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Individual Coaching Offer

Special Offer
Individual Coaching

Have you been considering polishing your presentation skills? But maybe your company doesn’t offer it right now, and you fear that hiring individual coaching on your own will be too expensive.

Effective presentation skills are more important than ever in today’s tough economy.  Whether you’re selling a product, a service or yourself, you want to come across confidently and credibly.

So I’m making a recession-busting offer on individual coaching in presentation skills.  I have revamped my pricing structure so any individual can afford to improve their presence. Normally a $1,000 to $1,500 value in the corporate marketplace, I’ve restructured my offering so that I can convert my fee to an hourly charge, and my rate is no different than a lot of counselors, accountants—even plumbers!

For $100 an hour (there is a $250 minimum + plus the materials charge, below), you can receive specific, customized coaching on your skills, learning where you rock and how you can get even better.

You will receive my Compelling Speaker audio CD/notebook set, plus my Compelling Speaker Audio CDsbook Stand Out When You Stand Up.  That’s a $50 value that I’ll discount to $35. You will use these materials to prepare for our session. Then we’ll get together and fine tune your delivery skills, your content and even your PowerPoint slides.  You can choose how much time you want to spend, but the average coaching time is between two and four hours. By the way, some of this coaching can be done remotely if you want me to tweak your content or PowerPoint.  And I’m also experimenting with “virtual coaching.”  If you’re not located in Charlotte but have a video of yourself making a presentation, I can offer some critiquing of that. Of course, real time coaching is the most valuable.  I do videotaping and offer extensive feedback and coaching on your skills with actionable tips to help you get even better. You will walk away with improved competence and confidence!

Here’s what some people have said about my coaching:

“Barbara Busey understands what it takes to give a Dynamic Presentation.  As a personal coach, she assisted me with my presentation delivery, increased my level of confidence and worked with me on how to immediately create a “hook.”  Barbara’s coaching style is really as easy as reciting the alphabet as outlined in her phenomenal book, Stand Out When You Stand Up.”

“Barbara has a gift of not only her skill, but her heart that shines through. She cares about helping you improve so you can add value to others.”

“Barbara is wonderful! She offered constructive ideas on how I could improve.”

“Barbara is a great coach. Patient, knowledgeable, funny and gave me a sound critique for improvement.”

Please contact me for more information and to schedule your Charlotte-area session.  Or, let’s talk about “virtual coaching”!

704-527-8210

bbusey@presentationdynamics.net

Published on Wednesday February 10, 2010 in Presentation Skills and Uncategorized. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , , , , .

Guidelines for Dealing With Those in Need

I’d like to hold forth a little on a topic brought to mind because of my own recent experience:  I had surgery last month (a cervical fusion to alleviate horrific pain). And my experiences with those wishing me well and wanting to help compelled me to review some guidelines for helping those in need, whether they’re dealing with surgery, illness, injury or grief.

Here is my favorite, number one, over-riding guideline:

Make specific offers. I cannot emphasize the importance of this enough, especially if the one in need is someone you know fairly well. Many people, before and after my surgery, said or emailed to me: “Call me if you need anything” or “Let me know how I can help” or “What do you need?” I know it’s meant well but I can tell you that I won’t call you or let you know if I need something. When we don’t feel well, or are hurting, or are going through grief, we may be too embarrassed to ask for help or we frankly may not even know what to ask for. A specific offer is so welcome. If you have a conversation with the one in need, you will learn exactly the level of need so you could figure out what would be an adequate offer. Let me share some of my favorite offers that came through before and after my surgery:

  • “I’m picking up a pizza after work tomorrow. Let me know what you want on it, I’ll bring it by around 6:30”
  • “I just tried a new recipe and you get to be the guinea pig. I’m bringing it by this evening.”
  • “The girls and I have decided to set up a hospital care team to give Jim a break and ensure that you are never alone in the hospital. After you find out how long you’ll be in, let me know and we’ll coordinate the watch.”
  • “We’re going to bring you lunch. If you’re just not up for company, we’ll just show up, hand you the lunch, and give you gentle hugs if you can handle them, and be on our way.”
  • “I’d like to bring you lunch. I can do it this Wednesday or next—which one would you prefer?”

Do you see the pattern here? These were specific offers. I had the option to say ‘no thank you,’ but I was not put in the awkward position of asking for something. The offer was made, I could accept or not. Of course the nature of the offer will depend on a number of things—how well you know the person in need, how serious the incapacitation is, and whether the need is long- or short-term.

There were a few other gestures I have deeply appreciated before and after my surgery.

  • Phone calls. So often our tendency is to think we’re bothering someone if we call. But I simply can’t tell you what it meant to me to have people call just to see how I was doing. If I couldn’t talk because of pain or sleeping, it was still heartwarming to hear someone’s voice mail message asking after me.
  • Cards or notes. I admit, I’m a sucker for this kind of gesture. In today’s overwhelmingly digital world, a card or hand-written note is really a stand out caring gesture.
  • Visits. My pain sidelined me a good bit before the surgery, and since then I have been housebound because I can’t get in a car for several weeks. So having visits from friends is really a balm.

Finally, don’t forget the care giver—the person doing most of the care-taking. It could be a spouse, a parent, a child or another family member. Caregivers could need a break. Whether you offer to spell them for awhile or make them a meal or run an errand for them, don’t forget to make them a specific offer.

By the way, my surgery was a success—it got rid of the pain I was experiencing. I spent about two days “under water,” but then I was up and about, gradually increasing my strength every day. I am feeling whole and healthy, and most importantly, pain-free again!

Published on Monday February 1, 2010 in Uncategorized. 0 Comments

Standout Strategy Sampler #3

Write a note—to say thank you, congratulations, best wishes, I’m sorry, etc.

Published on Tuesday November 11, 2008 in Uncategorized. 0 Comments

Active Listening is Powerful Skill

March is International Listening Awareness Month. So let me help build your awareness of the power of listening and how to effectively wield that power.

First of all, you need to recognize what good listening is not. Obviously, it is not marginal listening—giving half an ear to the speaker while you’re watching television, reading the paper, or working on your computer. You might be surprised to know it’s also not evaluative listening—where you do hear the gist of what the speaker says, but you’re evaluating the content so you can prepare your response. The dead give away when you use this type of listening is when your response starts out with, “Yes, but…”

The best and most powerful form of listening is “active listening.” It fulfills two very basic human needs—to be heard and to be understood. There are three crucial steps to active listening. Think of the acronym EAR to help you remember these steps:

1.      Engage the speaker.  In other words, show the speaker that you’re listening by looking him in the eye, nodding occasionally, showing appropriate facial expressions (a smile for good news, concern for distressing news). Project open and relaxed body language.  Also keep in mind that total silence does not imply listening.  Give vocal signals such as: “mm-hmm,” “yes,” “really?,” “I see,” etc.

2.      Actually hear what’s being said. This means you have to pay attention and process the information. You must concentrate on the content of the message, which is what the speaker is saying, plus the intent, which is what she’s feeling or what she means. It may help by repeating to yourself her key words or main ideas and also observing the nonverbal cues she’s giving.

3.      Respond appropriately. This third step is the key to effectively wielding the power of listening. Instead of saying, “Yes, but…”, you let the other party know you’ve heard and understood him. It can take three forms:

  • Paraphrasing. This means repeating the gist of the message. It’s generally preceded by, “So what you’re saying is…” or “In other words…” or “If I understand you correctly…” The ability to do this
    lets the speaker know you did in fact hear the content of  what he said. The amazing thing about paraphrasing is that once people feel like you heard them, they can be more receptive and open to what you have to say.
  • Probing. This is a particularly important technique in diffusing the tension that comes with disagreement. After the speaker has made a statement, instead of launching into your rebuttal, you probe for more information. “Why do you think that?” “What’s the downside to that?” “Can you give me some examples?” This lets the speaker know you’re interested in hearing his side, which in turn will make him more likely to listen to your side.
  • Reflecting back feelings. This is the finer-tuned skill of interpreting how the speaker feels about what she said. “You must be so proud,” or “That certainly must have made you angry,” or “I imagine you’re very hurt by that…” are examples of reflecting. This is the ultimate validation a speaker can receive: being heard and being understood. When you give that gift to others, it opens doors, breaks down barriers, reduces anger, decreases resistance.

Listening actively is a magical skill. Its mastery can have a profound, positive impact on your presence.


Published on Friday March 10, 2006 in Uncategorized. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , , .