic and effective in front of a group. To help you build a strong connection with the group and deliver a message that is engaging and compelling. To be equipped to handle any situation, from difficult audiences to things going wrong in the moment.

Even if you are a nervous speaker, or an introvert, this workshop will give you the confidence and skills to know you can be just as effective on your feet as anyone else.

What Makes This Workshop Unique?

This workshop draws on an exceptional combination of approaches, including NLP, group dynamics, voice coaching, theatre training, storytelling, non-verbal communication and even clowning. Jim's workshops are known to be highly participative and interactive, engaging, memorable and effective.

Jim has been teaching and coaching speaking and presenting skills since 2003. He also has years of experience leading cross-functional, multi-disciplinary teams in defence, aerospace and telecoms, and working as a coach and trainer for clients including some of the most prestigious professional services firms in the world. From running training courses, teaching at university, presenting to boards and pitching to clients, he knows first-hand what it can be like, good and bad. He also knows from experience that the best way to win and keep the attention of a group is not to 'put on the act' — it is to show up confidently and authentically as yourself, flaws and all.

Expect to learn practical ways to grow your confidence as a speaker; develop your voice; instantly have the group pay attention to you; read, engage and interact with groups; structure your message so people can't help but be drawn in; and, importantly, extremely effective ways to handle difficult subjects, difficult audiences and difficult situations.

Many of the practical ideas, tools and strategies you will learn are little known and seldom taught, yet they are amongst the most powerful and effective ways to engage with a group. You are unlikely to learn them anywhere else.

This unique combination of resources, style and experience make this workshop a transformational event.

Who Is This Workshop For?

This workshop is aimed at business professionals in the early and middle stages of their career, including:

Line Managers wishing to improve the flow of information in their function and between their function and the wider business.
Team Leaders wishing to improve the performance of their team and connect more effectively with the wider business.
Team members expected to move into management and wishing to start off on the right foot.
Members of teams wishing to improve performance by streamlining communication within the team and with the wider business.
Business professionals wishing to deepen their ability to communicate effectively at all levels in the business, and across the business.
Client-facing staff who wish to deepen their ability to communicate effectively with clients.
Supplier-facing staff who wish to deepen their ability to communicate effectively with suppliers.
Public-facing staff who wish to deepen their ability to communicate effectively in public meetings.
Graduate trainees wishing to build s solid foundation of professional skills early in their career.

What Difference Will It Make?

This workshop aims to help maximise the effectiveness of one-to-many communication within teams, between teams, and across the business. This has a real impact on the clarity and credibility of communication at every level, and tangible benefits to individuals, teams and the business as a whole: improved team performance, stronger collaboration between teams, clearer roles, goals and priorities, and more effective management of conflict, misunderstandings and disagreements.

Team performance and collaboration between teams are improved as roles, goals and priorities are more clearly communicated.
Activities run more smoothly as the resolution of conflict, misunderstandings and disagreements is facilitated more effectively.
Team profile is improved as successes are more compellingly communicated.
Personal profile is improved as individuals are seen to be communicating effectively across the organisation.
Issue resolution is improved as group discussions are facilitated more effectively.
Customer relationships are improved as communication becomes more authentic and credible.
Supplier relationships improve as requirements are more clearly articulated and issues are more effectively communicated.
Supplier relationships improve as requirements are more clearly articulated and issues are more effectively communicated.

Workshop Content

This workshop is based on a proven seven-step system for building confidence and presence, structuring content and being effective on your feet in front of a group:

Self-Development

How to work with your mind, body, breath and voice to be engaging, compelling, clear and articulate.
How to access confident, resourceful emotional states, whenever you want.
How to warm up before you speak.

Knowing Your topic

Crossing the Expert Line.
The four stages of competence.
Expectations.
Limits.

Understanding Your Audience

Your relationship with your audience.
How people take in information.
How people sort information.
How people relate to people.
How people make decisions.
How people take in information.
How to predict your audience.

Crafting Your Content

What's the point?
How memory works.
Stories - why and how to use them.
The structure of your content.
Where to begin.
The Circle of Expectation.
Where to end.
The power of loops.
Mental triggers.

Preparing Visual Aids and Equipment

The venue.
Slides.
Video.
The all-important flip-chart.
Water.
The Safari Start

Delivering Your Content

Rehearsing – why, when, and how much?
Setting up.
The gift of status.
Starting strong.
Ending strong.
Voice, speech and words.
The words we choose.
Engaging with your audience
Non-verbal signals.
How to handle difficult content.
How to handle difficult audiences.
Dealing with nerves.
What to do when it all goes wrong.

Reviewing the Outcome

The art of continual improvement.

Format and Delivery

This is a highly participative, interactive one-day in-person workshop. Participants will be working together in pairs and small groups in exercises designed to give as full an experience as possible of using of the ideas, tools and strategies in practice.

As well as the trainer sharing content, there will be group discussions and time to reflect on how the ideas, tools and strategies can be integrated into their everyday working activities, and the difference they will make.

There will be 15 minute breaks for coffee and tea, and a 45-minute break for lunch.

Start and end timings for in-house workshops may vary.

Open (public) workshops typically start at 09:30 and end at 16:30, but may vary, so please check your booking for confirmation.

This workshop can be delivered in-house for clients, and may also be made available as an open (public) workshop.

In-house deliveries can be held in a suitable space on the client's premises, or off site. The suitability of the space must be discussed with the trainer before the event.

What's Included

All workshops include:

A printed copy of the companion book 'Confidence, Presence and Purpose – A Practical Handbook for Business Speakers and Presenters'.

Open (public) workshops also include:

Welcome coffee and pastries.
Unlimited tea and coffee.
Buffet lunch.

Also available as options:

Online group integration coaching to reinforce the learning and help maximise the benefit of the workshop in the working environment.
One-to-one coaching to help develop and deepen these skills.
One-to-one coaching to help prepare for a specific event.

Pricing and Booking

If you would like to run this workshop in-house for your teams, or you have any questions, please contact me on +44(0)20 3397 4407 or [email protected].

If you are interested in open (public) course dates, please let us know or click the button:

Open Workshop Dates and Book Now

AUTHOR, TRAINER & COACH

CONFIDENCE, PRESENCE and PURPOSE