Clammy hands, pit stains and cold feet. Just a few side effects of having to speak in public. No need to call the doctor, at Emakina we help our colleagues up their game with a Presentation Masterclass.
Presenting, all day every day
Your first thought may be that mainly sales people need to be able to present things to clients. And you’re not wrong, they definitely do. But we think being able to present well, is essential in many more settings than only sales meetings. We see presenting mainly as a way to get information across. Which means it can be done anytime and anywhere and by anyone. It can be as big as a speech at a conference and it can be as small as an update in your daily standup. In both situations, and every other imaginable situation in between, the main goal is to get people to understand what you are saying. That doesn’t necessarily mean they will agree with you, although that would be a great bonus of course.
Presentation Masterclasses
The way you package the information and what your body language says, hugely affects the effect of your message. That’s why we host Presentation Masterclasses for our colleagues every now and then. It focuses on several subjects, such as how to use your voice, body talk, authenticity and nerve control. This is done in a one day masterclass somewhere outside of our office. We think it’s important to get out of our regular working environment, to (1) not get disturbed by day-to-day tasks and (2) to get out of comfort zone a bit.
For developer Mark Hijdra the masterclass is definitely out of his comfort zone. “The masterclass is a great opportunity to learn a lot about presenting. As a developer, I don’t present that often and thought this could strengthen my weaknesses. We do a lot of fun exercises and I learn a lot about the instinctive human behavior and ways to overcome it,” he says.
Confidence boost
During the day, we have a nice mix of theory and practise and everyone gets a chance to present in front of the group. We even film the presentations, so that someone can see what others see. That way, everybody gains personal feedback and some tips and tricks. The end result: feel and appear more confident when presenting.
One of the participants is Jeroen van Gelder, our Head of Front-end Development. Jeroen: “I think it is very cool to have the opportunity to join this masterclass. It is an intense day and I especially like the science behind what happens to the brain and the body. My group is quite small so everyone had lots of time to practice presenting. Also worth mentioning is the awesome location and the tasty freshly made lunch.”
Are you excited about Emakina’s opportunities to grow? Then check out our vacancies and see if we’ve got a spot for you.
