Thank you Rockford Chamber of Commerce!

Preparing to start our morning presentation -- "Using Emotional Intelligence Skills to Survive and Thrive During Tough Conversations." Thank you Rockford Chamber of Commerce!

Join us in March!

Our next dates -March 16-17. Join us for this amazing two day workshop. Ready to breakthrough to a new level of #storytelling and #publicspeaking? Join us! https://lnkd.in/eAZ2Jbc #storytellingforbusiness

Fun morning as podcast guest.

Fun #podcast on the power of #storytelling this morning. Thank you Rosie Zilinkas.

It's been such a fun season of workshops! Here we're exploring Dynamic Presentations.

Today's workshop was fun and interactive.

Communication training can change our lives.

Thank you for inviting me.

Thank you Roberta Ndlela! Your excellent listening and questions brought forth a wonderful exploration of the art of #storytelling and #publicspeaking. Thank you for inviting me. onto your #podcast.

Grateful for podcasters!

https://www.kylacofer.com/leadershipschool/episode/7bb46d71/ep-50-50th-episode-celebration

© 2018 Laura Lewis-Barr all rights reserved

Glad to be back in the classroom -- west loop Chicago!

Grateful to Naveen for having me on his The Guiding Voice podcast!

We talked about the power of storytelling.

Listen here.

https://open.spotify.com/show/1GvX6tvmfelawEba0F6KS4

And for more on #storytelling -

And for more on #storytelling - just recorded an episode with the wonderful Roberta Ndlela for her "Speaking and Communicating" #podcast. The art of storytelling is such a rich subject. My learning and passion for it never ends.

Episode 28: Tell a Better Story with Laura Lewis-Barr

 Kyla says our conversation is the most downloaded of all her podcast episodes. Yay!!!

https://www.kylacofer.com/leadershipschool/episode/7ad96895/episode-28-tell-a-better-story-with-laura-lewis-barr

We love doing podcasts.

Thank you @naveensamala. It was inspiring to talk with you about #storytelling at work and in our communities. Thank you for having me on your wonderful @GuidingVoice #podcast!

Exploring the Grail legends.

From "Percy Grows Up." Our current #stopmotion in progress. Exploring the #Grail #legends. #mythology #indiefilm

Thank you Chad Lingafelt for a wonderful time today on your fabulous Coffee Break #podcast.

I loved our lively conversation about how to share our stories and the power of #storytelling And how good #publicspeaking is a form of servant leadership.

So great to be back in the classroom!

So great to be back in the classroom! This time for a company in the Chicago metro area. We're exploring concise, powerful #storytelling at work. #storytellingforbusiness

Nervousness before speaking?

I’ve spoken about emotional intelligence for many many years.  So why was I nervous over the weekend?  I was only going to be speaking for a brief time, a pro bono event.  Why oh why was I nervous?  It didn’t make any sense!

But it did.  I’ve been involved in other projects for years and while I work on my own EI daily, I haven’t formally spoken about EI in a while.  My anxiety was alerting me – if you want to be successful, you should practice.  You know this deeply but you still need to review your ideas and practice. 

Yes!  Or course.  As I started to review my slides my anxiety evaporated. 

Emotions are a form of intelligence.  They are data we can interpret and use in our daily life. If we do this, we can make better decisions and feel more at ease.     

© 2022 Laura Lewis-Barr all rights reserved

Build a More Creative, Agile Mind For Speaking Brilliantly With Less Prep

Join us September 16 and 17 for our two day public speaking intensive! (We have an indoor-outdoor space, yeah!) One exercise we will do -- learning to speak without preparation. Improvisers learn to trust their brains to produce interesting ideas. One of the ways they do this is by learning how to turn off the inner critic.

Can we create a period of time in our next meeting where no idea can be criticized -- even internally by ourselves? One method is to advocate a “my first thought is the best thought” period of time. It will probably be hard. We will probably say, “I have no ideas.” But we do. It’s just that a part of us is shooting them down before we can even recognize them.  

Our inner critic is a wonderful ally when we are making finishing touches on any kind of presentation or project. Our ability to analyze, scrutinize, and edit ideas is vital. But too often, our critic wants to be in charge all the time. This inner voice can then destroy creative moments that require some risk as we open ourselves up to new mindsets. 

I’ve found that most of the intelligent, successful people I meet have a tough time asking their inner monitor to take a break. I’ve also found that my clients get much better at this with practice. In my public speaking seminars this is vital, toward helping my clients feel comfortable answering questions or otherwise speaking without much prep. 

If you’d like to find more creative ideas and be better at thinking on the spot, take periods of time where you run with your first thought. Brainstorming in this way, “my first thought is the best thought…. at least for now,” helps us create more novel connections between different parts of our brain. Your inner critic may think these ideas are “stupid, obvious, politically dangerous, or impossible.” That’s ok. During this short practice period, our critic is on a forced sabbatical. We can then exercise our minds to build greater creative abilities. 
#publicspeaking #leadership #creative #personaldevelopment

Investing in interview coaching using storytelling will pay many dividends.

Here's another happy Linkedin client. 

 "As I prepared for a career change I knew my interviewing skills needed a refresher. I requested proposals through LinkedIn, and Laura's services stood out from the rest. Her approach to interview coaching is simple, intuitive, and emphasizes what we do naturally, which is to tell stories. What I learned from Laura is that by identifying great professional success stories, and polishing them with practice, I was ready to communicate my value to an employer in a way that was memorable and compelling. What amazed me is that by having just a handful of authentic tales to tell, I was equipped to answer a wide range of questions, even those I had not anticipated. I highly recommend Laura's services to anyone who wants to make their next interview as natural as having a conversation about you. It's a story worth telling."

Higher salaries and the job you want!

Get an edge for your interviews! Here's what one of Laura's former clients had to say.












"Laura is a FANTASTIC coach! Laura worked with me to refine my storytelling skills in preparation for job interviews. We had a total of four one on one sessions, where Laura worked with me to find the correct stories, ensure the stories presented me and my skillsets correctly, and worked on my delivery and presentation. Not only were the sessions rewarding personally, but they also help me land a new job with a company that I admired for some time now. Here is the best part, I was told after I was offered the role that my interviewing and storytelling skills stood out from the other candidates. Thank you so much, Laura!!!"

Giving Up Security Blanket Speaking Habits

Many of us have speaking habits that are like Reggie’s toy. We hold on to them to feel more secure. These unconscious habits get in the way of our executive presence, i.e. our ability to take up space in the room and be heard. There are many varieties of these “security blanket” habits -- filler words like “you know” or “um,” low volume, twisting our posture, hands in pockets, arms crossed to block the audience out, and many others. 

 The best public speaking training doesn’t draw attention to these unconscious defenses. Instead, it emphasizes our natural abilities when we communicate with friends and family. Once we understand that we each have a wonderful, natural style of communicating, we can gradually let go of our security habits. 


 © 2020 Laura Lewis-Barr all rights reserved