Virtual Communication Skill Building Workshop Series

July 9, 16, and 23

Staff meetings, new employee onboarding, and presentations to the executive team are all communication opportunities for HR professionals. The shift to working remotely has brought new communication challenges to the workplace. The Professional Communicators can help you overcome those obstacles and present engaging and effective content, in-person and on-line.

The Professional Communicators train employees how to adapt best communication practices—strategic storytelling, effective organization, and memorable takeaways - to the unique video conference format. They give HR professionals a tool kit that ensures every on-camera communication opportunity is engaging and professionally executed.
 
This three-part series will provide sessions on Planning and Structure, Setup and Execution, and Engagement. Please see the session descriptions below for more information. You are welcome to attend one session, all of them, or anywhere in-between! These sessions will be structured as an interactive workshop, so come prepared to play!

All sessions are FREE for Mile High SHRM Members!  $25 fee for non-members.

Speakers

Kurt MacDonald

Kurt MacDonald is an award-winning teacher and experienced content creator. Kurt’s graduate degree in Behavioral Neuroscience provides unique insight into the psychological and physiological processes that underlie speaking, stress, and information transfer. He utilizes his understanding of human attention, memory, and persuasion to design content that is engaging, effective, and moves audiences. Kurt also has a long history of public speaking, spanning 25 years of his academic and professional career. You can watch his TEDx talk on finding opportunity in chaos, here, and his Creative Mornings talk on the importance of context here.  Kurt also co-founded and directed a nationally-recognized debate program, helping his students develop arguments, execute strategies, and deliver persuasive speeches across the country.  Kurt currently lives in Denver, Colorado with his wife, two daughters, and their adopted greyhound.

Terry Rubin

Terry Rubin is a seasoned communication expert who has spent his career helping individuals perfect their message and presentation skills. Since 2011, Terry has provided independent consulting to a range of individuals and companies looking to elevate their preparation for major presentations, interviews, and other public speaking engagements.  Terry’s experience includes nearly two decades as an award-winning producer with the PBS Newshour.  As a journalist he covered major stories across the globe including the war in Kosovo, Hurricane Katrina, and four Presidential elections. For 17 years, Terry also coached and directed a nationally ranked Speech and Debate program.  Throughout his career, Terry has worked with on-air talent to enhance their communication techniques.  Terry is a graduate of Indiana University’s College of Arts and Sciences with degrees in Political Science and Telecommunications. He lives in Denver with his wife, son, and daughter.

Session 1: Planning and Structure
Thursday, July 9 | 9:00 AM - 10:00 AM

Session Description

We all lead busy lives. With the new normal of remote work, it seems there is even less time in the day. Jumping from one video conference to the next, trying to get your actual work done, and attempting to maintain some semblance of home life balance is making it even harder to prepare for your next big presentation or meeting.

And while every presentation is different, a systematic approach and expert tools can make the preparation process more effective and less time-consuming. It also produces a better product.

In this session, participants will gain the tools and approach to quickly build engaging and productive presentations and meetings. They will learn how to engage their audience, make sure their takeaway messages are actually “taken away”, and explore using strategic storytelling to help facts stick. In addition, participants will learn about the importance of structure and organization. It is not just about putting out an agenda, or posting an outline, but threading that structure throughout the presentation to keep the audience engaged. The mixture of planning and building a good structure are the first steps to creating a great presentation.

Participants will learn some of the following skills:
• Implement an Audience Audit
• Develop Takeaways before you build your content
• Implant Strategic Stories to make your message stick
• Create a creative Roadmap and Signposts

Session 2: Setup and Execution
Thursday, July 16 | 1:00 PM - 2:00 PM

Session Description

Remote communication is the new normal. It’s everywhere.  We have had two months to practice and perfect it, yet professionals are still missing the mark with their on-camera presence, set design, and performance. This session gives participants the dos and don’ts of video conference setup and execution, including lighting, framing, audio quality, on-camera persona and much more. 

Once participants have a list of video setup best practices, they will learn how to adapt critical in-person public speaking techniques to the virtual world. This session will help Mile High SHRM members think about their presentation style in a new way, that will make them better communicators both remotely and in-person.

Participants will be given following tools:
• Importance of first impressions
• Building your video conference set: Lighting - Sound - Framing
• Video presence
• Best Practices to improve the execution of your presentation/meeting

Session 3: Engagement
Thursday, July 23 | 9:00 AM - 10:00 AM

Session Description

Keeping an audience’s attention during in-person presentations is challenging, but maintaining audience engagement when you are presenting remotely is uniquely difficult. There are many distractions that derail audience attention. This session will provide Mile High SHRM members with tangible tools to keep their audiences engaged and help their takeaways resonate. The program will provide a deeper look into “strategic storytelling” and how it commands attention and makes content stick. This webinar will also reveal how to make presentations more interactive and personal by deploying the tools available on your video conference platform. Participants will also learn how to use slide decks and other visual aids to enhance their presentation content.

The participants will be given the following tools:

• The 4 B’s
1. Be Visual
2. Be Interactive
3. Be Relevant to your audience
4. Be a Storyteller

• Tools for being Interactive with your Audience
1. Polls
2. Chats
3. Breakout Rooms
4. Other audience participation tools

Members: FREE; Non-Members: $25