Showalter Group
Event Information
It’s What You Say and How You Say It:
Persuasive Platform Skills for
Government Affairs Staff
Wednesday, May 10, 2023 | 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM | Washington, D.C.
Ticket: $899.00
If you want to be treated like a leader, you must communicate like one. Every presentation is your leadership audition. Every presentation is your opportunity to advance your ideas, cause, and personal brand. Are you willing to invest in yourself? If so, join me for my Persuasive Presentation Skills for Government Affairs Professionals class.
One of my speech coaches reminded me, “You have the privilege of addressing 500 lives for 45 minutes. What will you do with it?” I have never forgotten that challenge and remind myself of that during speech preparation and before every engagement.
Do you have that mindset whether you are speaking to 500 or five people? There is a privilege of the platform. To use it wisely, you don’t want to be just another “agenda item.” You want to be memorable, compelling and persuasive.
Amy has energy and enthusiasm “I learned that public speaking is a conversation and that no one wants me to fail. Amy has energy and enthusiasm for the subject matter and provides concrete suggestions that you can immediately implement to improve the next speaking engagement. It was time well-spent.”
How will you maximize your next presentation opportunity to five or 500 people?
Whether delivering committee testimony, presenting the rationale for new initiatives to your board or leaders, persuading colleagues to join the PAC, or motivating your grassroots advocates, compelling presentation skills to an audience of five or 500 is a necessary government affairs skill set. In fact, with the abundance of common government affairs tactics, it is one of the key differentiators between average and exceptional government affairs leaders.
Being “interesting” isn’t enough anymore. You have to inspire and move your audience to action.
Are you a compelling speaker? What type of response do you usually receive after delivering a presentation?
“You are probably glad that’s over!”
“You must have an interesting job.”
“I learned a lot from that presentation.”
“I want to know how I can help.”
“I am going to help you, and recruit several new members and/or PAC contributors.”
“I think you deserve more money in your budget.”
If you are really good, the Vice President of Sales/Membership asks, “I’d like to talk to you about working in sales.”
Which response do you usually receive?
Amy does a great job of personalizing the workshop “Great workshop. I’m looking forward to my next presentation, and I never feel that way. Amy does a great job of personalizing the workshop experience and making you feel comfortable. I loved the section on how to make the presentation your own by using humor and authentic stories. I started my ‘Humor Journal” over the weekend!”
In this intense, yet comfortable, confidence-building session, you will be asked to participate in active learning exercises. In our exercises, you will receive personalized feedback from Amy and your fellow trainees which will give you your own self-improvement plan. You’ll have the opportunity to be video- taped and glean instant insights to improve your delivery.
Amy includes many humorous, real-life videos and her personal stories that illustrate the learning outcomes. You are going to laugh. A lot.
Your online friends, followers and likes won’t help you when it’s time to present your ideas and / or motivate your team —– your audience doesn’t know and probably doesn’t care about their opinions. You are on your own. Therefore, it’s wise to invest in your personal and professional growth in a safe, encouraging and, yes, a fun environment. This is the only presentation skills class that provides post-class access to me for personal presentation coaching for one month after the training. I will review your presentation slides, notes, and even evaluate your practice or live presentation videos!
Amy shared new, up-to-date concepts “Amy shared new, up-to-date concepts, but what really made this event stand out is that we had the opportunity to practice what we learned and insert it into our own presentation. It was extremely collegial. Amy made it comfortable for us to get up and try new techniques on the fly. Her input was excellent, and getting the impressions of other classmates was an added benefit.”
Sorry, but lectures won’t help you improve your presentation skills. . . . . . .
While you can become more aware of the importance of great presentation skills from a lecture or webinar format, it’s much less impactful than a setting that encourages practice and customized feedback.
Even practice doesn’t make perfect . . . perfect practice makes perfect. In this class, you will practice the presentation techniques that will accelerate your improvement, not general tactics. This class is for government affairs professionals and I intentionally limit class size so that you get the personal attention, and the perfect practice, that you need.
Did you know…
A review of over 10,000 survey records shows that “making effective presentations” was the fourth-most important differentiator of organizational high performers out of over 42 behaviors studied. – Liminal Strategies
Harvard Business Review subscribers rated ‘the ability to communicate’ the single most important factor in predicting the promotability of executives. Communication skills were found to be more important than ambition, education, and capacity for hard work.
–Bowman
You’ll also learn:
- How to become a speaker who conveys authenticity by capitalizing on your innate speaking strengths
- The nuances of virtual presentations and how to convey enthusiasm and promote audience engagement online
- How to speak so that you are remembered and quoted by your audience
- Ways to build rapport with your audience before you say a word
- Why where you speak on the agenda determines audience reception to you, and how to make that work in your favor
- How to tell “great” v. “good” stories
- How to turn the common “legislative update” into a compelling narrative that persuades your audience to take action
- The three elements of platform persuasion (liking, credibility and praise) and how to integrate them into your speeches
- How to create personal narratives that help your audience self-persuade
- Amy’s system for generating authentic presentation material (without using Google to generate derivative information)
- The turn-key template to use when you hear: “While we are waiting for them to join us, why don’t you give us a 5-minute update on what your team has been doing” that will make your update (and you!) memorable instead of monotonous
- How to maximize every presentation to accelerate your career growth
- Effective methods for gaining audience attention despite technology distractions
- The three most important parts of any presentation and how to master their delivery
- Keys to using effective visuals beyond power point and videos
- Tips to skillfully manage hostile questions, audience negativity, and “hecklers”
- If applicable, managing the PWF&M (presenting while female or male) dilemmas —– gender-based communications advantages and disadvantages and how to thwart the negative ones and exploit the positive ones!
The training includes a guidebook. You’ll also leave with your own self-improvement plan based on class feedback. And. . . .
Before the training, I will review your current biography or speech introduction and provide customized edits that showcase your brilliance and uniqueness so that your audience likes you before you say a word!
I will be available as your personal presentation coach for one month after the training to review your presentation slides, notes, and even watch and critique your practice or live presentation videos!
I’ll also give you my turn-key template to use when you are called upon to make those “impromptu updates” to staff or your stakeholders so that you always are prepared and memorable, even if only for 5 minutes.
Here’s what those who have experienced Amy’s training methods say about the experience:
I loved this workshop! “The personal attention was nice. I feel more confident. I loved this workshop because it was very fun and helpful. I only wish it lasted longer.”
Thorough and thoughtful approach to presentation coaching “Amy’s thorough and thoughtful approach to presentation coaching enabled me to deliver a major presentation with great success and high-impact results. Amy challenged me to highlight key points with proven techniques instead of just saying words. I’ve never delivered a presentation with so much confidence and credibility. As a result of this presentation, I have unprecedented support for my strategic plan and am working to build a movement within our grassroots program.”
Multi-dimensional format “I loved the multi-dimensional format. I have participated in public speaking workshops and media training, but never as in depth as this. It was more supportive, effective, and less stressful than other workshops I’ve taken.”
Very targeted coaching “A good friend referred me to Amy’s speech coaching to prepare to present my project before an academic board for graduate school. Amy provided me with very targeted coaching that prepared me to present my work with confidence and command. I loved the inside tips on presenting, especially storytelling, and the importance of always collecting ideas for stories as a part of everyday events. I was so grateful for this help as it made all the difference in my ability to successfully complete my graduate school studies.”
About Amy Showalter and the TSG Training Approach
Amy Showalter isn’t someone with a communications degree who teaches others to speak effectively. She is paid to move audiences to action, so you’ll learn from her real-world experiences —- the good and the not-so-good experiences! She is a highly rated presenter who has galvanized thousands of grassroots enthusiasts, PAC peer recruiters and public affairs staff to advance their cause politically. She is the only grassroots and PAC trainer who has actually lead, motivated and coached PAC recruiters and grassroots volunteers in the real world. She knows your challenges because she has lived through them.
Amy has conducted customized presentation skills workshops for PAC and grassroots advocates and staff for clients as diverse as International Paper, the American Medical Association, Southwest Airlines, The National Association of REALTORS®, Pfizer, and the American Heart Association, to name just a few. It’s one of her favorite workshops because she sees participants transform into confident, compelling, and charismatic presenters.
Agenda
Module #1
Defining Your Presentation Environment
Knowing Yourself
The Strengths Inventory Exercise
Module #2
Winning Them Over Before You Say a Word:
Enhancing Your Platform Persuasion (and Charisma)
Biography Exercise
Module #3
How to Painlessly and Quickly Develop Original Material
It’s Not About You – How to Meet the Needs of Your Audience
Seeing It and Saying It: Amy’s Observation Journaling Method
Humor is Serious Business: How (and when) to Integrate Humor into Your Presentations
Module #4
The Persuasive Power of Narrative – How to Create Original Stories that Persuade & Inspire
The Science of Narrative – The Nuances between “Good” and “Great” Stories
Story Creation Exercise
Module #5
It’s Not What You Say, It’s How You Say It – Mastering Your Mechanics
Getting Their Attention – How NOT to Open Your Presentation
It’s Closing Time – How to Stop Strong
Words Do, Indeed, Mean Things
Naming and Claiming Your Non-Verbal Strengths and Challenges
Beyond Power Point: The Effective Use of Visual Aids
Module #6
Setting the Stage (and your mind) so That You Hit Your Mark
Thinking Quick on Your Feet – How to Handle (and welcome) a Q & A Session
It’s Over! Amy’s Rules for Accepting and Maximizing Feedback
Module #7
That Was Then, This is Wow –
Mini-Speech Practice / Videotape & Group Critique
(optional group critique)