What is considered as a fate worse than death and causes more anxious moments than a fear of snakes or heights?
‘turning up the volume’ on a presenter’s individual and unique style and transferring the natural ‘you’ to a presentation environment. BOP recognises and endorses the maxim that ‘people buy people’ and works towards making the ‘you’ more palatable.
You may be surprised to learn that the number one fear of fears, greater than death, snakes or heights, is the fear of having to stand up in front of a group of people and speak; the fear of public speaking. Most of us can tell a story or an anecdote at a social function, around the coffee machine or at a party but when asked to formalise their presentation the deadly ‘wet blanket’ descends and smothers all of the interesting personality traits that exist in their social interaction. Vocal musicality disintegrates, hands become static or erratic and the overall presentation style becomes sterile, energised and often disengaging.
What does your business rely on? For most businesses, it’s the people: colleagues and clients. It’s about relationships, great communication, selling an idea, a brand and an ideal. BOP training makes sure that your staff and colleagues are at their peak in their communications skills, making the most of every meeting, every conversation, every day.
You see an actor on stage and admire their dexterity, as they engage an audience with seeming ease. In truth they have mastered the skill of covering nerves or disguising internal, personal issues, whilst honing vocal and body language skills to create a ‘presentation’ that connects with an audience and achieves a desired emotional response. Many of the simple ‘switches’ that actors use to get into their presentation space are directly transferable to the business presentation, without the presenter having to adopt a character or persona.
Ultimately, all communication is feedback, and it’s never a one-way street. What BOP can offer is a clear understanding of how an ‘audience’ thinks: what they want, react to, dislike etc. So whether it’s talking to clients, giving a briefing, pitching your ideas, or negotiating with suppliers, we at BOP know how the people you talk to, think.
BOP encourages an interweaving of life skills with professional dexterity, to achieve optimum communication results. This applies directly to presentations, but also to crucial conversations, having those difficult and emotionally charged conversations with colleagues, management, suppliers and clients.
BOP courses can be tailor-made to suit companies’ individual needs or can be picked from our training profiler. We look at basic techniques and skills that cross over effectively from theatre and are effective for the business communicator. Courses can be run with large groups, through to small teams or one to one tuition and vary in length from an hour to a full week’s course where we can look deeper into the psychology of presenting, nerves and advanced communication skills.