Speak Clear's group lessons and seminars help build convincing speakers who present with genuineness, clarity and passion. We can teach your employees how to connect, and inspire listeners as they express themselves with poise and authority in speeches, reports, presentations, sales talks, client meetings, media events, pitches, testimony, and public appearances.
For seminars, we offer half, full, and two day on-site seminars. We will give your employees the speaking skills they need, in a reasonable time frame. Seminars are a great introduction to more in-depth training, such as group lessons, or individual coaching.
The following are some general guidelines for group lessons and seminars. Feel free to pick and choose from our templates, so as to create a tutorial that meets your business needs.
(Click each strategy to learn more.)
Public Speaking and Presentation Skills
Our group training in public speaking and presentation skills will help your employees speak with conviction and clarity to any audience, in accommodating or difficult circumstances.
In the Public Speaking and Presentation Skills module we well cover:
- Coping with stage fright
- Coordinating and drafting your speech
- How to effectively prepare for your talk
- How to rehearse
- Testing the room: how to gauge how much vocal power to use
- What is your body saying? — Understanding and using nonverbal communication
- How to engage the audience and hold its attention
- How to handle question and answer sessions
- Dealing with defiant, doubtful, or hostile audiences
- How to keep your audience actively engaged in your presentation
- Connecting with audiences on an emotional level
- What to do if your speech gets off-track
- Vocal variety: how to use your full vocal register while speaking
- Storytelling to engage and move audiences
- Avoiding vocal hiccups: “ahh’s” and “umm’s”
- Participant presentations with individual assessment
Building English Fluency for Non-Native Speakers
English is a difficult language to learn. The Speak Clear Team can teach your employee's how to identify their problematic American English sounds, stress, and intonation patterns, how to substitute these problem sounds with the correct American English sounds, and how to incorporate these new sounds into their conversational speech.
In the Building English Fluency module we will cover:
- The spoken vs. the written word; what is the International Phonetic Alphabet? Is accent elimination necessary to speak English fluently?
- Our goal: avoid mispronouncing important words: ex. debt vs. debit (not eliminating one’s accent-of-origin)
- Proper breathing and spinal alignment
- How accents are created; the body as resonance chamber
- The eight articulators
- Core speaking muscles and resonance surfaces- diaphragm, vocal column, vocal fold, chest and facial vibrators
- Habitual speaking patterns -placing sound in the nose, back of the throat, front, middle and back of mouth
- How to correct mispronunciation: Think the sound to its proper placement. Relax articulators you don’t need
- Slow down your speech. Stop if you are being misunderstood. Ask if you are being understood
- Vowels and Consonants
- 5 Vowels? 15 vowel sounds in well spoken English
- 21 Consonants? - 26 consonants in well spoken English
- Common mispronounced English Sounds
- Individual Assessment
Media Skills - On Camera Technique
Do your employee's know how to stay relaxed and focused under the camera's glare? Are they able to stay on message, and project the company's values effectively? Do they know how to field questions efficiently, and control the sound bites used by the media? Let us help your team shine on the small screen.
In the Media Training module we will cover:
- Clothes for the camera
- Prepping for you introduction
- Know your format; prepping for editorial, straight interview, or panel discussions
- Know your message! Stay on message
- How to add interest to your message; gathering quotes, statistics, contrasts, comparisons and examples
- How to breath under pressure
- How much sound to use when miked
- Keeping an eye on articulation
- Slow down your speech. Stop if you are being misunderstood
- Avoid those “ahh’s” and “umm’s”s!
- Deciding who you are going to talk to; the host, the studio, the camera, or all three
- Best gestures for the camera
- Checking arrangements to ensure success
- On-camera assessment
Voice and Speech Skills
Over 70% of our perception of a speaker comes from his or her non-verbal cues; their body language, and the quality of their voice. A vibrant speaking style is one of the most powerful tools your employees own for affecting listener behavior. Company goals and revenue depend upon clear and effective voice and articulation skills.
In the Voice and Speech Skills module we will cover:
- What is your “natural” voice
- How does the voice work?
- How does clear thinking impact clear articulation?
- Improving the clarity and articulation of your speech
- Getting straight to the essence of your speech
- Increasing your sales through vocal persuasivenes
- Developing a bold speaking style
- Attaining a professional eloquence in your speech
- What is presence? Breathing, body-awareness, connection to the audience
- Speech problems: pronunciation, nasality, and lack of articulation
- Reducing an antagonistic or overly belligerent communication style
- Defeating the ever-present rapid speech syndrome
- Avoiding “Ahh’s” and ”Ummm’s”
- Nonverbal communication-What is your body language saying about you?
- Overcoming stage fright; learning to breath through nerves
