Workshops

For managers, scientists, sales people and engineers

Workshop: Authentic Presentation

Empowerment for speakers

Capture your audience’s attention with crystal clear statements delivered with your own personalised approach and body language. Learn how at my Authentic Presentation workshop, where we’ll use vocal expression and physical movement to help you become more aware of your performance. You’ll discover hidden talents of your own – and of other participants working alongside you to develop their soft skills. If you opt for this group workshop on Authentic Presentation the programme will also function as a team building- exercise.

During the workshop we will explore the phenomenon of spoken language. How is it formed? How do you ensure that you use language in a way that interests, convinces and surprises your audience, and invites them to go along with your ideas? How do you create a story from numbers, or paint a picture of the future from an idea? How do you draw the line between coming across as personal and keeping what’s private to yourself? How do you build tension and humour into the way you tell a story? We use simulations to connect your language to the space you’re in, and you’ll make presentations to smaller and larger groups – using PowerPoint, for example. And of course we’ll also provide feedback, with special attention for your verbal and non-verbal skills.

Media training for managers

How am I perceived? Do people actually believe what I say? Cameras often present a distorted image, so it’s a good idea to ask these questions in advance – you’ll get the answers during my Media Training for Managers workshop. We will coach and film you, and tell you all you need to know about how to best present yourself in future.

We’ll show you how to tell a story on camera. It needs to be specific, clear and convincing. Your performance will be recorded and then I will give you a personalised feedback on your verbal and non-verbal communication – and your fellow participants will give feedback too. We will also do vocal exercises, so you can learn to talk in a more lively and animated manner. If you wish, we can edit the filmed material for use inside or outside your organisation.

Individual presentation training

Fine-tuning your personal style

Working in a safe and comfortable environment we’ll explore your presentation skills, approach and role awareness, using tension-building and humour to improve your public speaking. We’ll practice presenting in a variety of situations – including chairing employee or team or public meetings. You’ll also raise body-language awareness, learn voice optimisation and unlearn bad habits. We’ll also give you feedback on your performance and tips gleaned from contemporary rhetorical theory. You’ll get a personalised programme of exercises to sustainably improve your presentation skills.

Workshop: Icebreaker for the body and voice

Empowerment for the entire company, teams, membership meetings and conferences.

Picture the scene: you’re at the annual meeting of a company with a staff of 500, and management wants to outline its plans for reorienting the organisation. Everyone has been looking forward to exciting presentations from some of the company’s brightest minds. But the third speaker has only just finished, and the audience is already bored – high expectations are fading fast.

Time for an Icebreaker!

This 5 to 20-minute workshop involves everyone in the hall. It will get everyone on track with the subject of the meeting – not just mentally, but physically too. It will engage individuals with each other and with the purpose of the meeting. In short, it’s a liberating, refreshing and invigorating experience. The power of the voice becomes a channel for the soul, for prospects, aspirations and corporate identity. It fosters positive intentions and potential, as well as self-criticism – just as long as everyone dares to speak their mind loud and clear.

Coaching: Corporate drama

Conflict training using theatrical methods

Stage your mission statement! Experience and explore a physical recreation of the interactions between yourself, your managers and your company. In these training sessions we visualise problems associated with management methods or in-team collaborations. We do this by re-enacting the situations and testing out solutions in the secure environment of the workshop. Using ‘mirroring’ techniques, the participants get a good look at the relationships and situations at play and are better able to assess their own working methods. The body and vocal exercises create a climate of trust and receptivity – generating a sense of directness and humour that is sure to open new doors.

Personal development and authentic presentation

A workshop by Felix Ritter and Marta Pisco

Empower your students with a workshop that trains presentation skills and offers insights into contemporary communication theory.

Join the renaissance of public speaking!

We have spent the last few years developing and perfecting this programme for students at the New School for Information Services in Amsterdam. It can be applied to any group of students, teachers or any other professionals who need to stand in front of audiences of any size.

There’s this student, let’s call him Thomas. He’s been up all night, working on his speech. All his points seem equally important. He can’t decide what the focus of the speech should be. He’s worrying about pleasing his audience, but failing to address what’s most important to him.

 

There he stands, in front of the audience. His throat’s dry. The crowd of people in front of him are just a blur. He can’t stand still. He doesn’t know what to do with his arms. The PowerPoint slides are packed with too much information; people start reading instead of listening. His voice gets louder and louder, but he’s still not directly addressing his audience.

Do you know someone like Thomas? Do you recognize some of his difficulties? Our workshop can help solve them.

We focus on public presentation technique. We also explore authenticity, awareness of body language and personal identity. Our students learn and apply specific models and theories of personal development, such as creative personal branding, core qualities and the personal vision statement. There has been a renaissance of public speaking in the last decade, mostly due to the success of presentation platforms such as TED Talks. We have researched “TED strategies” and we use some of them in combination with theatre technique exercises for body and voice training. We create a safe environment where people are able to learn about themselves, think out of the box, and help others to do the same.

Our students discover their talents. Increased awareness of body and voice empowers them to let their authentic beliefs shine through.

We provide training sessions and workshops in Dutch, English, French and German.

Shooting a video of a presentation can be a great tool for helping people become aware of things they do unconsciously, so if necessary or requested I also provide on-camera training – working together with the video professionals at videomachas.com

About the trainers:

Marta Pisco: theatre maker, born in Lisbon, educated as an architect, did her master at DasArts in Amsterdam. Currently working as a teacher and curator and as producer of her own and others’ work – both in Brazil and with Space theatre group in the Netherlands. Marta is also part of Ondertussen, an Amsterdam platform for artists, with and without a refugee background.

Felix Ritter

All organisations are in a state of constant change – and that means yours too. But have you paused to reflect on how that change can impact on communication?

Suppose you’re expanding your management team: How do you ensure that your people continue to engage with one another constructively?

Or say your salespeople’s body language is too pushy, even though they know they can sell more by adopting a friendly approach.

Or perhaps one of your employees has lots of brilliant ideas, but finds it difficult to convey them clearly at presentations.
How do you solve problems like that? It’s simple: call me. My training sessions and workshops will add value to your team – and we’ll all enjoy the process.

I provide training sessions and workshops in Dutch, English, French or German.

Shooting a video of a presentation can help people become aware of things they do unconsciously, so if necessary or requested I also provide on-camera training – working together with the video professionals at videomachas.com

If you are interested in any of the workshops, or have any questions, please contact Felix Ritter by email at [email protected], or by phone on +31 624598268