Public Speaking Seminars - Less Is More.
Rhetoric courses won't work miracles, even if many books, workshops, online courses and podcasts promise that they will. Of course, every hour you invest in your personal speaking skills is worth it, because every rhetoric tip helps you to be better with words. The whole thing has a positive effect on relations with customers and one's own team. However, it’s incorrect to assume that rhetoric seminars have the effect of a surgery.
In a rhetoric seminar, participants learn how to always find the right words for thoughts, ideas and concerns. The theory is applied in practical exercises and thus consolidated. After the training, participants feel much more confident when they think about the next meeting or interview. However, many quickly forget what they’ve learned because they’re lacking regular practice. After all, a new skill only becomes second nature if it’s used often. This routine is especially important in moments of stress. It's like with the fire brigade: the team knows exactly what to do when there's a fire. Nevertheless, they regularly practise different situations so that in an emergency every move is perfect. This routine is important, it guarantees survival in a dangerous situation. After all, firefighters have to observe and assess their surroundings carefully in order to react wisely. Reacting wisely means protecting one's own life and the lives of others. In communication, reacting wisely means finding appropriate words and gestures for the current situation. If you react quickly and correctly in an emergency, you save the company a lot of trouble, time and money. Of course, you’ll notice an improvement in your speaking skills after any kind of public speaking seminar. But the question is how long and how intensively this effect lasts. You can use the training budget much more efficiently. Let's say you’re planning an "in-house rhetoric training" for staff. There are 3 ways you can use 8 working hours.
Version 01
A one-day seminar from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. The 1-day training is very intensive and in-depth. The exercises are coordinated and at the end there’s a great learning success.
Variante 02
Two half-day workshops of 4 hours each. The half-day workshops of 4 hours are suitable for planning and implementing an event. In Part A, participants learn which preparations are necessary for a successful event. In Part B, after the framework conditions have been set, the focus is on moderating and how information can be optimally communicated.
Version 03
A 5-week training in which a special topic is introduced and trained for 90 minutes at a time. Variant 3, the weekly 90-minute training, offers other valuable side effects. Between the appointments, the participants are given exercises to implement in their everyday work. In this way, they gain practical experience and apply what they have learned in small steps. These experiences flow into the joint exchange. This increases the understanding for the conditions of the co-workers and strengthens trust in each other. This is a great added value that a one-day seminar can hardly provide. Moreover, a 90-minute training can also take place over lunch. Eating, networking and training: sounds perfect, doesn't it?
What could be the content of a 90-minute training? You can find an example on my website heidi-winsauer.com. The free trial training is about the most common public speaking mistake, what consequences it has and how you can easily avoid this mistake. Sporadic rhetoric seminars give an insight into the world of body language, emotions, words and arguments. But only those who regularly train their speaking skills develop a really good feeling for words. Precisely because I earn my money successfully as a moderator and speech coach, I invest several thousand euros and 12 working days in my own rhetorical skills every year. For these trainings and lectures I only choose the best and most demanding trainers. Because for me, too, it's "train it or lose it." I’ve made it my mission to support people in their speaking skills. If you also want to become and remain fit in this field, I look forward to hearing from you.
3 Tips for Your Next Speech
01. Please think of a really good introduction. "I would like to welcome you" is the most boring way to start a speech. Surely there’s an experience, challenge, joy or concern that connects you to the audience. Start with that! This is how you establish a relationship. People prefer stories and personal involvement.
02. Include a strong counter-argument in the speech from the start. Think briefly about what your counterpart might object to and how you can soften this objection. Support the idea with research findings, a survey result or a remarkable outcome.
03. Plan the end of your speech! What message do you want people to remember? What do you want people to do?
Heidi Winsauer works as an event moderator and speech coach in German-speaking countries. For this, she utilises her knowledge and the experience of her trained professions as an educator and ORF journalist, which she practised for many years. She is also a certified NLP Resonance Coach. Through further training at the Moderatorenschule Baden-Württemberg, in seminars with bestselling author Michael Ehlers and in the form of online courses, she is constantly expanding her expertise and her network.
This knowledge she passes on in seminars and personal speech coaching sessions. In her monthly newsletter "Heard, read and tested for you" she shares rhetoric tips and practical exercises for everyday life.
Heidi Winsauer lives in Dornbirn with her husband, two little boys and a dog.
Her mission is to strengthen people in their personal speaking skills and her tips help on stage, in the office and at home in the living room. But only those who practise regularly really develop a good feeling for words. That's why she has developed a rhetoric training programme that helps people absorb and retain this valuable knowledge.
Hintere Achmühlerstrasse 1a | 6850 Dornbirn |
Tel: +43 660 4704353 | heidi-winsauer.com
