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Backstage Pass for Trainers, Facilitators, and Public Speakers

Your Guide to Successful Presentations

By: Susan Jones, Corwin Press, Inc.

This little book is a do-it-yourself speaking coach, mentor and image consultant rolled into one!

Confident and effective communication is a skill every public speaker craves and every exceptional speaker hones.
This practical yet humorous handbook shows you how to get your point across and win your audience, with strategies that include:

Tips for designing audience handouts and seating the audience
Maintaining group energy and timing group work
Working with angry and challenging audiences
Structuring breaks for better participation
Quality closers that highlight session gains
Self-evaluation assessments
Lists of Q&A's and Do's and Don'ts

Full description

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Product Details

Grade Level: PreK-12
ISBN: 9781412915014
Published By: Corwin
Year: 2005
Page Count: 136
Publication date: April 03, 2014

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Description

This little book is a do-it-yourself speaking coach, mentor, and image consultant rolled into one!

Confident and effective communication is a skill every public speaker craves and every exceptional speaker continually hones. Effective presentations require preparation, savvy performance, and sound communication to win audience approval and "buy-in." Inside Backstage Pass for Presenters, Trainers, and Public Speakers you will find strategies to help you do just that, including:

Designing audience handouts and seating the audience
Maintaining group energy and timing group work
Working with angry and challenging audiences
Structuring breaks for more active audience participation
Quality closers that highlight session gains
Self-evaluation assessments that include feedback from colleagues
Lists of Q&A's and Do's and Don'ts

This practical yet humorous handbook demonstrates how to get your point across and win your audience-by zeroing in on the keys to successful communication, whether your goal is to bring a change in ideas, attitude, or performance from your audience.

Key features

Practical tips and strategies for effective presentations and workshops
Friendly, humorous, and easy to read in one sitting or on the plane or train, this little book is a do-it-yourself speaking coach, mentor, and image consultant for the busy educator and trainer
Focuses not only on communicating information, but also on winning audience approval and buy-in

Author(s)

Susan Jones

Susan Jones is a life-long educator, whose interest in best practice and research in teaching and learning led to a passion for effective communication. Actively facilitating and training education professionals, she also devotes much energy to keynote speaking, training trainers of adult audiences in presentation skills, and facilitating institutional change. She has presented to more than 20,000 people in the past decade alone. A leading expert on research-based classroom instruction and student achievement, she has helped educators translate research into practical strategies for teaching and learning. Her no-nonsense approach to instruction and leadership separates critical new research from speculation and skillfully presents the elements that positively impact achievement. She has served as past president of Florida ASCD, a member of the Board of Directors of ASCD, a trainer for the Bureau of Education and Research and has taught adjunct through four universities. Susan's experience includes more than two decades of K-12 classroom teaching experience, as well as service as Director of Program Development for Illinois Regional Offices of Education. In addition to Blueprint for Student Success and Backstage Pass, Susan is a contributing author to two brain-research based books. She has authored numerous articles and columns dealing with strategies to improve achievement.

Corwin Press, Inc.

Table of Contents

Preface and Acknowledgments

About the Author

Introduction

1. Preparation Precedes Success

Clear Communication: Exceeding Expectations

Questions and Answers

Minmizing the Chance for Misunderstanding

Tailoring Programs: One Size Does Not Fit All

Preparing Handouts

Organizing for a Relaxed Delivery

Do's and Don'ts

2. Little Things Mean a Lot

Sleep for Efficiency

Eat for Sustained Energy

Dress for Success

Pack Light and Catch the Early Train

Questions and Answers

Packing Checklist

Sharing Book Resources

Heading off Equipment Trouble

Hydration - Wet Your Whistle to Whet Your Brain

Do's and Don'ts

3. Lights, Camera, Action!

Readying the Facility

Materials

Start Before You Begin

Questions and Answers

Crutches to Stay Calm - and On Course

Room Set Up - The Good, The Bad, and The Adjustments

Seating Participants for Great Results

Distributing Handouts and Materials

Charts, Slides and Overheads

Grand Entrances

Do's and Don'ts

4. Quick- Let 'Em Love You!

Gaining Acceptance

Building Audience Rapport

Vulnerability

Establishing Common Ground

Friendly is good, Familiar is Not

Acknowledging Knowledge and Know-How

Working Around Personal Quirks

Questions and Answers

Honoring Audience Expertise

Increasing Visibility

Changing an Audience's Point of View

Agendas and Overviews

Introductions and Openers

Positive Communication

Do's and Don'ts

5. Put Teeth into Your Technique

Purpose Drives Process

Question and Answers

Delivering the Main Course: Information, Skills and Message

Limiting Content

Reflections and Connections

Motivating an Audience

Generating New Thinking

Understanding: Taking the Road Less-Traveled

Non-Verbal Communication

Small Groups to Enliven Learning

Timing Group Work

Maintaining Involvement

Regaining Attention

Ensuring Active Participation

Tight Parameters to Ensure Success

Do's and Don'ts

6. Enthrall 'Em All

Job I: Make Time Disappear

Infusing Excitement into Sessions

Variety as a Vehicle

Monitoring an Audience

The 1-2-3 Rule

Questions and Answers

Introductions Set the Tone

Change of State

Movement, More than a Sign of Life: The Glue for Learning

Energizers

Breaks

Putting Lecture In Its Place

Covering Volumes of Content: Alternatives Methods

Accountability in Group Work

Group Size

Visuals to Enhance Meaning

Directing Attention

Applying Content

Handling Questions

Do's and Don'ts

7. Rave Reviews: Making Sure You Still Have an Audience Left After Break

Appeal

Fun

Comfort

Mystery

Finesse

Questions and Answers

When You Don't Have the Answer

Building Fun Into Learning

Creating Physical and Emotional Comfort

Prizes and Rewards

Meaningful Mixers

Time and Organization

Handling Difficult Audiences

Humility

Setting Yourself Apart

Do's and Don'ts

8. That's a Wrap!

The LASTing Impression

Questions and Answers

The 3 Features of a Quality Closer

Audience Awareness of Session Gains

Review, Rehearsal, Application

Positive Endings

Do's and Don'ts

9. Make it a Great Plant, Then Keep Weeding, Watering and Talking to It Sweet

Consistency - An Allusive Target

Inviting Improvement

Informal Feedback

Formal Feedback

Collegial Feedback

Do's and Don'ts

References

Index

Reviews

“A wonderful contribution to the presentation field. As a presenter for 15 years, I have purchased, read, or perused many books on presentations. This is the most useful and captivating book I have read thus far. . . . I love the dollops of research integrated into the manuscript. Since brain research is my area, I am happy that others will see how it relates. The author makes important connections between preparation, presentation, and prudence. This Backstage Pass can make the difference between an acceptable presentation and an outstanding one!”

Marilee Sprenger
Professional Development Consultant, Presenter, and Author

“The warm, friendly, conversational tone makes it feel like the author is right there with you, cheering you on as you put her tried and true suggestions to work. . . . Her suggestions resonate with my own professional experience. I found myself laughing, agreeing, and shouting ‘yes!’ (even though there was no one in the room to hear me). . . .I plan to re-read this book periodically to remind myself of this powerful advice and apply it to my own presentations.”

Lynell Burmark
Thornburg Center Associate, Presenter, and Author

Other Titles in: Presentation Skills | Principalship | Teacher Leadership

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