One of the many things we've learned over our 30-plus years as a public speaking school: There's more than one effective way to work on your public speaking.
It's why we have a number of options:
- Our Executive Seminar, a structured program open to the public
- Custom workshops tailored to a particular set of goals
- Private coaching to help individuals or teams work on a specific presentation
What's the best choice for you? Each of these approaches has its advantages, so let's take a look.
The Executive Seminar
This class covers a wide range of communication skills, including impromptu speaking, thinking on your feet, writing and rehearsing a formal presentation, and speaking with the media.
Class members come from around the world and from every type of company and profession. The course takes place over three days at our school in Camden, South Carolina.
Clients tells us they value:
- Small class size, personalized instruction, and lots of opportunities to practice and apply coaching
- The diverse faculty, including veteran public speaking coaches, a voice coach, and media professionals
- The chance to connect and learn from people from other companies who share similar goals
- Being immersed in the program away from the office and feeling secure about trying new things
- The flexibility of being able to send people from their companies one or two at a time, as needs arise and schedules are open
Our Executive Seminars take place in the historic house we call home in Camden, SC.
Custom on-site workshops
We frequently design custom Buckley programs to be delivered for corporate groups and at conferences and retreats.
These may be for a small team or a large number of employees. They can be as short or as long as the client would like. There's really no limit to how a session can be put together.
Clients tells us custom workshops are great because:
- Activities can be built around company goals and participants can leave with company messages they are confident to present
- Workshop activities make good team building exercises, in addition to improving communication skills
- Training is cost effective and convenient, because employees don't have the expense of travel and spend less time away from the office (and home) since the school's coaches bring training to you
- Working on messages as a team can help groups identify their strongest points and see how other points need to be reconsidered or strengthened
- Team members discover their colleagues have talents and skills that may have gone unnoticed before
Companies find that team building is one of the bonuses of our custom workshops.
Private coaching
Though some people choose to use this for general skill building, most of the private coaching we do is tied to a specific presentation or speech.
We've worked with teams for as much as a week to create and rehearse a multi-million dollar pitch or build a sales presentation they'll use for months. We also work with individuals on speeches they might be giving as keynote speakers, as part of their campaign for an elected position, or to boards of directors and clients.
Private coaching is particularly helpful when a speaker or team:
- Needs help fine-tuning a critical or confidential message
- Wants to enhance their delivery, either because the audience is large or the occasion is important
- Has a complex message that requires PowerPoint, scripting, or multiple speakers
- Is staging an event with multiple sessions and multiple speakers that may include presentations, panel discussions, and audience participation
We deliver private coaching at our school, on location, and virtually, depending on what best meets the needs of the speaker or team.
Private coaching helps speakers build confidence in both their message and their delivery.
Finding the balance that works
When many of our long-time clients are making decisions about the training they need, they often choose "all of the above."
Most find that a basic public speaking workshop—either our Executive Seminar or a custom program—is a good foundation for themselves and their teams. They often follow that with private coaching for specific presentations or events.
Other clients start by providing a custom workshop for their employees, then send individuals to the Executive Seminar as a further investment in their training. In many of these companies, attending our program in Camden has come to be viewed as a special honor, one that signals the company's belief in the employee's potential.
We're always happy to talk to you about what can make the best approach for you, so feel free to get in touch!
