MechE Departmental Event
On Tuesday, August 7, Mechanical Engineering will sponsor a day of public speaking training by Bill Hoogterp from BluePlanet. http://www.blueplanet.org/
One of the top presentation coaches in the world is going to be at MIT on August 7 and you are invited to join. Normally this would cost $450/person so we encourage you to take advantage if your schedule allows. How much of your day do you spend communicating with others? What would it be worth to be 5-10% better at speaking to individuals and groups of any size--for the rest of your life? You can see more on Bill Hoogterp and his colleagues at www.blueplanet.org
What Media Lab Colleagues Say About Blue Planet
"Just wanted to say that the course was spectacular. I have actively thought about the lessons daily and it has already affected the way I approach demos and presentations."
"I was very impressed by Bill and the rest of the BluePlanet team. I am thankful for the opportunity to participate in the morning session and know that the presenting tips I received are well worth the time."
"I loved it! I think the sessions were very effective and the benefits were two-fold: 1) improving public speaking skills; and 2) strengthening team work."
"Thanks for this great opportunity. I've learned a lot during those sessions and the speaking skills are really invaluable, especially for ML students who demo all the time. Bill was amazing and the sessions were fun and engaging, even at 10pm in the night!"
How to Sign Up For May 8 Training
Blue Planet will offer training of Levels 1-6 (Room 3-333). You may choose to participate as follows:
| Levels 1-3 | 8 am to 12 pm (limited to ~60 participants, open to graduate students, postdocs, staff and faculty in Mechanical Engineering). If you can only come for part of that time, that is OK. | |
| Levels 4-6 | 1 pm to 5:30pm (limited to ~40 participants of ~26 graduate students and ~14 postdocs) | |
| Individual Coaching | 6 pm to 8 pm |
Definition of Levels
LEVEL 1 HOW THE AUDIENCE BLOCKS SPEAKERS AND FILTERS
In Level 1, you will begin to get comfortable being on camera with a series of fun tips and exercises learning how the brain processes (and blocks) information. You learn how to eliminate weak language, overcome nervousness and actually enjoy speaking to groups. Level 1 gives you the tone and tools and foundation for all the levels to come.
LEVEL 2 BEING MEMORABLE
If someone can remember what you said three days later, you educated. If they can’t remember what you said 3 days later, you just presented. So what makes the difference between which speakers are memorable? Level 2 gives you techniques for using strong language to paint pictures and evoke emotions in the mind of the audience bypassing filters and going straight to the memory centers of the brain. You get on camera again, doing exercises in teams that teach you how to analyze any speaker you hear to see what worked and why. You learn how to start with a scene and read an audience to find breakthroughs in how you are perceived by them.
LEVEL 3 MODULATING YOUR VOICE AND NON-VERBAL COMMUNICATION
Using inspirational quotes as practice on camera, you learn how to modulate the volume and speed of your voice to make it much more compelling to the ear of the audience. Body language is covered with techniques on what we do with our hands, face and body that strengthens our ability to be memorable, using much more of our range, sometimes shown with advanced dial testing technology.
LEVEL 4 INVOLVING THE AUDIENCE AND TEAM PRESENTATIONS
There are two growing trends we begin to practice in Level 4. You learn seven techniques for involving an audience and practice them in team which makes the learning even more fun, which are simple and easy, yet powerfully effective. The key to persuasion is giving the audience a job where they share their results visibly back. You want to balance creativity and innovation with having a senior presence and focus.
LEVEL 5 DEVELOPING THE POWER OF STORIES
Here you practice business and other stories with an audience to learn to describe memorable characters, statistics and scenarios. You begin to learn how to command and use the full room and start with a scene. Change creates energy so you practice different approaches to identify which stories work best for you in different situations. Videos help you see how you personally affect an audience while you learn to give effective feedback to your peers, focused on the positive.
LEVEL 6-10 OPENINGS, CLOSINGS, EFFECTIVE MEETINGS, BETTER POWERPOINTS, EXECUTIVE PRESENCE, KEYNOTE SPEECHES AND PANELS, TIME MANAGEMENT RELATED TO COMMUNICATION
Levels 6-10 take the core skills learned in Levels 1-5 and apply them to professional situations with real life scenarios, additional techniques and practice to integrate all the habits into the participants real approach. This gives them the confidence to be even more successful with the tools to keep improving on their own.
The deadline to sign up is Friday, August 3 at
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/viewform?formkey=dGRNQnh5YmJtS2p2emtTTEhISFRTaHc6MQ
Space is limited and will be filled on a first come-first served basis. Please feel free to contact Jen Sell if you have questions.
Enrollment is now full, but if you would like to be put on a waitlist, please contact Marj Joss.
View the agenda at http://meche.mit.edu/documents/Blue_Planet_MIT_ME.pdf
