Podcast appearances and mentions of deborah shames

SEASON: 4 EPISODE: 26Episode Overview:Personal and business success boils down to how effectively you communicate. Anxiety, rambling, or the inability to connect, engage, and deliver a message effectively can hold you back or, even worse, tank your career. Identifying your unique strengths and speaking authentically, supported by a suite of skills, will help you speak confidently so you can be more effective.To help us understand how we can level up our communication game, is best-selling author, speaker, trainer and coach, Deborah Shames. Guest Bio: Deborah is passionate about speaking and training. That's why she wrote or co-wrote four books on communication and public speaking, including the business best-seller Own the Room.And because Deborah ran a successful film company in Sausalito, CA. for fourteen years, she knows how difficult it is for women to stand out and succeed. Her latest book is Out Front: How Women Can Become Engaging, Memorable and Fearless Speakers. Deborah won the Author of Influence award for this book from the National Women of Influence organization. She walks the talk by speaking regularly across the country to motivate and inspire professional women.Deborah has coached and trained thousands of professionals from all industries to communicate more effectively. Her work has supported A-list performers in television and film, CEO's of major corporations, gold-medal Olympians, and political candidates. Her clients also include professionals in finance, law and insurance.Deborah ran the successful Calabasas group of a national business organization and was awarded “Consultant of the Year” by the Los Angeles Business Journal.Deborah uses her experience directing over sixty award-winning films to make her business clients more genuine, effective, and successful. It doesn't matter whether they are delivering a keynote address, speaking to a Board of Directors, or pitching for new business. Deborah donates her time training MBA candidates in presentation skills at UCLA, Pepperdine, USC and Cal Lutheran, as well as executives of non-profits to increase their fund raising. Her personal goal is to prepare women, from Millennials to seasoned veterans, with the skills they need to be out front.Resource Links:Website: https://eloqui.biz/Product Link: https://eloqui.biz/products/Insight Gold Timestamps:01:26 One of my favorite early jobs was as the communications specialist on the Menominee Indian Reservation03:00 You say that everything communicates something03:59 When people are listening to you, if you don't give them specifics and visual specifics….05:59 Anxiety is a tool to keep you sharp and focused07:31 It's a challenge for both because people follow old models09:33 You've got to hook people with the opening and especially with the close10:06 You say that intention, when we speak, is essential11:44 I have 500 active verbs that if your listeners want to email me, I'll send them dshames@eloqui.biz13:44 Here's another simple one: You bridge when you have 15 minutes before you go on15:03 If you've got butterflies, someone told me one time, get them flying in formation17:26 Work off an outline18:07 Keep that ability to think on your feet with some anxiety22:04 Whether it's virtual or real, never use PowerPoint for your open or your close22:47

Rethinking the Rules: Why Everything You Know About Speaking Might Be Wrong As co-founders of Eloqui, Deborah Shames and David Booth have developed a unique approach to communication and presentation training that blends art and cognitive science. They have trained hundreds of professionals nationwide to find their unique voice and become more effective presenters. Their client list includes Fortune 500 companies such as TD Ameritrade, Mattel, Fisher-Price, Merrill Lynch, Siemens, and Pfizer. Deborah Shames is a communication expert and co-founder of Eloqui, a training firm specializing in business communication and presentation skills. She has authored several books, including "Own the Room" and "Out Front," focusing on empowering women in professional settings. With a background in film production, she combines storytelling with effective communication techniques. David Booth is a communication specialist and co-founder of Eloqui, known for his expertise in presentation skills. With a background in classical acting, he has performed in theater and narrated numerous training films. David has coached clients from Fortune 500 companies, helping them enhance their public speaking abilities. Their Work Together Together, Shames and Booth have developed innovative training methods that blend art and cognitive science, helping professionals engage and persuade their audiences. Their book "Own the Room" is a business best-seller and they are set to release a new series, "Briefly Speaking," in mid-September.  Website | LinkedIn 

Welcome to Strategy Skills episode 477, an interview with Hollywood insiders and the authors of Briefly Speaking, Deborah Shames and David Booth.   In this episode, we discuss effective communication and presentation strategies for individuals and business professionals. With their extensive experience coaching executives, celebrities, and leaders, Deborah and David share invaluable insights about different topics including the power of storytelling in business communication using the OSB (Obstacle-Solution-Benefit) template, practical tips for leaders to command attention in meetings and presentations, how to showcase your unique attributes and differentiators, how to present yourself authentically, and how you can engage audiences through visual language, novelty, and genuine enthusiasm.   This episode offers actionable advice to help you connect with audiences, win pitches, and advance your career through more impactful speaking and presenting.   Deborah and David are co-founders of Eloqui, a business communication and presentation training firm based in Santa Fe, New Mexico. They have translated performance techniques from the entertainment industry for the business professional. Eloqui training utilizes the latest research from neuroscience on how to be memorable. They also draw upon impression management from the field of psychology.   Learn more about Deborah and David here: https://eloqui.biz/   Here are some free gifts for you: Overall Approach Used in Well-Managed Strategy Studies free download: www.firmsconsulting.com/OverallApproach   McKinsey & BCG winning resume free download: www.firmsconsulting.com/resumepdf   Enjoying this episode? Get access to sample advanced training episodes here: www.firmsconsulting.com/promo  

On this episode, we're joined by Deborah Shames, Communication and Presentation Trainer, Keynote Speaker, Author, and CEO of Eloqui. Deborah uses her experience directing over sixty award-winning films to make her business clients more genuine, effective, and successful. It doesn't matter whether they are delivering a keynote address, speaking to a Board of Directors, or pitching for new business. She co-wrote 3 books on communication and public speaking, including the business best-seller "Own the Room." And because Deborah ran a successful film company in Sausalito, CA for fourteen years, she knows how difficult it is for women to stand out and succeed. Her latest book she wrote is "Out Front: How Women Can Become Engaging, Memorable and Fearless Speakers." Deborah has coached and trained thousands of professionals from all industries to communicate more effectively, including me, and we were thrilled to have her share practical tips on how to take your business to the next level.

In this episode of Highway to Higher Ed, Alex is joined by DeborahShames of Personal Best College Coaching, which she founded in 2003. She nowheads a team of six counsellors who work to help families navigate the complexworld of first year and transfer college admissions. Within this episodeDeborah and Alex talk about Deborah's background, her companies philosophy,when she starts working with student, the college application process for bothfirst time and transferring students, success stories, reason for studentdropouts, the impact of the pandemic on admissions and gives advice for parentsof transferring students.

What you'll learn in this episode: Why lawyers should aim to persuade, not educate, when they're communicating Deborah's top three tips to become a better presenter Why professional women often hesitate to speak up, and how they can overcome this block Why understanding your intention is the first thing you should do before communicating How to create a newsletter that both you and your readers will stick with About Deborah Shames  Deborah is passionate about speaking and training. That's why she wrote or co-wrote four books on communication and public speaking, including the business best-seller “Own the Room.” And because Deborah ran a successful film company in Sausalito, CA. for fourteen years, she knows how difficult it is for women to stand out and succeed. Her latest book is “Out Front: How Women Can Become Engaging, Memorable and Fearless Speakers.” She walks the talk by speaking regularly across the country to motivate and inspire professional women. Deborah has coached and trained thousands of professionals from all industries to communicate more effectively. Her work has supported A-list performers in television and film, CEO's of major corporations, gold-medal Olympians, and political candidates. Her clients also include professionals in finance, law and insurance. Deborah ran the successful Calabasas group of a national business organization and was awarded “Consultant of the Year” by the Los Angeles Business Journal. Deborah uses her experience directing over sixty award-winning films to make her business clients more genuine, effective, and successful. It doesn't matter whether they are delivering a keynote address, speaking to a Board of Directors, or pitching for new business. Deborah donates her time training MBA candidates in presentation skills at UCLA, Pepperdine, USC and Cal Lutheran. Her personal goal is to prepare women, from Millennials to seasoned veterans, with the skills they need to be out front. Additional Resources Deborah Shames LinkedIn Eloqui.biz Out Front: How Women Can Become Engaging, Memorable and Fearless Speakers   Transcript: Although communication is a daily part of the job, lawyers aren't immune to the fear of public speaking. With practice and intention, however, it's possible to evolve from an anxious speaker to a confident, fearless one. Deborah Shames is proof: she has helped thousands of professionals become strong communicators through her speaking and training company, Eloqui, and she has overcome a fear of public speaking herself. She joined the Law Firm Marketing Catalyst Podcast to talk about her top tips to become a skilled speaker; how to identify your intention when communicating; and why persuasion is more effective than education. Read the episode transcript here.   Sharon: Welcome to The Law Firm Marketing Catalyst Podcast. Today, my guest is  Deborah Shames, one of the founders of the speaking and training company Eloqui. She is author or coauthor of four books on presentation training. Her latest book is “Out Front: How Women Can Become Engaging, Memorable and Fearless Speakers.” The company's training has made a difference in the careers of thousands of professionals across the country. Today, Deborah will tell us about her career path and how we can become better presenters. Deborah, welcome to the program.  Deborah: Thank you.  Sharon: So glad to have you. I love the word fearless in your title. How did you get where you are? Tell us about your career path. Deborah: I was a film and television producer and director for many years. I found that the qualities and traits I used with actors could be used with business professionals. When I met David, my partner, who was in front of the camera as a presenter, we combined forces and translated performance techniques for the business professional. Sharon: Did you find that actors were listening to you when you were talking? Deborah: I produced and directed over 60 films and videos. Actors have all of these issues—not the best ones. Not the good ones like Danny Glover, Angela Lansbury and Rita Moreno, who I loved directing. But so many other actors were insecure and constantly needed reinforcement and feedback, and what I found when we switched to business professionals is they have the same issues. They had anxiety; they needed to know how to engage an audience. For me, it was so much easier because they didn't have to memorize lines. So we translated the techniques from the entertainment world for business professionals, and I was thrilled never having to work with actors again. Sharon: Did you decide after film and television producing you were going to teach people how to do this? How did you get to this stage? Deborah: My partner, David, had an executive at a tech company. She needed to do media, and her handler said, “We need a woman to work with her.” David said, “I can be a lot of things, but I can't be a woman,” so he asked me if I wanted to do it. When I went in and trained this woman on how to get her message across, how to engage, how to put herself in her answers rather than doing canned, generic ones, I asked David, “You get paid for this?” From then on we started to develop our business, first with workshops, then training, then one-on-ones. Sharon: How did you name your business Eloqui? Deborah: Eloqui is the Latin to speak out. It's also a form of the word eloquence, and we wished we could bring back eloquence to the way people communicate today. Sharon: It's a form of the word eloquence? Deborah: Yes, and the Latin version, eloqui. Sharon: That's a great name. Tell us about your business. I know you're always very busy with your training. You do one-on-ones and groups? Deborah: Eloqui primarily does training for teams, no more than 12 people, ideally six to eight. We also give keynotes. We give public workshops that everyone from your company has gone to that are half-days, and we do one-on-one. During the pandemic, all the one-on-ones were done virtually, but we're thrilled that starting last fall, companies were saying, “Come back in and do in-person trainings. We're sick and tired of Zoom and Teams meetings,” and we said, “So are we." Sharon: Did you find it was harder to teach people via Zoom, to teach them how to speak? Deborah: We found that one-on-one works great virtually. It's almost impossible to do group trainings virtually because of the distraction factor. People are looking and listening to everything else. It's very hard to get them to be interactive. We've done some, and it was the most exhausting experience I've had. Keynotes and webinars are O.K., but again, people don't pay attention the way they do if you do them in person. Sharon: I'm sure that's true. I think I would have a very hard time listening when the dog comes in or whatever. Deborah: When people are on a virtual session, they check web browsers; they check email; they tell you they're listening, but their eyes are darting back and forth and you know they're not. I don't blame them. Now, one-on-one, like we're doing right now, that's fine, but the others are tough. When people tell me they're exhausted after a virtual session, I say, “Of course you are. You're on camera and right up close, and that can be exhausting.” Sharon: Do you still do Zooms? Deborah: I do, but I really limit them to one-on-one sessions like I have later this afternoon. Sharon: And you teach all over the country, right? Deborah: Yes. We just got back from New Jersey with a new client where we taught IT managers. In two days, we fly back to Costa Mesa near L.A. to do a group of immigration attorneys. In late July we return to Glidewell Dental to train female dentists who come in from all over the country. I love the variety of clients we have. It makes it fun for me. Sharon: It sounds like a variety. When you talk to certain groups—let's say attorneys—do you find them more resistant than CPAs or dentists? That's a leading question. Deborah: I don't find lawyers more resistant, but there's a huge difference between practicing law, no matter what your practice area is, and being a networker or bringing in business. That's what lawyers have the biggest difficulty with. They will tell us, “We didn't go to law school to do sales, but you have to do sales if you want to be made partner.” One of the most difficult things when we train attorneys is to move them away from the belief that they're supposed to educate people about what they do. They need to persuade someone or a firm that it's valuable to partner with them because the attorney has their best interests at heart. Moving attorneys from being educational and informative to persuasive is the biggest difficulty we have. Sharon: That would be very hard. Part of me wants to say, “Are they still thinking they didn't go to law school to be a salesperson?” because that is what you hear all the time. They didn't go to law school to be a salesperson, and nobody taught them how to do that. Deborah: One of the things we teach attorneys is an exercise called active queuing and listening, how to delve for specifics, how to feedback what they're hearing so that, instead of promoting themselves and their firm, they're answering the questions people have and they're gaining trust. For attorneys, gaining trust is everything. We're not buying the name of their firm; we're buying that particular attorney because we need his or her influence. We need their ability to solve our problems. That's what we do when we train attorneys, but it's the same in the medical community; it's the same in IT and with engineers. It's moving people away from showing you how the sausage is made to showing you how much they enjoy and care about what they do and that they will tailor it to your needs. Sharon: That would be very difficult, but I understand. It seems so important for a professional to be able to gain that trust, like you're buying me as opposed to—I don't know; I've never worked with IT people—as opposed to an IT person who has to explain something. To me, it seems a little bit different. Am I wrong? Deborah: I don't agree. Chris Brew is our IT person. I don't need know how he fixes my computer, like today when my Google changed the password and I couldn't send out invoices. I want to know that he's available to me, that he is nonjudgmental and not going to make me feel foolish because I couldn't solve it myself, that whenever I need him he and I can communicate, and then I turn it over to him. It's the same with attorneys. You asked for three tips for attorneys to become better presenters. Here's what I thought about. Whenever attorneys speak, let's say at a conference or a TED talk or they're pitching for business, they need to always tailor their content to the audience. It sounds simple. It isn't. Two, they need to learn how to tell stories, case studies, because they could tell me all day long what their services are; it's not the same as telling me how they solved the problem for another client. Lastly, they need to put in more “I” statements. Even though they're part of a team, when we hear why a project, a case, a transaction was important to them, we start to think about how we could partner together and they would do the same for us. Those “I” statements are really important, and it's not the same as being self-aggrandizing and taking credit. It's saying what they enjoy or what they enjoy doing. Sharon: How do they figure out, or what are the questions to ask before they give a presentation to know who the audience is? Deborah: Great question. When lawyers give either a pitch or a presentation, there's always a contact person. I know when we have a new client, we'll say, “What's your goal for this training? What do you want to achieve? What are the challenges your people face? If you've hired—and this is for attorneys—a lawyer or lawyers before, what did they not do, or what did they do, that has encouraged you to find someone else?” Lawyers need to be better questioners and better listeners. Too many times lawyers will tell you the history of their firm, why they're the best and all these things that do not make us decide in their favor. Sharon: You wrote the book about how women can overcome obstacles. What obstacles are you thinking of, and how do they become engaging and memorable and fearless? Deborah: It took me nine years to write the book “Out Front.” Not only were we busy, but I wanted to share my own personal journey as a woman professional, as a woman executive, and it was hard to put that down on paper. The reason I was motivated to write the book is I have trained, coached, and spoken to hundreds, maybe now thousands of women, who are afraid to speak up, who believe that if they're not an expert, they don't deserve to speak on a topic, who will put themselves last and are afraid to do things like tell a good story or tell why they enjoyed a project. They believe if they're not an expert or perfect or if they haven't been doing the job long enough, they don't deserve to speak. That's simply not true. I help give women the confidence to find their own voice and to speak up before everyone else has spoken, because when a woman waits to speak last, she often will not be heard. I also encourage women to have mentors and other people who say, “Excuse me, I'd really like to hear what Sharon has to say now,” and to build that team and have women mentoring other women. I see women finally breaking the glass ceiling, but it still is not common and it's not easy for women. Sharon: I'm just thinking. It seems that it will be very hard to be the first person to speak out. Deborah: One of the first. You don't have to be first. Sharon: O.K., I'm one of the first. Deborah: Yes, one of the first. What I do with women is identify your intention. What do you want to come from this meeting? Is it to get a second meeting? Is it to qualify to see if it fits right if you're interviewing for a job? If it's to achieve buy-in? Keep focused on your intention no matter how much pushback you get. When you show up, when you are confident, that confidence is more important than your content, interestingly enough. The way we deliver material is worth two to three times our content, so women have to show up and be excited about what they have to say. Now, on the flip side, Sharon, women can sometimes affect negatively how they're coming across, meaning they speak in long, run-on sentences; they have an uptick at the end of a sentence like, “I believe in this,” as opposed to I believe in this.” If they're not specific about a point they want to make, people tune out; they don't listen to them. All of that is in addition to a woman being brave enough to speak up when she has something important to say. Sharon: Deborah—I'm thinking of what you used to do in terms of producing—do you think you were doing the same thing you're talking about and you got past that? I presume now you see it with other women, but did you face the same things, do you think? Deborah: That's so fascinating. As a director—well, first I started out with actors and then I directed corporate professionals. I had to read who my subject was and give them the advice that would move them past the block with the obstacle they had. I'm still doing the same thing. I'm still directing. You're absolutely right, and one size does not fit all. That's why we keep our groups small when we do a training, so that everyone is up on their feet. Nobody learns from being lectured at. You have to do an exercise, get feedback and then, if possible, do a take two in order to change behavior. I'm really happy that we have a business model that works with small groups, sales teams, executive teams, engineers that now have to do sales. These groups, these teams we work with, sometimes we'll say, “We've eloquied you. We've become a verb, and now you can coach each other; you can rehearse with each other.” Sharon: Do you think they do that? Deborah: I do. I think they absolutely practice these new skills. As soon as it gets stressful or a lot's riding on it, you will go back to the way you always did it, the way you always spoke. The most talented women I see have impostor syndrome. They have anxiety. They don't sleep the night before a presentation. They believe they're going to be outed somehow. So my job and our job—because we have other trainers as well—is to give women the confidence and the tools and the safety net, so when they forget where they are, they know how to recover. When someone interrupts them, they can get back to achieving their intention. When they have a success, we tell them focus on it; don't focus on the one thing you left out or what you consider a failure, which it wasn't. Focus on how well you did, and it will be easier the next time. Sharon: I'm thinking about board meetings, meetings with the managing partner and five other attorneys or something like that. Same principles? Deborah: Yes, you can call it communication or presentation. Whether you communicate to a board or to your team, or you want to get a promotion or interview for a job, first, that's your intention. Then have no more than three talking points. If you want to convince or persuade someone with a talking point, give an example. If you say, “Our team is very collaborative,” that's a generality. There's no evidence until you tell us when you were collaborative, when your team achieved something by counting on each other. With these kinds of tools, any woman can be successful. Sharon: I can see how giving the examples would make a big difference, as opposed to saying, “We're collaborative,” because everybody's collaborative, right? In addition, I wanted to ask you: You firm has a newsletter which I think you write, and it has come out weekly for, what, 12 years or longer? Deborah: Our newsletter, the Eloqui Tip of the Week, started 18 and a half years ago. It was because Jim Freedman from—it was then Barrington; it's now Intrepid—said, “You give so many great speaker tips. Why don't you put them out to your clients and colleagues on a regular basis?” We said, “Why not?” Sharon, we now have 5,000 readers. We have an average 27% open rate. Every Sunday morning, it comes out at 7:30 Pacific Time. It is a great marketing tool for us. I can't tell you how many people have written with a tip embedded in the bottom and have said, “It's time for me to come in and do another training,” or “I've moved to a new firm, and I want to bring Eloqui in.” We have missed—because consistency is everything—one Sunday in 18 years because the donkey died. This is my favorite story. We were on our honeymoon on the island of Lesbos. It was pretty constant contact. We had a thousand names. We went to the one internet café on the island, and we said, “We need to use your computer. Deborah's going to enter the names and send it out.” He said, “Internet closed. The donkey died.” We said, “What?” He said, “I put a harness on the donkey. It runs around in a circle. It generates electricity. That's how I have the internet working, the computers working. Donkey died. Internet closed.” I looked at David and he goes, “Don't even think about it.” So, we missed one Sunday. Sharon: I'm thinking how I would be, because you do it every weekend. I always imagine that Friday or Saturday night, you're going, “Oh, my god! I've got to go write the newsletter.” Deborah: No, my personality is such that if I waited till Friday or Saturday, it would drive me crazy. Starting after the last tip on Sunday, our ears are tuned to everything going on with our clients, with news in the world, with what we've seen or done personally, trips we've taken. Because as humans we all speak, we've somehow never had a problem of coming up with a new idea. At some point very soon, we will take either 500 or 750 tips, organize them in categories like managing anxiety, telling a good story, engaging an audience, and we will publish a book with those special tips. Sharon: That would be a great book. It's already written in many ways. Deborah: Yes. Sharon: I'm sure firms ask you, “What do I need to do?” Our experience is that they can manage one newsletter a quarter for three quarters and then it dies. What are your secrets to success in the newsletter? Deborah: First of all, you have to make it readable in under a minute. People have no attention. A lot of white space, short paragraphs. Here, too, you're persuading; you're not educating. You're telling stories. That's why the tip also has a word and a quote. I have some people that say, “I never read your tips, but I read the word every week, and I forward it to my kids in high school who could use a better vocabulary.” Then you have to make it consistent, whether it's quarterly, whether it's a bi-monthly. Ours we can do every Sunday, but most people can't. Make people count on it and look forward to it, and always tailor it to what your clients' needs are. You notice we never in our tips talk about how wonderful Eloqui is or who our clients are, except at the very bottom we just list them. I started to add a testimonial every week or every other week if I could, because I believe people hire you when they see the experience that somebody else has had. We put our tip on both our websites, Eloqui.biz and OutFront.biz, so there's a conversation people can join and say what their experience has been. They know they can count on us, which is the same in business, Sharon. You always, in my opinion, have to have a value-add. The tip is a value-add. If someone's trained with us or I've coached them, they can contact me anytime for 20 years and won't be charged if they have a presentation coming up and need to know if their opening works, or they can't figure out what their intention is. That way we never advertise. It's all word-of-mouth referral. The training we had last week in New Jersey—I didn't realize this until we talked to our contact who brought us in—he said, “There are two people in this room who did a training with you eight years ago, and when we were looking for someone to teach our IT managers better communication skills, they said, ‘See if Eloqui's available.'” You can't buy that kind of advertising. Sharon: No, you're right. Deborah, I'm backing up here, but did you start out as an actor? Did you know you wanted to go into communication? How did that happen? Deborah: David was an actor and a theatre director. I hated and I was terrible at any kind of acting. In fact, I had the anxiety our women clients face. If I knew I had to stand up and talk about my production company, for weeks I didn't sleep the night before. But I have been a director and a producer, and many of the modules we train with, David knew them from being a performer, and then I translated them into modules that were trainable. Again, no one learns from being lectured at; you have to get up on your feet and do it. So, we have a module in our longer training. In Santa Fe, we do an emergent workshop over two days. We work on how to open, how to close, how to tell a story, how to pick a role like a seasoned veteran and motivator. Because if you don't use it, you lose it, they have to take all those skills overnight, and first thing the next morning they do a make-or-break presentation using those skills. So, I'm still directing. After that, we do more fun things: how to read your audience, how to move in a space, how to rehearse to keep it fresh, because the bar is so low for great speakers. If you do one thing well, like a great open or a great close, the audience is so appreciative. They're so bored to death with PowerPoint and boring presentations and presenters who are bored with their own presentations. Sharon: You said you do keynotes, then. Deborah: Yes. Sharon: Do you get nervous before those?  Do you agonize over, “Oh my gosh, how do I say it,” or “I don't want to bore them”? Deborah: I used to get terribly nervous, but then when I wrote “Out Front,” I went on a speaking tour of Vistage and ProVisors and other groups of women, and I had to take my own advice. Now, Sharon, I look forward to keynotes because I love being able to change women's lives. If I can do that and give them confidence—and I'll bring up volunteers. Even when I was at CUNA Mutual a couple of years ago and there were 1,000 people virtually calling in and 500 in the audience, I still brought up volunteers, or I would volunteer people, and I worked with them on their material. It is so satisfying. It's one of the things I enjoy most now. So, I know you can go from being anxiety-ridden to enjoying the process. Sharon: Would you say that's true because you are talking with women's groups, or do you feel the same about talking with the general business population? Deborah: We do speak a lot to the general business population, but I personally have a love of encouraging, supporting and advocating for women professionals. In fact, with groups of young women in high school and college, when they reach out to me and I do a webinar or an in-person talk, I not only volunteer my time, I make sure every young woman has a copy of my book. Sharon: Wow! I'm going to go back to the word fearless in your title. You talked about women. How do presenters, how do lawyers become fearless presenters? Deborah: First of all, most people are still following a 1950s template for how to be a great speaker: gesturing a certain way, telling a joke at the beginning, telling the audience, telling them again, telling them again, that old mantra. That doesn't fit who we are. In order to be fearless, you need to find your voice, what's important to you and speak about it. Let us know why you enjoy marketing, why you enjoy IT, what failures you had, what setbacks you had and how you turned them around. I also wrote an article recently about immigrants. Five, seven years ago, about 80% of our clients were white males. Now, 70% to 80% of our clients are either first-generation, people born in another country, or women who are now in a position of power. When I give these women support, I tell them their accent is a plus, not a minus; that what they've overcome by coming to this country or going to school or learning English as a second language is to be admired and is something that the audience they're speaking to will appreciate. They don't have to hide it. So many women, Sharon, were taught by fathers in Afghanistan, Iran, Japan that women should be seen, not heard. I have to change that, and that's a thing that gives me the greatest satisfaction. Sharon: That's not easy to do. Deborah, thank you so much. This was very interesting. Good, good tips. I hope everybody takes them to heart. I'll just throw this in. I've taken some of your trainings and I found them very helpful and effective. It's been a while, but I would highly recommend them. That's my testimonial. Thank you so much, Deborah. We appreciate it. Great to have you. Deborah: Thank you, Sharon. You ask great questions.

In this episode, Holly & Kristin talk with Deborah Shames about: Early career experiences that created the platform for Deborah's commitment to showing up confident and polished. It wasn't an easy road for Deborah either!  An amazing story of commitment and courage. Deborah's passion for helping others (and especially women) feel confident, prepared, and competent in their roles as executives, leaders and entrepreneurs. The secrets to being “memorable” when you present. The things women need to let go of to show up as confident, competent and authentic.  Key Takeaways When you need to address an audience or present a topic, always know your intention. Right before you present, review your intention for the meeting or presention, not the content. Never write out, read or memorize your content as this comes across as inauthentic Pick only three items that you want to cover in your content as this makes remembering content easier and doesn't overwhelm your audience with too many messages.   Deborah Shames, Prior to co-founding Eloqui with David Booth, Deborah was an award-winning film and television director. She founded the only female owned production company in the San Francisco Bay Area-- Focal Point Productions, which she ran for 15 years. Deborah directed luminaries including Wendie Malick, Rita Moreno, Danny Glover, and Angela Lansbury.   Deborah coaches female executives on presentation and communication skills. She preps authors, CEO's and executives before media tours, and works with celebrity and on-air talent at major television studios. Deborah is frequently engaged prior to national sales meetings or product launches as a keynote speaker or coach, and for leadership development training. Eloqui trains companies to deliver with style and passion. Their clients include CUNA Mutual, Amgen, Prolacta BioScience, OneAmerica, Northern Trust, Mattel, Samsung Chemical, and Hyundai Hata, as well as law, financial and insurance firms. Deborah enjoys coaching individuals to identify their strengths, utilize their authentic voice and drive business. Eloqui also serves non-profits, especially around fund raising. From the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network, Global GLOW, and the Arthritis Foundation to Ability First, Deborah trains the CEO and senior management teams as well as volunteers. Her latest non-profit client is THORN, founded by Demi Moore and Ashton Kutcher. Demi also calls on Deborah for coaching before her public appearances. Deborah received a “Consultant of the Year” award by the San Fernando Valley Business Journal. When not working, Deborah travels, does photography, hikes in the mountains, and makes jewelry. Deborah and her partner David wrote: Own the Room: Business Presentations that Persuade, Engage, and Get Results that was published by McGraw-Hill and is now it's in third printing. It is considered a business bestseller. And Deborah's latest book is for women professionals: Out Front: How Women can Become Engaging, Memorable and Fearless Speakers and was published by BenBella Books.   Connect with Deborah: Email:             dshames@eloqui.biz LinkedIn:        https://www.linkedin.com/in/deborahshames/ Website:         www.outfront.biz Twitter:          https://twitter.com/women_outfront Facebook:      https://www.facebook.com/womenoutfront   Guest Resource Links: Check out Eloqui's Services at: www.eloqui.biz Don't forget to sign up for their amazing weekly newsletter while you're on the website.  17 years and going strong! Books: Out Front: How Women Can Become Engaging, Memorable and Fearless Speakers Out Front: How Women Can Become Engaging, Memorable, and Fearless Speakers: Shames, Deborah: 9781941631676: Amazon.com: Books Own the Room: Business Presentations that Persuade, Engage, and Get Results   Own the Room: Business Presentations that Persuade, Engage, and Get Results: Booth, David, Shames, Deborah, Desberg, Peter: 9780071628594: Amazon.com: Books   UPLIFTING WOMEN HOSTS Kristin Strunk and Holly Teska Your co-hosts of the UPLIFTING WOMEN PODCAST, Holly Teska & Kristin Strunk, are women who UPLIFT other women at work and in the world.  Every other week they bring uplifting women guests to share their personal stories of challenge and triumph to inform and inspire their listeners.  The podcast also features guests who have played a significant role in honoring women and their place in the world by serving as promoters, sponsors, and coaches to the many women in their personal and professional lives. Join Holly and Kristin as they hear how their guests navigate the world of career aspirations, life, love, and family. Get advice from successful women who have figured out their own version of "secret sauce" to create the life they love. Holly believes the world needs the best leaders it can build; those who demonstrate integrity, empathy, humility, vision, positivity, and confidence. This type of leader brings out the best in others and delivers outstanding results. Holly feels we need everyone to perform at 100% to making our world a better place. Holly's experience in leadership, executive coaching, and talent development is the foundation of her career.  She has helped bright and motivated leaders become the very best versions of themselves. Through direct feedback, reflection, experimentation, and honest conversation, she will push you to excel at what you were called to do. Holly is especially committed to helping women navigate the choppy waters of today's fast-paced workplace and evolving world conditions but works with many different individuals and situations.  She welcomes inquiries for leadership and executive coaching and speaking engagements. Kristin's experiences have led her to the simple conclusion that leadership is simple - maybe not always easy, but simple.  Her work supporting leaders in finding their voices inspired her to find her own voice in the space of employee experience and leadership development.  She often hears the question that isn't being asked and is skilled at facilitating conversations and building relationships.  She has helped executives lead organizational transformations involving employee engagement, technology, and the new "Future of Work."  Follow her hashtag #responsibleleadership on social media to learn more about simple things leaders can do to build relationships and have a lasting positive impact. Website:         www.upliftingwomen.net Connect with Holly: LinkedIn:         https://www.linkedin.com/in/hollyteska Twitter:           https://twitter.com/HollyTeska Facebook:       https://www.facebook.com/holly.teska Instagram:      https://instagram.com/HollyTeska Personal Website:         www.hollyteska.com Email:              holly@upliftingwomen.net   Connect with Kristin: LinkedIn:         https://www.linkedin.com/in/kristin-strunk Twitter:           https://twitter.com/leadadvisor Facebook:       https://www.facebook.com/kristin.t.strunk Instagram:      https://instagram.com/ktuttlestrunk Personal Website:         https://regentleadershipgroup.com/ Email:              kristin@upliftingwomen.net  

4-17-21 Deborah Shames by Bob and Stacey

Without the ability to visit campuses, applying for college and selecting where you want to spend the next four years can be more difficult than years past. Students have had to sometimes pick colleges "blindly" which has resulted in the desire for some students to transfer to new colleges. Join Mark and Anna as they speak with Deborah Shames of Personal Best College Coaching to learn more about why students transfer, how to prepare, and more details in this newest episode. 

4-11-20 Deborah Shames by Bob and Stacey

5-18-19 Deborah Shames by Bob and Stacey

10-13-18 Deborah Shames by Bob and Stacey

Big Miracles with Joanna Garzilli Joanna is a spiritual success coach, motivational speaker, and author of “Big Miracles: 11 Spiritual Rules For Ultimate Success,” publishing by Harper Collins. She has been featured in media nationally and internationally including: BBC News, BBC Radio, CNN Money, NBC, OK! TV, Kcal 9, CBS 2, LA Weekly, MTV, Huffington Post, Runway and Elle. Over the past 20 years, Joanna has done thousands of intuitive readings and spiritual coaching sessions for business leaders, entrepreneurs and celebrities including some notable names: Ellen Burstyn, Goldie Hawn, Jenna Dewan Tatum, Vanessa Marcil, Ernie Banks Hall of Fame Baseball and Robbie Rogers U.S. Olympic Soccer team. http://joannagarzilli.comOut Front with Deborah Shames Deborah and her partner, David Booth, co-founded Eloqui in 2001, where they began training thousands of professionals how to speak and communicate more effectively. Passionate about coaching women to convey their genuine personality and abilities, Deborah wanted to reach a greater audience. By authoring Out Front: How Women Can Become Engaging, Memorable and Fearless Speakers, Deborah brings her expertise and experience to women around the world. Her goal is to prepare women of all ages, from millennials to seasoned veterans, with the skills they need to be out front. In addition to her active speaking, coaching and training schedule, Deborah speaks pro bono to educational institutions like the UCLA Anderson School of Business, the USC Lloyd Greif Center for Entrepreneurial Studies, Pepperdine MBA programs, and Cal Lutheran to give young people a boost and confidence at the beginning of their careers. http://eloqui.biz

Jennifer Hill asks speaker and coach, Deborah Shames, “What are a few practical tips to becoming a speaker and thought leader in your field?” Deborah suggests narrowing your talk down to three main points and offers advice on leveraging your anxiety to create a more authentic presentation. Deborah talks about her new book “Out Front” and discusses tips for creating a memorable presentation whether you are in front of a room of five hundred people or doing a one on one interview. outfront.biz A former film and television director, Deborah Shames is the cofounder of Eloqui, a LA-based? firm dedicated to enhancing business communication. For 15 years, she ?has trained and coached thousands of top-level executives, celebrities, and professionals at major U.S. corporations and non-profits. After only a few sessions, her clients generate more revenue, advance in their careers, and often receive the highest evaluations when they speak. Prior to cofounding Eloqui, Shames founded the only female-owned production company in the San Francisco Bay Area—Focal Point Productions, which she ran for 15 years. On camera, Deborah directed luminaries including Wendie Malick, Rita Moreno, Danny Glover, and Angela Lansbury. Now, Deborah specializes in coaching CEOs and executives to improve their communication and presentation skills. Deborah speaks pro bono at educational institutions like UCLA’s Anderson School of Business, the USC Lloyd Greif Center for Entrepreneurial Studies, Pepperdine graduate level classes, and Cal Lutheran to give young people a boost and confidence at the beginning of their careers. Deborah has led a prominent business group in Calabasas for ten years and was honored as Consultant of the Year by the San Fernando Valley Business Journal.

Jennifer Hill asks speaker and coach, Deborah Shames, “What are a few practical tips to becoming a speaker and thought leader in your field?” Deborah suggests narrowing your talk down to three main points and offers advice on leveraging your anxiety to create a more authentic presentation. Deborah talks about her new book “Out Front” and discusses tips for creating a memorable presentation whether you are in front of a room of five hundred people or doing a one on one interview. outfront.biz A former film and television director, Deborah Shames is the cofounder of Eloqui, a LA-based? firm dedicated to enhancing business communication. For 15 years, she ?has trained and coached thousands of top-level executives, celebrities, and professionals at major U.S. corporations and non-profits. After only a few sessions, her clients generate more revenue, advance in their careers, and often receive the highest evaluations when they speak. Prior to cofounding Eloqui, Shames founded the only female-owned production company in the San Francisco Bay Area—Focal Point Productions, which she ran for 15 years. On camera, Deborah directed luminaries including Wendie Malick, Rita Moreno, Danny Glover, and Angela Lansbury. Now, Deborah specializes in coaching CEOs and executives to improve their communication and presentation skills. Deborah speaks pro bono at educational institutions like UCLA’s Anderson School of Business, the USC Lloyd Greif Center for Entrepreneurial Studies, Pepperdine graduate level classes, and Cal Lutheran to give young people a boost and confidence at the beginning of their careers. Deborah has led a prominent business group in Calabasas for ten years and was honored as Consultant of the Year by the San Fernando Valley Business Journal.

3 - 25 - 17 Deborah Shames by Bob and Stacey

STEP INTO & BEYOND YOUR FEAR Discover your infinite power and potential for creativity, fulfillment, success, contribution, and joy. It’s there, inside of you, whether you believe it or not. Actually, you must believe it to see it and feel it. How do you tap into that belief? By stepping into and beyond your fear. Joe Apfelbaum did it; his inspiring and entertaining story will show you how to become your very best you. BOOKS IN THIS PODCAST Jeffrey Gitomer’s Sales Bible by Jeffrey Gitomer Own The Room: Business Presentations That Persuade, Engage & Get Results by David Booth, Deborah Shames & Peter Desberg Own The Room: Discover Your Signature Voice to Master Your Leadership Presence by Amy Jen Su and Muriel Maignan Wilkin Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen Covey The 3 Laws of Performance: Rewriting the Future of Your Organization and Your Life by Steve Zaffron and David Logan The Miracle Morning by Hal Elrod Who: The A Method for Hiring by Geoff Smart and Randy Street Traction: Get A Grip on Your Business by Gino Wickman Bold: How to Go Big, Create Wealth and Impact The World by Peter H. Diamandis and Steven Kotler JOE’S FAVORITE QUOTE “If you can distinguish it, you can extinguish it,” – Joe Apfelbaum CONTACT JOE LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/joeapfelbaum/) www.JoeApfelbaum.com (http://www.joeapfelbaum.com/) www.AjaxUnion.com (https://www.ajaxunion.com/) Tell us what you think and feel. Click “Join The Conversation” below. Let Your voice be heard.

Deborah Shames talks about how her book, Out Front, gives women the communication tools they need to get their messages across to clients and audiences.

Live Love Thrive is a women's Empowerment hour featuring women who are doing amazing work in the world to inspire others to do the same. Producer 360 Karma's ideology is about women helping women so as to catapult females into more positions of influence

Deborah Shames brings an engaging, thoughtful approach to a need many women have. Brad Finkel talks aboust his Hoboken Farms sauces and company.

In their new book, OWN THE ROOM: Business Presentations that Persuade, Engage, and Get Results, skilled corporate communication experts David Booth and Deborah Shames, offer a method of persuasive speaking that goes beyond the do’s and don’ts of public speaking. They deliver a proven way to differentiate your services and become industry leaders—from team presenting and closing important deals to delivering news to shareholders. Listen in on October 1 to discover how persuasive communication can boost your company's bottom line. http://www.mhprofessional.com/product.php?isbn=0071628592

In their new book, OWN THE ROOM: Business Presentations that Persuade, Engage, and Get Results, skilled corporate communication experts David Booth and Deborah Shames, offer a method of persuasive speaking that goes beyond the do’s and don’ts of public speaking. They deliver a proven way to differentiate your services and become industry leaders—from team presenting and closing important deals to delivering news to shareholders. Listen in on October 1 to discover how persuasive communication can boost your company's bottom line. http://www.mhprofessional.com/product.php?isbn=0071628592