Leadership

How to Take Your Speaking to the Next Level

In today’s environment, to be an effective leader you must be an effective communicator. The two go hand-in-hand. Whether you are the CEO of a company, the director of a division, or the pastor of a church, you must be able to write and speak well if you are going to maximize your influence.

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More than ten years ago, when I was a marketing executive, I attended a week-long, “Copywriters Bootcamp” in Del Ray, Florida. The experience was invaluable. We listened to lectures, wrote headlines and advertising copy, and then read our work aloud to the group.

The instructors both affirmed us and critiqued our work. I grew more as a writer in that week than at any other time before or since. It was one of the best investments I ever made in my career—something I use to this day.

Yet, surprisingly, I have never done this with my speaking. While I did attend the Professional Communicators Summit—twice!— that was more about the business of speaking than speaking itself. This year, for the first time, I will be attending the Dynamic Communicators Workshop (DCW), May 2–5, 2011 in Rome, GA at the beautiful WinShape Retreat Center owned by Chick-fil-A.

I am really excited about it. In fact, I plan to take Gail, my wife, with me.

As you can see in the embedded video above, Chick-fil-A was so positive on the seminar that they sent 50 of their operators to it last year. They even produced this video!

DCW is taught by Ken Davis. He is a dear friend, a neighbor, and an incredible speaker. More importantly, he is a student of speaking. He has become my speech coach. I am so grateful for his input.

During DCW, I will learn:

  1. How to become a focused, effective, and confident communicator
  2. The SCORRE™ method for shaping my message and making sure that I hit a home run—every time
  3. How to use stories and illustrations to connect emotionally with my audience

Similar to the writers’ bootcamp, I will be expected to give one speech a day and then have it evaluated by Ken’s team of all-star coaches. (While this sounds scary, nothing will make you grow faster than this!)

Why don’t you join me? You can register here. Here’s the good news: I got Ken to agree to give you a $100 discount if you enter the special code HYATT. How cool is that?

Are you serious about becoming a better speaker? Then, for goodness sake, make the investment. This may be the shortcut you have been praying for.

I hope to see you there. I can’t wait to take my own speaking to the next level.

Question: What are you willing to do to grow as a speaker? You can leave a comment by clicking here.

Disclosure of Material Connection: Some of the links in the post above are “affiliate links.” This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, we will receive an affiliate commission. Regardless, we only recommend products or services we use and believe will add value to our readers. We are disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.

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