Presentation Zen - great book!

I'm reading a great book that Angela turned me on to called Presentation Zen and if you have ever experienced "Death by Powerpoint" you need to read this book.


Garr Reynolds brings slideware into the Conceptual Age (remember Daniel Pink) by sharing his "amplification through simplification" approach. His solution: more subtlety, grace, and elegance in slides and no more than 6 words per slide. Oh, and also, no more than 6 slides per presentation! Garr tells us to make our impact with the images we choose and he says the best stock images around are from http://www.istockphoto.com/

Speak to your points instead of overwhelming your audience with text they won't even read. Then, be sure to provide them with a handout afterwards that contains all the stats, graphs, pie-charts, and minutia of your speaking points! Engage them with visuals and stories that are relevant and compelling. How refreshing!

His knack for "bottom-lining" is masterful and he gets you to think succinctly. "What is your point and why does it matter?" is what Garr wants you to CONSTANTLY ask yourself.

Dwight Shrute had it right, PowerPoint does suck BUT you can make it work for you and after reading Presentation Zen, you'll see how!

Happy presenting!

Ruth

SNL JT & Beyonce

This clip doesn't do justice to the actual Saturday Night Live skit and if you find the real one on You Tube, let me know.

The message for me - don't take yourself too seriously and give the guy credit - that Justin Timberlake is one funny bugger!


If you saw his last SNL contribution, "Dick in a box" you know what I'm talking about!


This ought to put a smile on your face!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AFmwnrryIKI



R.

Focused Energy Coaching

I'm doing some exciting work with two brilliant women and we've formed a coaching company called Focused Energy.

Here they are!

Angela Kontgen

Angela's worked in pharmaceutical sales for over 17 years and she's one of the most visionary, energetic and spirited people I've come across in the coaching industry! She's going to change the world. Stay tuned!




Carolyn Hidalgo




Carolyn is a connector. She brings people together like no one I've ever seen in action B4 IN MY ENTIRE LIFE! She survived twins 7 years ago and never looked back. Expect greatness from her. You won't be disappointed!






Stay tuned! We're doing some exciting work with pharma companies, physicians, and MINI COOPER!

With continued curiosity,

Ruth

Need to Get Unstuck??????

Ruth Catney, now coaching!

As you may know, over the last year I have been completing my training to become a Professional Coach and I’m at the point in my training where I’m now accepting clients.

Warning: this could be a blast of rich self-learning and personal growth, accelerated goal- reaching, and - FUN!!!

What is coaching?

Coaching is a professional, confidential partnership.
Because it is so systematic and no-nonsense, coaching empowers you to reach your goals by holding you accountable every two weeks to meet agreed-upon actions. If you’re looking to get “unstuck”, make lifestyle changes, or need some motivational coaching, I can help.
As your coach, I will collaborate with you to help define your future vision and goals in the areas of your life that require attention -
(Significant Relationships, Health, Career, Financial, Family/Friends).

Let me be your dedicated thinking partner and we’ll collaborate our way to your best self!

Coaching Works!

Clients report that working with a coach helped them to stay focused, motivated, on track and accelerated the achievement of their goals. They also reported enjoying the process of self-discovery.

How We’ll Work Together

Every 2 weeks we’ll teleconference (by phone or Skype) for 1 hour. During this time, we’ll discuss successes, review actions that have been taken from our prior call, create additional actions you want to commit to for sustained momentum, discuss support you might need and any barriers that might exist that could prevent you from getting what you want. As well, you will have access to me via e mail and also brief phone conversations in-between scheduled sessions. I will also ask for a commitment of 3 months*.
*Studies indicate that 3-month coaching commitments work best to ensure positive and sustainable changes.

Contact me today to accelerate your personal and professional growth!

Ruth Catney, MA, Cognitive Science
Professional Coach
ruth@forbesmktg.com

Gloria Steinem turns 75 today!

Here's to a woman who has done much to improve the lives of women and men. "Be the change you want to see in the world" is what she has done superbly and I love what she represents. I have always been impressed by her articulation of argument and her knack for persuasion.

Here's a quick link about her work for the women's movement and her contribution to the Ms. Foundation. It's just over 10 minutes.

http://www.womensvoicesforchange.org/2009/03/gloria-steinem-is-75-outrageous.html

Thanks to you Ms. Steinem. My adoration and gratitude to you is profound.
Ruth

The Coaches Training Institute: Balance

Today I'll be completing another course for my

co active coaching practise (Balance) and I'm learning a lot about the discipline of shifting perspectives to serve my greater good. I'm learning about how we can have limiting beliefs about our situations and I'm getting the skills to help people shift those perspectives, think of other options, and then commit to taking actions to make changes. Big stuff indeed.

My love for learning and personal growth is being sated in this course but the group I am with is amplifying the enjoyment of the experience exponentially! It's such a safe place so the learning is deeper and more robust and that much more profound.

So, I'm planning to start taking clients soon. Exciting frontier for Catney! Start thinking about the limiting perspectives you hold on to that are keeping you in an undesirable situation and please, never forget that you have OPTIONS. Things WILL NOT change overnight, but small, sustained changes over time will give you a sense of accomplishment and the changes you dreamed of will begin to unfold, right before your eyes.

Coaching really does make the world a better place!

Arizona and Ian Percy

Just back from Arizona and it was superb. The warm, dry air was good for my soul. During my visit I met up with Ian Percy, the keynote speaker and Infinite Possibilities founder. He's doing some ground-breaking work on the subconscious mind as it relates to performance and success and I have to say, I want to know more.

I remember reading about a study of the subconscious mind where they had participants play a "game" against a fictitious opponent in another room. Participants were seated at a table and either a briefcase OR backpack was put in the chair across from them. The researchers found that the briefcase made participants compete much harder compared to the backpack. They concluded that participants were making subconscious assumptions related to their opponent's success in life where the briefcase represented greater success than the backpack. To read more about this study and get more insights into the relationship between social instincts and the subconscious mind, click here:
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/31/health/psychology/31subl.html

Wouldn't it be trippy to figure out what your subconscious beliefs are and how they might be holding you back from gigantic success??? You should contact Ian if you want to know more. Empower yourself OR even your organization by harnessing the subconscious mind and you could just realize your infinite possibilities! I plan to!

http://www.ianpercy.com/ OR http://www.infinitepossibilitiesinitiative.com/

With continued curiosity,
Ruth