Our coaching sessions concentrate on the delivery of the presentation, working with you one-to-one to help refine your personal skills. We focus on reinforcing your strengths while eliminating any distractions.
The goal of each coaching session is to help you develop your own style and emerge a more convincing and credible presenter.
MediaNet offers skills coaching either on-site or through our special Digital Coaching.
For on-site venues, we begin in a group setting by teaching the basic principles of presenting. Then, we progress to a series of one-to-one coaching sessions (25-30 minutes), giving personalized attention to each participant. Several candidates can be coached in succession, making it easy for a company to increase the presentation skills of a department or any other group in the organization.
GROUP vs PRIVATE
The coaching sessions can be group-based, or private, In group sessions, the participants each observe one another during the coaching activity. The advantage of group observations is that each participant also learns from the coaching advice given to others.
In private sessions, time slots are created, and individuals can return to work (inside a company), or participate in other learning activities (at a larger meeting or conference), needing only to attend their given time slot for coaching. The advantage of using time slots is that some presenters may want to take multiple slots to work on additional skills. Basically, the private sessions can be any length of time for any individual, as the blocks of time can be managed according to need or skill level.
Video recording can be done to archive the entire session, capturing comments and advice that can be reviewed at a later date. Participants should be told that the video archive will be made available ONLY to them, and it will not be part of any permanent record of performance.
ASSESSMENT
Perhaps the most powerful feedback mechanism is our research-based skills assessment that pinpoints areas of effectiveness, while identifying any challenges by analyzing 80 independent elements across 21 skills categories. Initially, participants self-evaluate and then, after each coaching session, are evaluated by the skills coach (expert assessment).
Observations will be compared and levels of effectiveness measured against published research to arrive at a Speaker Index. A comparative assessment will be created for each participant, and all assessments will be sent to the group manager for distribution to the respective participants.
OPTIONAL COACHING ACTIVITIES
A coaching session does not have to be solely focused on delivery skills. Individuals can use the allotted time (either in a group setting or private session) to focus on other presentation related activities including:
- Presentation Design Analysis
- Message Scripting
- Small-group interaction
- Executive Presence
- Moderator/Panelist
- Speech-reading (TelePromter or hard copy)
- Debate
- Media Formats (YouTube, Interview, Talk show, etc.)
- Shareholder meeting / Investor calls
- Role-playing for Sales training
- Crisis Management
- Negotiation Skills
- Question / Answer scenarios (symposium, forum, town hall, etc.)
SAMPLE ACTIVITY
Presentation Design Analysis – a session which offers a critique of existing visuals in order to identify inconsistencies in structure, design, flow and content. Comments regarding media choices, display equipment and software programs are part of the overall analysis.This activity is usually conducted with a marketing team or any others who are responsible for the visual design of support content. Participants may use part of all of a session to discuss presentation design elements, streamline messaging issues, or showcase a new presentation that is still a work-in-progress.
The goal is to make sure that presentation slides are VIEWABLE, not READABLE. That is, the slide content should only contain enough viewable information for the audience to reach a starting point for understanding, relying mostly on the speaker to fill-in the logic of the underlying message. If the slide is designed as readable, then it likely can stand alone, not requiring a speaker. Readable slides function better as handouts.