Tamara Jacobs Communications, Inc. offers the following Be The Brand™ seminars focused on presenter training, media presentation (print and broadcast), personal branding, meeting facilitation, networking, executive presence and Q&A preparation. Workshops are also available for specific development such as perfecting sales presentations and preparing spokespeople for national media tours. The seminars below are offered as individual intensives, group workshops or keynote addresses. Every program is tailored to fit the specific needs and unique circumstances of our clients, whether they are:
  • CEO's
  • Middle Management
  • Representatives in the field
  • Professional men and women climbing the corporate ladder
  • Young professionals starting out in the corporate world
Our Be The Brand™ seminars:
1. PERSUASIVE PRESENTATIONS™
2. SELL DON'T TELL
3. MANAGING THE MEDIA
4. COMMUNICATION AS FACILITATION™
5. THE FEMININE FORCE™
6. PROJECTING A PROFESSIONAL ATTITUDE
7. COMMUNICATION AS NEGOTIATION™
8. BUSINESS ETIQUETTE: THE Art of Personal Packaging™
9. MEETING FACILITATION™

1. PERSUASIVE PRESENTATIONS™ (Leadership Latitude)
Today, we speak to persuade as well as inform. Ultimately, our goal is to compel people to ACT on the information we present. We call this PERSUASIVE SPEECH and every business professional should know how to use this powerful technique. This workshop focuses on identifying, practicing and perfecting PERSUASIVE SPEECH. Fast, proven techniques to...
  • identify the ultimate outcome.
  • determine what the audience really wants and needs to know.
  • capitalize on your personal communications assets.
  • modify your communication style for any audience, in any setting.
  • organize material clearly and concisely.
  • maintain control while answering questions.
  • use visual support material for maximum impact.
  • keep it conversational.

2. SELL DON'T TELL
It may not always be possible to make a sale in 30 seconds, but it can be lost! Create an interactive dialogue with your customer or prospect - emphasize the need to be perceived as "value added" from the onset. This workshop combines sound selling skills with a practical application of communication theory. Develop and sustain increased business through greater engagement and understanding. You will learn how to...
  • make it interactive up-front.
  • adapt and develop a flexible agenda.
  • use non-verbal nuances.
  • bridge with vocal vitality.
  • improve your listening skills and lead techniques.
  • develop an office environment assessment.
  • make group presentations.
  • customize calls.
  • develop what we call, The Engaging Open and Convincing Close™.

3. MANAGING THE MEDIA
With 63% of the US population getting all their news from electronic media, it is essential to prepare for interviews on television & radio, as well as newspapers & magazines. This seminar focuses on assessing and refining your interview skills so that you may...
  • control the exchange of information in any media environment.
  • successfully navigate a variety of interview situations.
  • effectively communicate key message points.
  • communicate in both a newsworthy and persuasive manner.
The challenge for each participant is to clarify and limit the information he of she offers - to present expertise and knowledge in a succinct and authoritative manner. Topics covered include:
  • Conforming to the medium (the art of the sound bite)
  • Keeping it conversational
  • Positioning key points
  • Looking comfortable and credible

4. COMMUNICATION AS FACILITATION™
In today's fast-paced and complex information landscape where everything is instant and increasingly interactive, the ability to engage, involve and lead an audience can be challenging. Trainers should keep in mind that more often than not, their audiences are primarily defined by the attitudes and expectations of Gen-Xers. In this intensive workshop, we conduct and record simulated situations for analysis and critique. We will focus on...
  • analysis of adult learning principles and how to implement, ie; soliciting input and empowering others to participate.
  • praise/paraphrase: developing your feedback skills.
  • identifying and developing effective communication skill sets of trainers such as:
    • techniques to encourage dialogue
    • reading and responding to body language,
    • spatial positioning, seating configurations and room setup,
    • animated listening, effective Q&A management,
    • buying time to formulate correct answers.
    • engaging and deflecting comments.
    • measurement of success by outcomes, not agendas.
View AV use and management as an "art form" - identifying and practicing do's and dont's such as:
  • PowerPoint proficiency, ie; proper format and use - from the right look to the right amount,
    including strategic "on/off" opportunities.
  • Overcoming slideshow dependency.
  • Developing flip chart finesse.
  • Ways to control sidebar conversations, neutralize the disrupter, enlist low energy/low interest attendees.
  • How to arrive at consensus and collective "buy-in".

5. THE FEMININE FORCE™
10 ways women can communicate with confidence. Solutions for how women can communicate authority on the telephone, in the conference room or at the podium. Ways women can make themselves heard, remembered and respected both personally and professionally.
  • Project your own unique style with confidence and credibility
  • State an opinion assertively
  • Identify and eliminate self-trivializing language
  • Prevent the unconscious apology
  • Manage nervousness
  • Ways to avoid being interrupted
  • Having the last word
  • Overcome being intimidated
  • Identify speech and vocal habits that get in your way
  • Use appropriate body language, eye contact, and facial expression
  • Powerful presence

6. PROJECTING A PROFESSIONAL IMAGE
Newly hired employees bring with them the perceptions of their new company and expectations of their new job. New employers are operating with and judging them against accepted corporate norms. When those perceptions and expectations don't meet reality, questions arise. Employees begin to question their role and acceptance within the company, and employers begin to question their hiring decisions.

PROJECTING A PROFESSIONAL IMAGE gives new employees the tools to assess their expectations and perceptions against reality and provide tools to adjust their behavior and appearance to achieve positive results. Elements include:
  • Packaging YOU as the product
  • From dressing for success to effective verbal and non-verbal communication skills
  • Reading and reacting to your environment
  • Active listening

7. COMMUNICATION AS NEGOTIATION™
We don't speak to share - that's a 90's notion. In the new millennium, we speak to inform, persuade and get people to act on the information; and people only act on your information if they perceive there's something in it for them. Think of every communication situation as having a negotiated outcome where everyone involved walks away having won something from the exchange. Communication is negotiation - it's not ad-hoc, it's organized with a visualized outcome in mind. Speaking entails three things: communication, facilitation, and negotiation. With a win-win outcome in mind, it's not about what the presenter wants, it's about what the audience needs -in terms of interest, value, and outcome.

This workshop will focus on the art of interaction - empowering the audience to participate, adjusting to achieve: to realize the outcome vs the agenda. It's about reading verbal and nonverbal cues, being flexible about process and firm about the goal. It's about dialogue vs monologue. In short, it's fine-tuning the presenter's powers of persuasion through the new millennium approach of conversation vs presentation. It's about establishing partnerships and developing product champions. This session will focus on more individualized opportunities through one-on-one attention and feedback for each workshop participant. Sample situations and business building presentations will be recorded for review and feedback.
  • Approach every selling situation as a successful negotiation
  • Become audience focused instead of speaker focused
  • Increase message retention of your listeners
  • Improve your organization of ideas for greater impact
  • Master the art of effective dialogue
  • Create rapport with a partner
  • Achieve your desired outcome in every communication exchange


8. BUSINESS ETIQUETTE: The Art of Personal Packaging™
Most business today is conducted not only at the conference table or in an office setting, but in a variety of social settings as well. Clients want to know that the professional they are dealing with is considerate, capable and comfortable. In today's business environment, it's about professional presence - what we call "personal packaging". It's about branding yourself, becoming a business partner known for politeness as well as power.

Manners are mandatory! They are universally based upon the concept of consideration for others. They provide a common code of behavior, a broad-based approach to what is acceptable and successful when you meet, talk, dine, drink, entertain and travel. Manners are like roadmaps - guiding you with efficiency and ease as you blend business and social situations.

During this workshop participants will be introduced to the essentials of etiquette and the reasons for the rules. Once attendees become familiar with these guidelines, they will find them easy to apply, freeing them from the discomfort of uncertainty and the fear of offending someone in an important social and/or business situation.

Enhanced etiquette awareness and sharpened social skills will help participants develop new client relationships and retain the ones they already have. Manners are both practical and pertinent in today's business world.

This course will cover everything from handling the handshake to dining diversity. It will involve:
  • An interactive game where the participants' knowledge of the essentials of etiquette will be tested and biases examined (establishing a baseline of awareness and importance)
  • A keynote overview
  • Improvisational situations and scenarios to be enacted by audience volunteers, recorded for playback and critique
Key topics to be discussed include:
  • Pre-dining etiquette - extending the invitation
  • At the restaurant - pre-planning and meal maneuvers
  • Ingratiating introductions
  • Executive entertainment - conducting business at the ballet, ball game, or on the golf course
  • Conquering the cocktail party
  • Gift giving - when a card makes better sense than a gift
  • Tackling the tradeshow, conference or convention - proper "boothmanship"
  • Demeanor and dress
  • Big problems with small talk
  • Business letters that leverage
  • Notable thank you notes
  • Put it on "vibrate" - the appropriate use of cell phones and other "24/7" devices

9. MEETING FACILITATION
The corporate world spends much of its time at meetings - accomplishing little, and, as a result, having more meetings. This seminar focuses on the role of the meeting leader (facilitator) and how specific skills can drive consensus and appropriate next steps. Using a driving metaphor and customized set of named skills, the participants are taken on a sequenced journey through:
  • Effective agenda setting
  • Asking the right questions
  • Connecting and encouraging participation
  • Prioritizing
  • Scribing
  • Recognizing verbal and non-verbal cues
  • Navigating around disruptive behaviors
  • Gaining consensus and defining action items
This invaluable workshop will not only make each and every meeting more efficient, but will allow participants to reach the necessary conclusions, eliminating further additional meetings.




 
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