Welcome

Did you know that style, expression, tone, facial expression and body language account for 93% of the meaning inferred by an audience? What does this mean? This means you may be giving the wrong message to your clients without even knowing it!

People ultimately believe the messages delivered by the people they like and trust. That "likeability" and "trustworthiness" is established and solidified by how you deliver your presentation rather than solely the content of your presentation.

Whether speaking to the board, to clients, to a large or small group, internally or externally, to the media, or at a conference, Illuminata Global will empower you with the tools and confidence required to excel in your next presentation.

In an age that's increasingly come to be defined by communication, the methodology of expression takes on a more crucial role than ever before. At the same time, an increased focus on communication's more technological aspects makes it easier to forget that communication is first and foremost a human art – and that human communication is, at its core, non-verbal.

Even the accomplished public speaker may be unaware that such extra-content factors as style, facial expression, and body language account for nine-tenths of the meaning discerned by any given audience; or that the audience in question will ultimately place a greater emphasis on perceived degrees of likability and trustworthiness than they will on the intended message itself; or that such a dynamic applies to such things as Power Point presentations just as much as it does to a lunch meeting or even a brief exchange of words in a hallway. What this means, then, is that you may be presenting a fatally flawed message to your clients and colleagues without even realizing it.

Whether you find yourself called upon to speak to a board of directors, a client, or the media, the array of communication skills you'll pick up by way of Illuminata Global's unique custom training courses will provide you with the tools and confidence necessary to succeed in modern professional life.

Our Seminars (longer)

Effective communication in the work place has always been difficult.  Through our proven methodology, you will acquire the skills needed to conduct yourself with confidence and poise by creating credibility in any message that you are required to deliver. Through specific performance coaching from your facilitator, you will learn how to build and deliver an effective presentation that will help you more effectively inform, recommend and influence decision-making.

Although many of the courses for which Illuminata Global is best known center around business education with an emphasis on corporate training solutions, each of the classes we offer involve a degree of leadership development of the sort that one may bring to bear on all facets of life, professional and otherwise. Nor do we limit our offerings to executive seminars of interest only to CEO's, project managers, and the like; several of our customized training courses are geared towards non-business professionals working in particular industries such as medicine and entertainment. Regardless of the line of work you and your employees may be involved in, we can provide the training necessary for effective, credible messaging.

Presentation Skills

Our goal: participants acquire the skills to conduct themselves with confidence and poise by creating credibility in their message. With the help of the trained professionals at Illuminata Global, participants will acquire the skills to make an effective presentation that will enhance their standing in their company, as well as with their clients. We say mind your PDQ's. By that, we mean there are three equally important areas that must be addressed in order to become an effective presenter. These areas are: (1) Preparation; (2) Delivery; and (3) Questions.

The art of the business presentation is anything but self-evident, even to those for whom such presentations are a common element of their business life. Many who turn to us for advanced training in this regard are astonished by the number of crucial elements of which they were previously unaware despite years of experience with such things. With the assistance of our expert instructors, though, participants are able to fill in the gaps with confidence and ease.

Our courses in presentation skills place an understandably keen emphasis on what we refer to as the "PDQ's" common to all successful presentations: preparation, delivery, and questions. Each of these elements is equally important; nonetheless, each is just as often misunderstood by the very people for whom a well-executed presentation often constitutes the difference between success and failure.

High Stakes Presentation Skills

Executives are constantly called upon to deliver high-stakes presentations. An Executive's ability to have his/her message consistently heard can make a career. While communicating within their organization or with their clients, it is critical for Executives to be credible and compelling. In this course, Executives will acquire the skills that will allow them to establish confidence in whatever message they are required to deliver.

Among the various executive training seminars offered by Illuminata Global, our workshops related to the development of high stakes presentation skills may very well be the most crucially necessary to those executives who often find themselves called upon to deliver make-or-break presentations to clients, as well as to those for whom intra-organizational messaging is a major component of the average workday. In this class, our experienced business education instructors provide executive participants with the expertise necessary to deliver credible, compelling presentations to any audience.

Executive Presence

Do you sometimes wonder if you are being too passive, too hesitant, or too weak? Do you ask yourself if there might be a better way? Do you need to instill a sense of authority within your organization? In this course you will acquire the skills to help you identify an appropriate assertive strategy. These strategies are proven methods that will build and strengthen an assertive approach to your work. By the end of this course, you will be prepared to act more assertively without harming your career. Furthermore, you will acquire the skills to recognize the variables that influence your ability to be an "active" listener. You will return to work more productive and confident in your role.

Although most executives are aware of the integral role that demeanor plays in the overall effectiveness of their management skills, many who come to us for leadership development are unsure of how their presence comes across on a day-to-day basis. When one holds a high position in any organization, it can be difficult to get an accurate and honest read on how one is viewed among one's co-workers, and because dynamics like these play such a large role in a firm's overall cohesiveness, certainty is crucial. Our proven strategies in the realm of executive presence will ensure that your general management skills are informed by an appropriately assertive communication strategy that demands the best from colleagues and subordinates alike without causing damage to important intra-office relationships.

Effective Sales Presentations

Acquire the skills to deliver a clear, concise sales presentation to current or prospective clients. With the help of trained professionals at Illuminata Global, you will become an effective sales presenter. These presentation skills will establish you as a consultative partner with your clients which will increase your sales. You will set yourself apart and no longer be perceived as just another sales person trying to make a sale.

Every good salesman knows the importance of clear, concise presentation. But every great salesman takes this axiom one step further by adapting the techniques necessary to establish one's self as not simply another salesman trying to rack up his score without reference to the interests of the prospective client, but rather as a consultative partner whose judgment merits serious consideration and whose own success is ultimately tied in to the success of the client firm itself. Our training and development seminars in the sphere of sales presentations can help you or your sales department make the jump from adequate to indispensable in the eyes of your clients.

Executive Coaching – Presentation Skills

Executives are constantly called upon to deliver high-stakes presentations. An Executive's ability to have his/her message consistently heard can make a career. While communicating within their organization or with their clients, it is critical for Executives to be credible and compelling. Illuminata Global's One-on-One Coaching paradigm for Executives will achieve breakthrough levels of presentation performance. By participating in our Executive Coaching Session, Executives will acquire the skills that will allow them to establish confidence in whatever message they are required to deliver. In this hands-on, interactive program, participants will acquire the skills to conduct themselves with confidence and poise by creating credibility in their message.

While the majority of executives are called upon to deliver high-stakes presentations from time to time, there are some for whom such make-or-break communications efforts are a fact of daily life. To those in the latter category, we generally recommend participation in Illuminata Global's one-on-one coaching program as a supplement to our standard group-oriented presentation skills seminars. In working with our experienced coaches on an individual basis and under a training regimen tailored towards your particular requirements as a communicator, you'll achieve breakthrough levels of presentation performance of the sort that will allow you to establish confidence and credibility in whatever message you may be required to deliver, regardless of the audience to which you're required to deliver it.

Presentation Skills for Pharmaceutical and/or Medical Professionals

You will acquire the skills to deliver an effective presentation to pharmaceutical and/or medical professionals. You will learn to present yourself with confidence and convey your message to individuals and groups that will lead to increased credibility and trust. Your Illuminata Global Consultant, with strong experience in the medical/pharmaceutical field, will guide you through a series of exercises aimed at improving what we call your PDQ's. Highly effective presenters are those who are skilled at Preparation, Delivery, and handling challenging Questions. Because powerful presenting is a skill that is learned, practice, practice, practice is the hallmark of our workshop. Participants will be recorded practicing a variety of skills and will leave the program with individualized DVD's, which will demonstrate their strengths, develop areas that need improvement and progress that has been achieved.

With health care occupying a larger segment of the world economy than ever before, and with the field of pharmaceutical sales growing more competitive each day, those who seek to gain a competitive edge in these pursuits are best-served by honing their communication skills in order to better differentiate themselves from the crowd. And because a career in medicine entails a unique communications skill set, Illuminata Global employees instructors with direct experience in the industry that they might better coach participants to overcome the unique presentation skills required for those who wish to excel in the industry.

Nonetheless, the art of presentation is universal, which is why our medicine-oriented presentation workshops emphasize the same fundamental elements that we address in our more general presentation courses: preparation, delivery, and questions, or the "PDQs." And because expert presenters are made, not born, we emphasize practice just as strongly, which is why our participants are recorded in the act of practicing their newfound skills and then provided with a DVD compilation of their progress so that they might continue progressing on their own.

Communication Skills for the Entertainment Industry

In the Entertainment Industry, the most important Communication Skill to master is "Pitching."

While it is true that there is no formula which will guarantee financial success in the movie business, we, at Illuminata Global, know what makes a pitch "work."  Whether your audience is within your organization or without (whether one-on-one or before a crowd), there are certain tried and true methods that guarantee success.

Pitching is an art form.  To master pitching requires hard work under the tutelage of an experienced professional.  Our Entertainment Industry Pitch Consultants, with a proven "green light" track record, will conduct a course that will provide you with all the tools necessary to make your next pitch "hit the mark." 

Though there exists no magic bullet with which to guarantee success in the world of films and television, there do exist certain communication tactics common to all successful pitchers. The skills provided by way of Illuminata Global's customized training and development courses for use in the entertainment industry have proven wildly successful for those of our clients who have put them into play, as well as for our instructors themselves, all of whom are accomplished in the exacting art of obtaining green lights from major production houses.

Creating Clear and Concise Power Point Decks

Good Power Point Decks speak for themselves and require little or no description.  In this course, you will acquire the skills to create Power Point Decks which are precise, concise, and above all else, understandable to your audience.

Preparation is the key to a well-received presentation. Before beginning to construct a deck, it is imperative that all knowledge about the subject matter has been acquired, including the audiences' background and current needs.  We, at Illuminata Global, will provide you with the skills to master this element, saving time, lessening the number of drafts, and establishing a clear message.

Too often, we fall into a pattern of jargon, clichés, and "business speak." The result is Power Point slides that are simply unclear. Too many slides can appear to be jumbled and verbose, having the result of making no sense to the audience.  In this course, you will acquire the skills to create Power Point decks that stay on message and insure that your presentation is not only heard but acted upon.

If a Power Point deck is to speak for you and your company, it must also speak for itself. Unfortunately, even veterans of Power Point tend to hold misconceptions regarding what sorts of communication strategies are appropriate for a given audience, while some are in the habit of utilizing tactics and terminology of the sort that are rarely appropriate for any audience at all. The use of such things as clichés, unnecessary jargon, and "business speak" can reduce clarity dramatically, thereby weakening the audience's ability to focus on the message that one intends to deliver.

In order to address common problems such as these, our training programs in the proper use of Power Point focus on the message efficiency of the finished presentation deck as as well as time efficiency with regards to the preparation stage itself. Our instructors provide participants with simple yet effective strategies for compiling one's research, gearing it to the needs of a particular audience, and creating a final product that's not only understandable, but actionable as well.

Presentation Skills for Technical Professionals

Too often, we fall into a pattern of "tech-speak." The results are Power Point slides, and presentations that are simply unclear to our audience.

In this course, you will acquire the skills to create Power Point decks that stay on message and insure that your presentation is not only heard but acted upon, by technical and non-technical audiences. 

Whether you are required to present virtually, in-front of large or small groups, at the completion of your course, Illuminata Global will empower you with the tools and confidence required to excel in your next presentation.

If you're a technical professional, you take understandable pride in knowing what you're talking about; problems begin to develop, though, when others have no idea what it is that you're trying to say. The overuse of "tech speak" is a common pitfall among those who are required to present their message to non-technical audiences, with the result being the sort of communication failure that can lead to lost business.

Our training programs for technical professionals provide for clear, proven methods whereby the technically-oriented can communicate with the technically-challenged without watering down the overall message or glossing over crucial details, and the skills you'll acquire in this course are just as applicable to virtual presentations and Power Point decks as they are to in-person speaking engagements in front of audiences both large and small.

Business Writing

Business writing is the most difficult of all business communication. Poor business writing will result in thwarting business. Well written business communication will facilitate whatever action you are requesting of the reader. In this one-day workshop, you will acquire the skills to recognize and avoid the most common mistakes in business writing. You will save time, create the impact you want and strengthen your ability to communicate in a dynamic and professional manner.

As crucial as the art of business writing can be for the success of executives and managers alike, a surprising number of professionals who might be otherwise communication-savvy are critically deficient in this increasingly important aspect of management skills. Fortunately, Illuminata Global's one-day business writing workshop can achieve dramatic results in this oft-overlooked aspect of business education, thus helping you to translate your ideas into clearer, more actionable composition in less time than you may have previously thought possible.

Creating Clear and Compelling E-mail

Constructing an effective E-mail can be one of the most difficult skills to master. Poor writing will result in thwarting business. Well written E-mails will facilitate whatever action you are requesting of the reader. In this one-day workshop, you will acquire the skills to recognize and avoid the most common mistakes in writing E-mail. You will save time, create the impact you want and strengthen your ability to communicate in a dynamic and professional manner.

Our course will concentrate on acquiring the skills to most efficiently prepare you before you begin to write. Once this skill is mastered you are guaranteed to save time in your writing, require fewer drafts and hone your message to its essence.  Clear and effective writing reflects clear and effective thinking. Too often, business writers fall into a pattern of jargon, clichés, and "business speak." The result is writing that is simply unclear. Our goal is to put clarity into your writing. We will concentrate on the use of effective words and phrases that will promote action. Effective use of syntax, vocabulary, grammar, and structure are just some of the areas that we will cover.

Though e-mail composition is simply a special case of the larger business writing skill set and many of the same rules apply to written communication of both the virtual and traditional sorts, the art of the e-mail also presents different challenges and opportunities of the sort that are often overlooked. The supposed informality of the newish medium, for instance, often leads to compositional laziness among those who would otherwise be far more careful were they writing text for print. Likewise, e-mails have become one of the business world's more common repositories for jargon, cliches, and unnecessary "business speak," leading to unclear and ineffective messaging and further resulting in lost time for the sender and flawed understanding for the recipient.

In order to remedy this common source of communication friction, our business education courses in e-mail composition concentrate on the use of effective, actionable terminology by addressing such elements as syntax, vocabulary, grammar, and overall structure.

Powerful Coaching Conversations

"Coaching" is a buzzword in organizations today. But what does coaching really mean in your organization and when is it most important? In this hands-on, interactive program, participants will define what coaching is and explore the hidden organizational costs of missing "teachable" moments. Participants will learn a number of coaching tools and techniques and apply them to client-specific coaching scenarios. (Before running this customized program, Illuminata Global will work with you to identify those situations in which improved coaching skills will have the most impact. The scenarios used in the program will be based on your organization's real-life coaching situations).

The use of the term "coaching" has become increasingly ubiquitous among those who purport to offer management education as well as among those who would attempt benefit from it. But like many concepts of the sort, the term "coaching" often becomes a mere buzzword that cloaks the important realities of one-on-one training and the most effective methods thereof.

Any executive who seeks to maximize the ongoing process of day-to-day business education within a given organization must first address several core questions. When is coaching most important? What are the hidden organizational costs of missing teachable moments? And how can managers better capitalize on such opportunities?

Because the answers to these questions will differ wildly from firm to firm, our customized management training course begins with a thorough examination of your organization's structure in order that we might better identify those situations in which our advanced coaching techniques can have maximum impact.

Online Evaluations

lluminata Global's evaluation process allows our organization to continually improve our course offerings. Each participant will receive a link to our online evaluation site after completion of the course. These evaluations are based on Kirkpatrick's Level 2 model. The evaluations are comprised of verbatim comments as well as numerical scoring. The scores and verbatim comments are then tabulated and sent to a designated contact within your organization. Please go to the following link to see an example of our online evaluation process.

After undergoing one or more of our management education workshops, participants are encouraged to provide us with feedback by way of our online evaluation process, which is itself based on Kirkpatrick's level 2 model. The bulk of the evaluation is based on numerical, one-to-ten responses to questions concerning the extent to which a given participant has improved upon existing skills while achieving a better understanding of new ones; the remainder is comprised of questions that require text responses.

The purpose of these evaluations are two-fold. On the one hand, they allow us to improve on any areas of our management training courses which may be less effective for some of our participants; on the other, this data is tabulated and sent to a designated contact within your organization so that your firm might have a more thorough understanding of what your participants have learned and what may need to be addressed in the future.

To review our evaluation process, you can click on the following link.

Trainer Certification

Bring Illuminata's intellectual property and delivery expertise inside your company. Illuminata can insure that your own staff of facilitators can effectively conduct Illuminata's Communication Skills programs, thus reducing your overall training cost.

Our Train-The-Trainer option allows your trainer(s) to master the content of and then teach Illuminata programs. Train-The-Trainer options decrease the need for large expenditures on training every time new employees are hired.

Illuminata will partner with your organization to select the best candidate(s) to be certified. The certification candidate(s) will then attend the program in which he or she desires certification. The candidate(s) attends a five-day certification session where they acquire the skills to deliver each part of the program. They practice delivery and receive intense coaching in the delivery aspects of the program. When your trainers deliver the program for the first time, an Illuminata Global master instructor will observe their delivery techniques and provide additional coaching as required.

Because many firms have continual training needs that are most efficiently addressed within the firm itself, Illuminata Global supplements its own employee development and executive training courses with additional programs that focus on maximizing the training and development skills of your organization's internal staff of facilitators, thus reducing your overall training cost.

Our Train-the-Trainer option provides your in-house training staff with the expertise necessary to implement the same coursework under which our own instructors operate, and to achieve the same kinds of results that have made Illuminata Global a byword for corporate training solutions in general. This is achieved by way of a five-day certification session in whichever program(s) that would be of most benefit to your particular organization, during which time participants will receive an intensive mix of coaching, feedback, and supervised practice sessions. Upon completion of the course, one of our master instructors will observe your participant's next training sessions and provide additional coaching as needed.

For those firms which have taken advantage of this on-site training program, the result has been a dramatic decrease in longterm training expenditures.

Customized Learning Solutions

We will construct a course that is based on the developmental needs of our participants. Based on an assessment of the participants' skill level, we build courses that fit into your current developmental needs and link to your personal and business goals. We will construct one course that addresses your developmental needs, saving you time and money!

In addition to the various training workshops offered by Illuminata Global, we also provide customized training programs built around the needs of our clients. By first assessing the skill level, background, and other particulars of a given participant, we can provide optimized courses that can better address one's individual developmental needs and then further link these to one's own personal and business-related goals. Additionally, this route allows our clients to choose the exact nature and subject matter of the training courses they want their personnel to undergo, which not only saves time and money for those concerned, but also better addresses the skill set development required by any given participant.