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

Need a refresher on how to best facilitate online content?

Online presentations can be even MORE impactful and engaging than live presentations. Three methods are primary: computer gamification, lively questions from the instructor, and learner actions every 1-2 minutes.
Useful for groups of 4-12 participants. Highly interactive!

Participants will:
· Discover what to do and what to avoid when leading online events.
· Understand the differences between live and online meetings and trainings.
· Practice and experience methods to engage attendees.
· Use breakouts to practice and experience the most powerful tool of the online facilitator.
· Identify helpful visual components of online meetings.
· Learn how to build and execute gamified content.
· Explore the art of open ended questioning.
· Explore personal challenges and ways to move forward with online facilitation.
Zoom provides ample engagement tools that can be utilized during the training.

A year of training in a tiny box!

These cards offer practice on all areas of communication, using emotional intelligence tools.

Purchase your deck today!

© 2020 Laura Lewis-Barr all rights reserved

Speaking from the bones of ourselves

I woke up with a dream this morning.  In it, I took a heavy object and balanced it on my shoulder.  I used my skeletal structure to carry the weight for me.  

Reminds me of a storytelling/communication truth.  When we communicate from our bones – from the authentic, center of ourselves, we can carry heavy, difficult topics with much more ease.  Learning to use our own “body mechanics” to support weight is a skill we can practice.  Likewise, we can practice authentic inner communication (emotional intelligence skills of self-awareness) and outer communication (speaking honestly during difficult conversations).

© 2020 Laura Lewis-Barr all rights reserved

Public speaking + emotional intelligence = authenticity. Aligning our message.

I recently worked with “Sara” to help her with an upcoming interview.  Sara’s voice was monotone as she answered mock questions.  She was having a hard time thinking of examples of relevant experience and her stories were vague and bland.  We weren’t making much progress.

 

I asked Sara about what she loved doing in her spare time.  Suddenly her face lit up as talked about learning to code new online games.  After a few more questions Sara admitted that it was her mother that was urging her to pursue a health care career.  She confessed that it wasn’t what she wanted.

 

While this is a dramatic example, not being aligned with one’s message is a common issue.  In my live classes and coaching, I find a lack of alignment will create presentation nervousness, fuzzy ideas, and lackluster nonverbals. 

 

Whenever we talk with others, our audience will rapidly (and unconsciously) detect incongruence between our nonverbal behavior and our message.  (Actors spend years trying to overcome this natural phenomenon and even then they are not always “believable” to us.)

 

If we want to inspire, persuade, or motivate others, it is essential that we are truthful -- first with ourselves.  If there is part of our message that is not true for us, we need to grapple with that.  How to resolve and align our messages will require some digging into our thoughts, biases, and beliefs.  The good news is, if we have to (even partially) admit our discomfort, this will build trust with our audience.  Research confirms that it is always better to offer the truth than try to fake it.  

 

Do you have an important message to deliver but nervousness or lack of clarity is getting in your way?  I’d love to help.  My background in public speaking and emotional intelligence comes together in dynamic coaching.  Sometimes a single hour is enough to untangle inner discomforts (disbelief, shame, anger, fear, mistrust and other emotions or beliefs).  Once we understand what is driving our confusion, nervousness, and lack of enthusiasm (the lower part of the iceberg),  we can reframe our thoughts and message.   Our authentic communication will be powerful and persuasive. © 2020 Laura Lewis-Barr all rights reserved