Principles of Chart Design

/in , , /by

Create presentation charts that get your message across quickly and clearly to drive your audience to action.

Duration: 2.5 hours (Approximately 90 minutes of video lessons and 60 minutes of exercises)

Most presentations are awful. Not only do they lack a story but the charts used to convey information are cluttered, confusing, and distracting. These issues lead to long, pointless meetings, constant rework of bad charts, and leave your audience with a bad impression of your work.

In this course, you’ll learn how to design charts that are consistent, concise, clear, and clean. The course covers:

  • The basic elements of charts and why they’re important
  • The types of quantitative charts and the appropriate situation to use each one
  • The types of qualitative charts and when to use them
  • The 4 C’s of charting: consistent, concise, clear, and clean and how to apply them
  • How storylines connect to and drive chart design

Throughout the course, you’ll be introduced to various chart types and styles and go through exercises where you’ll apply the tools and techniques to actual presentations and charts on which you’re working so you can see the real-world application of these methods and how they improve the quality of your work product.

The course consists of instructor-introduced concepts, practical application exercises, and supporting materials.

The target audience for this course consists of individuals in analytical or persuasive roles at mid- to senior levels of corporations (e.g., analysts, managers, mid-level executives). The value of this course to participants and the organization are:

  • Clearer communications for more efficient and effective decision making and reduced decision making time
  • Less rework of bad presentations and charts
  • Fewer meetings spent figuring out confusing data and frameworks and more time spent on executing the ideas the charts are trying to convey

Mike Lynn has been helping people learn for 25 years. His experiences span informal and formal training, extensive delivery and facilitation, one-on-one coaching, virtual learning and training management. He has run the training function for a 300 person global consulting firm, served as the local office learning manager for the Midwest office of McKinsey & Company, trained extensively on professional skills, communications, and problem solving. He served numerous clients in an individual coaching capacity. At McKinsey & Company he focused on training and individual coaching on a wide range of communications topics, and then broadened his role to focus on problem-solving skills, management, team development, and MBTI. Mike was responsible for leading training programs for new consultants and engagement managers. Mike is a principal at thoughtLEADERS where he leads training on communications, chart design, problem solving, and executive presence.

 

Storytelling for Salespeople

/in /by

Create and deliver stories that will take your sales efforts to the next level. Connect with and convince buyers in all situations using memorable stories. These stronger relationships drive more sales.

Duration: 3 hours (Approximately 120 minutes of video lessons and 60 minutes of exercises)

Participants learn how to craft compelling sales stories to be used throughout the entire sales process, from introducing yourself to buyers, to building rapport, making the sales pitch, resolving objections, negotiating price, closing the sale, and service after the sale.

The research behind Paul Smith’s book Sell with a Story: How to Capture Attention, Build Trust, and Close the Sale is the basis for this program. This includes interviews with sales and procurement leaders at over 50 companies, including Microsoft, Costco, Xerox, Abercrombie & Fitch, HP, Kroger, Huntington Bank, and others.

In class, participants will discover 1) what a sales story is and is not, 2) the 25 stories all salespeople need, and 3) how to craft sales stories for maximum impact. Specifically, participants will learn techniques for:

  • How to choose the right story
  • Proper story structure
  • The proper use of emotion, surprise, dialogue, details, and length
  • Telling stories with data
  • Where to find great stories

The course consists of instructor-introduced concepts, practical application exercises, and supporting materials. The course includes:

  • Extensive instructor videos to guide you through the content
  • A downloadable course guide of slides to help you follow the instruction
  • A downloadable workbook to apply the method as you take the course
  • Exercises, quizzes, and case examples to help you apply the method as you learn it

The target audience for this course consists of any individual with sales responsibilities – from the front-line salesperson to the senior-most seller in the organization. Whether the sale is small and transactional or big and complex, these storytelling skills will improve your salespeople’s performance. The value of this course to the participants and to the organization as a whole are:

  • More effective salespeople who make deep connections with prospects and customers
  • Higher close rates and win rates due to these improved relationships
  • A more confident sales force that can meet your organization’s goals

Paul Smith is a principal at thoughtLEADERS. He is a former consultant with Accenture and more recently an executive at The Procter & Gamble Company where he spent several years working on sales teams with P&G’s largest customers including Walmart, Costco, and Asda. He is an internationally popular speaker and trainer in leadership and storytelling techniques. Paul is the author of the bestselling book Lead with a Story: A Guide to Crafting Business Narratives That Captivate, Convince, and Inspire. He’s also written the bestselling Sell with a Story: How to Capture Attention, Build Trust, and Close the Sale and The 10 Stories Great Leaders Tell.  Paul holds a bachelors degree in economics, and an MBA from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.

 

Storytelling for Leaders

/in , /by

Create business stories that inspire people, build connections with your audience, and ultimately advance your organization’s goals by using a repeatable, straightforward method.

Duration: 3 hours (Approximately 120 minutes of video lessons and 60 minutes of exercises)

Learn how to craft compelling stories that resonate with your audience to drive people to action, set a vision, lead change, sell ideas, inspire teams, or foster more creativity and innovation.

Participants learn 1) what a business story is, 2) when to tell stories and when not to, and 3) how to craft stories for maximum impact. This includes learning techniques for:

  • How to choose the right story
  • Proper story structure
  • The use of emotion, surprise, dialogue, and length
  • Telling stories with data
  • Where to find stories

The course consists of instructor-introduced concepts, practical application exercises, and supporting materials. The course includes:

  • Extensive instructor videos to guide you through the content
  • A downloadable course guide of slides to help you follow the instruction
  • A downloadable workbook to apply the method as you take the course
  • Exercises, quizzes, and case examples to help you apply the method as you learn it

The target audience for this course consists of individuals in analytical or persuasive roles at mid- to senior levels of corporations (e.g., analysts, managers, mid-level executives). The value of this course to the participants and to the organization as a whole are:

  • An ability to create messages fueled by stories to advance their business goals
  • Quicker audience connections by addressing their concerns and pain points
  • Increased confidence in storytelling which reduces over-reliance on data which saves time and money
  • Clearer communications leading to more efficient, effective, and faster decision making

Paul Smith is a principal at thoughtLEADERS. He is a former consultant with Accenture and more recently an executive at The Procter & Gamble Company. He is an internationally popular speaker and trainer in leadership and storytelling techniques. Paul is the author of the bestselling book Lead with a Story: A Guide to Crafting Business Narratives That Captivate, Convince, and Inspire. He’s also written the bestselling Sell with a Story: How to Capture Attention, Build Trust, and Close the Sale and The 10 Stories Great Leaders Tell.  Paul holds a bachelors degree in economics, and an MBA from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.

 

Structured Thought and Communication

/in , , , , /by

Craft clear and compelling recommendations that resonate with stakeholders. Get your ideas approved by using a proven method for delivering executive-level communications.

Duration: 2.5 hours (Approximately 90 minutes of video lessons and 60 minutes of exercises)

If you want to get to “yes” efficiently and effectively, this course is exactly what you need. You’ll learn a method for defining and analyzing an idea as well as how to successfully create, communicate, and gain support for initiatives through the application of an efficient, effective analytical approach.

You’ll learn how to:

  • Create and define a “core idea” you want to get support for
  • Build logic to support that “core idea”
  • Define the analyses required to support that “core idea”
  • Draft and discuss your “story” with key stakeholders
  • Package your “story” in a variety of formats (presentation, memo, email, etc.)

The course consists of instructor-introduced concepts, practical application exercises, and supporting materials.

The target audience for this course consists of individuals in analytical or persuasive roles at mid- to senior levels of corporations (e.g., analysts, managers, mid-level executives). The value of this course to participants and the organization as a whole are:

  • Clearer communications leading to more efficient, effective, and faster decision making
  • More efficient analysis and less re-work which leads to higher productivity
  • Crisper thinking to eliminate low-value work and prevents pursuit of low-value ideas

Mike Figliuolo is the founder and managing director of thoughtLEADERS. He is an internationally recognized author, trainer, speaker, and blogger on the topics of leadership, communications, strategy, decision-making, problem solving, and other critical business skills. An honor graduate from West Point, Mike served in the US Army as a combat arms officer. Before founding thoughtLEADERS, he was an assistant professor at Duke University, a consultant at McKinsey & Company, and an executive at Capital One and Scotts Miracle-Gro. He is the author of three books: One Piece of Paper: The Simple Approach to Powerful, Personal Leadership, Lead Inside the Box: How Smart Leaders Guide Their Teams to Exceptional Results, and The Elegant Pitch: Create a Compelling Recommendation, Build Broad Support, and Get it Approved. Mike is also one of the most popular authors on LinkedIn Learning where he has published 30 courses that have been viewed millions of times by learners from around the world.