Jim Smith Jr

From the opening exercise to the closing action “next steps” assignment, this leadership workshop highlights what leaders can do to bring out the best in themselves, their team members, workshoptheir peers and their customers. During this high-energy session, participants interactively explore the following cornerstone leadership components: motivation, communication, diversity, empowerment, trust, staff development, customer advocacy and personal development. The workshop’s objectives are to:

Improve the team members professional and career development
Communicate departmental and organizational standards
Build relationships and motivate the team
Leverage the expertise of the team and its leaders
Build advocacy with your customers

Today’s business environment is extremely competitive. Moreover, today’s workers clamor exposure, development and empowerment opportunities. This can be challenging since, in many cases, distance and time creates an unwelcome void between management and staff. In addition, everyone is SO busy! Leaders are seeking creative methods to motivate and connect with their staff and peers. During the Bringing Out The Best Plus! session leaders really take a hard look at, and practice, what they can do to continuously bring out the best in everyone they come in contact with, thereby enhancing business results. Attendees should come prepared to go beneath the surface, stretch, share and step up — to a new level of leadership.

As professionals we are always on. Our presence, communication behaviors, decorum, tact and service energy are vital for achieving the results we desire. Language, clarity, image and thoroughness play a key factor in every customer interaction. Every participant (e.g., managers, team leaders, individual contributors, project managers, generalists, directors, etc.) who attends this workshopwoman at workshop will be more effective when working with and presenting to customers (internal and external), leaders and with each other. They will be better communicators, engaging, thorough and confident and provide greater impact.

During this two- or three-day, high-energy session participants learn: powerful and engaging presentation, platform and facilitation skills, adult learning theories, proven practices for accelerated learning, group responsibility and learner retention. Participants also learn and practice methods for: opening and closing presentations, reviewing and revisiting content, story telling, developing, preparing and organizing their presentations. Creating an empowering learning and presentation environment and atmosphere, developing personal presence, poise and energy, dealing successfully with difficult presentation situations, overcoming stage-fright and nervousness, applying application methods, asking and answering questions, transitioning, gesturing, voice modulation, eye movement, using visual aids (namely power point and flip charts), and installing pre and post session assessments and goal review are also reviewed and applied.

Get ready for hours of non-stop high-energy, fun, sharing, networking and self-examination as we take a look at the mistakes trainers (and all speaking professionals) do in the classroom that demotivate their learners. Based on Jim’s upcoming book (same title), this session helps both new and experienced trainers, sales professionals, managers and other leaders (actually, any one who speaks in front of audiences), to:

Examine the importance of creating an empowering, productive, motivational learning environment.
Investigate why we make the mistakes that we do
Discuss the importance of engaging the learner’s head and the learner’s heart (and other adult learning principles).
Highlight the crucial presentation skills and platform skills that keep learners soaring – not snoring.
Evaluate ourselves so that we can see what areas (e.g., Facilitation, Visual Aids, Motivation, Adult Learning, Curriculum Design and Preparation) we need to improve in

There’s so much more to training, facilitation and presenting than just information dumping. Many speakers think that just because they taught it (i.e. their content) their learners have caught it OR just because it was said, it’s in their head. In the CRASH AND LEARN workshop we polish, adjust, correct and fine-tune the delivery skills you are currently using.

This advanced facilitation workshop is for trainers who are ready to take their training to even greater heights.

Trainers enjoy helping people grow, watching their students try on new concepts as they look for ways to apply the key takeaways back on the job (or in the field). Through these myriad experiences and more, WORKSHOPtrainers grow too, evolving into even more effective facilitators. Nevertheless, some trainers believe there’s a level they haven’t yet reached. There’s a standard they haven’t yet obtained. There’s a zone they haven’t yet experienced…at least up to now.

The Unleashing Your Persona workshop helps trainers to discern what’s needed to stretch even more. During this moving, challenging introspective workshop experienced trainers examine the role fearlessness, creativity and theater play in bringing out his/her best.

... trainers will develop a personal plan for unleashing their persona.

In addition, participants will experience the five “Persona Power Principles” as they create a personal action plan for taking their training to heights they’ve never reached before. The session also highlights “The Savvy Seven,” (i.e., seven principles every experienced facilitator should know and master in the classroom). The “Savvy Seven” are:

Intuition
Connectedness
Energy
Power
Recovery
Leadership
Showmanship

Through exercises, presentations, self-examination and feedback trainers will develop a personal plan for unleashing their persona.

uring this workshop participants explore the diversity workshopbroad definition of diversity and its many elements. Age, class, thinking style, gender, physical and mental ability, sexual orientation, race, education, ethnicity and many others are discussed as learners assess the notion that diversity is just about race and gender. Learners also participate in our staple “Pull Right Up” and “Ask Me Anything” exercises where they have the opportunity to personally consider the role specific diversity elements play in their lives. Through video, discussion, small and large group activities, this highly interactive workshop challenges learners to think (and perhaps live) outside the tiny box that diversity is often put in.

The workshop objectives are:

To discuss the broad definition of diversity
To explore how diversity impacts business and the bottom line
To analyze the changing workforce demographics and how these demographics impact internal and external customer interactions
To develop a diversity tool kit to use professionally and personally
To share and ask diversity related “don’t go there” questions that are typically kept within

Successful communication is certainly not always the easiest goal to achieve. This fact is greatly heightened when diversity factors are involved. Gender, age, ethnicity, sexual orientation, class and race differences, just to name a few, can play a significant role in how one receives and reacts to communication or behavior directed toward him/her. Add to this the notion that the impact of one’s behavior does not always match his/her intent. We have to refrain from “blame the victim” thinking (i.e., thinking it’s always the other person’s fault or that the other person has to stop being so sensitive and learn to just “get over it”). Poor work relationships can develop just because someone has unknowingly said or done the wrong thing. During this communication’s workshop participants explore:

How to personally recover from inappropriate comments
How to approach the individual, after an insensitive remark, to reestablish a productive relationship
How to have insightful, inclusion conversations and dialogues with colleagues and customers who are different from them
How to overcome the “fear factor” associated with having inclusion conversations

“I can’t believe I missed it – it was sitting right there.” “I never realized she could…” “Who would of thought that he would be the one to…” “I must be going blind – it was right in front of my face.” People whose blind spots have affected their thinking, their communications or their behaviors Jim Smith, Jr.have shared those sentiments and more. During this high-energy workshop, participants explore the myth and theory that, “what you see is what you get.”

Many of us, because of our blind spots, miss important opportunities and/or information. This could be in the areas of succession planning, coaching, mentoring, hiring, promoting, sales or development. And when you consider the critical role that perceptions and stereotypes play in our daily interactions, one could have quite a challenge. Invariably, all of these lead to unproductive work and work relationships. We have to take responsibility for acknowledging and eliminating our blind spots.

This workshop’s objectives are to:

Assess why and how our blind spots impact our professional, personal and societal interactions and decision-making
Discuss ways for eliminating blind spot thinking and performance
Develop an action plan for expanding one’s perspective and vision
Discuss and acknowledge what are our blind spots

So often participants dread coming to diversity workshops. They would rather play in traffic blind folded or drink a jar of wasabi sauce, nonstop, then attend a full day class on diversity. dancingEven the name (i.e., diversity) itself frustrates and scares some, especially if they’ve already had one trying diversity workshop experience. Learners come to the sessions expecting the worst and hoping for an early dismissal. What can trainers and managers do? This participant driven workshop is primarily for trainers, leaders and others who lead diversity workshops, trainings and meetings. The objectives for the workshop are to provide tips, tools and techniques for:

Productively opening and closing your sessions with power and purpose
Effectively managing difficult participants and difficult conversations
Getting learners to freely and confidently participate
Having productive one-on-one diversity dialogues
Creating room safety
Facilitating the total diversity trainer experience