Do Workshops Work?

We live in a fast paced world. Everyone wants to learn a skill quicker, shop faster, find shortcuts, transform themselves in a matter of hours. Can you learn to play a musical instrument in three or six hours? You may learn a few techniques but you cannot become an outstanding musician in a half day or full day of training. The same holds true for public speaking. You cannot become a professional speaker in a Half Day or Full Day Workshop. It takes time to learn the strategies of professional speaking, practicing them daily with constant reinforcement.

As an Executive Presentations and Voice Coach I am constantly being asked by human resources of large Corporations if I can coach and train a group of Executives in a Half Day or Full Day Workshop and transform them into professional public speakers. Turning a group of employees into professional speakers after three to six hours is on par with another skill we try to learn.

First, we have to be assessed as to our public speaking weaknesses and strengths by an expert before we can even understand how to improve. In a Workshop setting this has value mainly for the participant being evaluated not for the rest of the Workshop participants. Initially, the other participants may be amused by each others mistakes but after one or two assessments the group becomes restless and bored patiently waiting for their turn to be embarrassed in front of their peers and criticized by the expert hopefully through constructive criticism.

We know for a fact that 55% of a presentation is based on the speaker's non verbal communication skills, 38% is based on the tonality of the speaker's voice and 7% of the content is remembered. Half Day and Full Day Corporate Workshops are costly and really only provide a sampling of an overview of skills required for professional public speaking. Follow up individual programs are a necessity for improvement and transformation to take place.

By providing the foundation first by wetting the appetite of the participants for understanding and learning public speaking skills, strategies and tips can a Workshop offer value. Only after a follow up customized program for each individual Workshop participant is developed based on identifying their weaknesses and strengths of their platform mechanics, voice dynamics and presentational style and experiencing the public speaking strategies can a Workshop truly work.



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