Industry Organisation
The Chartered Insurance Institute (CII), representing more than 90,000 members, approached Salix Orion Communication Catalysts with the request to design a training package in public speaking skills. This was to be offered to committee members around the country, as the organisation had clearly identified one of the core problems in attracting new blood to leading roles within the Institute – the fear to get up and present in front of an audience.
This custom-made workshop became one of the most successful training schemes ever offered by the CII. Locations for the ‘roadshow’ type format have included Glasgow, Norwich, Isle of Man and Southampton to name but a few. Now open to all members, hundreds of participants have taken advantage of this very hands-on training. In our 2007 feedback survey the rate of people who would recommend us to family, friends and colleagues is 100%!
One-to-One
The director of a large financial services company (> 250 employees) employed Peter Mueller to coach him personally in stage craft, speech writing and delivery. Over the course of a year Peter assisted the client in improving platform skills and overall performance.
In his own words he now ‘…[understands] how to connect to an audience, [knows] how to use visual elements - including body language and gesturing - to add impact and can make the best of [his] voice.’ Other elements of the training were:
- reducing detail in speeches and strengthening the message
- how to sell the message better by concentrating on the needs of the audience and
- eschewing the lectern for using the space available to best effect and connecting with the audience
Tailored Talks
A client who knew us through our public speaking workshops wanted something special to kick off a monthly seminar series. We created for them a one-hour talk on the universal nature of speaking in public, which was hailed by them as an unparalleled success. The client wanted to set a positive precedent to attract more potential attendees to future talks. We were delighted to hear that goal was achieved to a degree way beyond their expectations.
