Speaking courses delivered Online

AS YOU DELIVER THIS INFORMATION, YOU ARE COACHED TO IMPROVE YOUR PUBLIC-SPEAKING STYLE IN THESE (AND A FEW OTHER) AREAS: BODY LANGUAGE, POSTURE, WORD CHOICE, CONFIDENCE, EYE CONTACT, VERBAL TICS/FILLER WORDS, AND VOLUME. You will be coached to overhaul your content and visual aids (frequently PowerPoint) used during the presentation by: stating your purpose clearly, reducing the amount of text on slides, making messages more user-friendly, and choosing best graphics to support message. Attendees Will Be Able To: Increase ability to motivate the audience by delivering organized and engaging presentations; Gain more efficiency by crafting carefully-worded, streamlined messages, free of verbal tics and filler words; Increase enthusiasm through focus on body language and stage presence; and Convince listeners with strong evidence presented in speech and visual aids. Online Format—Advanced Presentation Skills is a 4-hour interactive virtual class for up to six people. Register for this class and you will be sent ONLINE login instructions prior to the class date. The Diversity Sensitivity & Awareness workshop was excellent. It provided a unique approach to addressing the topic. The session was interactive, interesting and very informative, leaving participants with a greater understanding of the merits of diversity and an inspiration to continue to broaden that knowledge base. Sandra Hess Moll, Director of Employment Services / Affirmative Action CoordinatorMcHenry County College

An exciting 10-week course to build your Spanish skills from scratch. Practical applications for travel & conversation. Enlarge your vocabulary, improve your grammar in a pain-free, step-by-step way, working with a tutor with 10+ years' experience & a small group of learners.

Fed up with feeling fed up? Learn to be Happy and Get What You Want Live your dream life Achieve your goals Feel Happy on a more consistent basis Learn how to manifest Get what you want What people are saying: "I had a thoroughly enjoyable experience and left with plenty of food for thought. Sam is truly a wonderful person. Happiness Club is well worth anyone's time." "Found it beneficial to explore issues and obstacles around making time for selfcare and putting my needs first sometimes! Sammy is a welcoming host and facilitator." "I have worked with Samantha multiple times. I attended the Happiness Club for unlimited self-esteem online course, which was very helpful in identifying self-defeating beliefs and building new ones. I have also done a number of tapping sessions with Samantha to address deep seated issues that I was unable to shake off for years. The results were like magic! I could not believe how fast those aspects of my life changed. At the end of the tapping session, we did some impromptu coaching. Samantha is a very good listener. After hearing my problem, she guided me through the solution without imposing her own views. She helped me find the solution or new belief from within myself." Session Information Each session will include: · Setting goals to live your dream life. · This week’s topic. Programme of Sessions1 Part One – Design Your Dream Life Design Your Dream Life Free Masterclass (pre-requisite) Part Two – Basics of Happiness Thursday 9th January - Feeling the Pain Thursday 16th January - When Feeling the Pain Doesn’t Work Thursday 23rd January - Take Responsibility and Change Your Story Thursday 30th January - Meditation and Mindfulness Thursday 6th February - The Power of Silence Thursday 13th February - Gratitude Thursday 20th February - Journalling Thursday 27th February - Music for Manifesting Thursday 6th March - Healthy Lifestyle = Happy Lifestyle Thursday 13th March - Sleep Thursday 20th March - Try Easier Thursday 27th March - Create a Routine for Happiness and Success Thursday 3rd April - Integration/R&R Week Part Three – How to Get What You Want Thursday 10th April - How to Get What You Want Thursday 17th April - Affirmations Thursday 24th April - Visualisation Thursday 1st May - Manifesting Miracles Thursday 8th May - Manifesting Money (Incl. My Abundance Transformation and How I Got Out of Debt). Thursday 15th May - Manifesting a Soulmate Thursday 22nd May - Get What You Want Challenge Thursday 29th May - Integration/R&R Week Part Four - Life Skills part one Thursday 5th June - Home life incl. feng shui and decluttering Thursday 12th June -Maintaining healthy relationships incl. relationship check ins Thursday 19th June - Social Life Thursday 26th June - Overcoming Anxiety Thursday 3rd July - Dealing with Overwhelm Thursday 10th July - Overcoming Fear Thursday 17th July - Hoponpono Thursday 26th July - Releasing Limiting beliefs Thursday 31st July - The Power of Forgiveness Thursday 7th August - Decision making made easy Thursday 14th August - Random acts of kindness Thursday 21st August - Career, Life Purpose, and Personal Development Thursday 28th August - The Power of The Unconscious mind Thursday 4th September - Integration/R&R Week Part five life skills part two Thursday 11th September - Time management Thursday 18th September - Overcoming procrastination Thursday 25th September – Grounding, healing and protection Thursday 2nd October - The Power of Language Thursday 9th October - Shadow Work Thursday 16th October - Overcoming Shame Thursday 23rd October - Faith Thursday 30th October - Self-Care Thursday 6th November - How to Stop Overthinking Thursday 13th November - Dealing with Anger Thursday 20th November - The Dance of Life Thursday 27th November - Saying No, Setting Boundaries, and Speaking Your Truth Thursday 4th December - Do You Need a Relationship to Be Happy? Thursday 12th December - Happiness is an Inside Job Thursday 19th December - Be Your Own Life Coach *Please note dates and topics are subject to change

This programme helps communicators to prepare for and deliver an effective speech. Here, you learn to motivate people by speaking to them in terms of the benefits they will receive by taking action. Each instructional segment is followed by participant speeches that put the newly-learned skills into action. We cover public speaking fear and how to move forward despite it, as well as increasing enthusiasm. This builds speaker confidence. By organising information clearly for the audience, participants grow in their conviction and are perceived more as experts. Delegates will be able to: Work through fear of public speaking; Build confidence and enthusiasm by creating meaningful, memorable speeches; Develop greater abilities for thinking and speaking with less preparation; Minimise self-defeating speech and behavior; and Present ideas to, and inspire the audience. Online Format—Introduction to Public Speaking is a 4-hour interactive virtual class. Register for this class and you will be sent ONLINE login instructions prior to the class date. Working with Dr. Atkins of Improving Communications has been a very positive experience. Everything about the program is exemplary! Managers have made it a point to tell me how pleased they are with the improvements made in the communications skills of the participants. The Professional Development Workshop is an extremely effective program. The participants are looking forward to follow-up sessions with Dr. Atkins and we recommend his programs. Heather Ragone, Training ManagerNetwork General

Read and discuss this beautiful story of friendship, love and truth set in London, Tuscany and Florence Highlights Join this book club and gain extra motivation to read in English 7 hours of live classes to help you develop fluent speaking in English Discuss this novel of beauty, love and art over 4 decades Be corrected by an expert English teacher to remove errors and mistakes Practise and develop your English online in this 7 week advanced English book club course reading and discussing Still Life by Sarah Winman. Each week you read some chapters, discuss them in class and improve specific areas of vocabulary or grammar while also examining literary aspects of the novel. Personalised feedback improves your grammar, vocabulary and pronunciation. The Book Club book In Italy in 1944 two strangers meet in a Tuscan villa. Ulysses Temper is a young British soldier, Evelyn Skinner a free-thinking independent-minded 64-year-old art historian, come to rescue paintings from the war and relive her memories. This chance meeting with Evelyn will transform Ulysses’ life – and everyone who knows him. ‘THE most beautiful book … it will stay with me a long time’ SARA COX, BBC TWO’S BETWEEN THE COVERS Geoff says: "This is a lovely novel, with references to the great writer EM Forster and his masterpiece "A Room With A View". Much loved by readers, the characters of this novel stay with you for a long time."

Read and discuss this witty, best-selling murder mystery - clever and compelling Highlights Join this book club and gain extra motivation to read in English 7 hours of live classes to help you develop fluent speaking in English Read this amusing book to develop your understanding of colloquial English Be corrected by an expert English teacher to remove errors and mistakes Practise and develop your English online in this 7 week English book club course using the Richard Osman's new series after The Thursday Murder Club, We Solve Murders. Each week you read some chapters, discuss them in class and improve specific areas of vocabulary or grammar while also examining literary aspects of the novel. Personalised feedback improves your grammar, vocabulary and pronunciation. The Book Club book This is the first in a new series for detective duo Steve and Amy Wheeler. Steve is happily retired and likes his routines: the pub quiz, sitting outside, his cat. His past was full of adventure, but now he likes a quiet life. His daughter-in-law Amy, however, loves adrenaline. She's a private security officer, protecting a world-famous author Rosie D’Antonio on a remote island. It should be a simple job, until there's a murder, a lot of money and someone trying to kill Amy. This thriller is filled with action, amusing lines and warmth. And you need to work out "whodunnit" - who committed the crime! 'The thing that shines through in Osman’s writing is that he really likes people and revels in all their foibles and eccentricities. All of which makes for a delightful read' THE OBSERVER Geoff says: "Richard Osman is the famous author of the best-selling Thursday Murder Club series. This new book has broken all records as the best-selling adult hardback fiction book in the UK. It is full of action, yet witty, with interesting characters, and full of British English idioms and colloquialisms - great for improving your knowledge of how English is actually spoken!"

Read and discuss this beautiful story of friendship, love and truth set in London, Tuscany and Florence Highlights Join this book club and gain extra motivation to read in English 7 hours of live classes to help you develop fluent speaking in English Discuss this novel of beauty, love and art over 4 decades Be corrected by an expert English teacher to remove errors and mistakes Practise and develop your English online in this 7 week advanced English book club course reading and discussing Still Life by Sarah Winman. Each week you read some chapters, discuss them in class and improve specific areas of vocabulary or grammar while also examining literary aspects of the novel. Personalised feedback improves your grammar, vocabulary and pronunciation. The Book Club book In Italy in 1944 two strangers meet in a Tuscan villa. Ulysses Temper is a young British soldier, Evelyn Skinner a free-thinking independent-minded 64-year-old art historian, come to rescue paintings from the war and relive her memories. This chance meeting with Evelyn will transform Ulysses’ life – and everyone who knows him. ‘THE most beautiful book … it will stay with me a long time’ SARA COX, BBC TWO’S BETWEEN THE COVERS Geoff says: "This is a lovely novel, with references to the great writer EM Forster and his masterpiece "A Room With A View". Much loved by readers, the characters of this novel stay with you for a long time."

Read and discuss this modern retelling of The Iliad by award winning writer Madeline Miller Highlights Join this book club and gain extra motivation to read in English 7 hours of live classes to help you develop fluent speaking in English Discuss this modern retelling and develop your cultural knowledge Be corrected by an expert English teacher to remove errors and mistakes Practise and develop your English online in this 7 week advanced English book club course reading and discussing the modern best-selling novel The Song of Achilles by award winning writer Madeline Miller. Each week you read some chapters, discuss them in class and improve specific areas of vocabulary or grammar while also examining literary aspects of the novel. Personalised feedback improves your grammar, vocabulary and pronunciation. The Book Club book A gripping tale of love, ambition and immortal fame. This book was the winner of the Orange Women's Prize for Fiction and has sold over 1.5 million copies worldwide. It retells the story of The Iliad for modern times. The young prince Patroclus is exiled to the court of King Peleus, and is befriended by his son, Achilles. As the young men learn of war and medicine, their bond deepens, in spite of Achilles's mother Thetis. But when news reaches them that Helen of Sparta has been kidnapped, Achilles must fulfill his destiny and go to war in far off Troy. Not knowing what will become of them Patroclus accompanies him, and the years that follow test everything they value. 'Captivating' DONNA TARTT 'I loved it' J K ROWLING 'Ravishingly vivid' EMMA DONOGHUE Geoff says: "Modern day retellings of the stories from the classical Greeks have become very popular over the last decade - and this is the book that started the trend!"

Read and discuss these two gripping stories of race, identity and sexuality Highlights Join this book club and gain extra motivation to read in English 7 hours of live classes to help you develop fluent speaking in English Read and discuss these important novels about race, identity and sexuality Be corrected by an expert English teacher to remove errors and mistakes Practise and develop your English online in this advanced course featuring Passing (1928) and Giovanni's Room (1956). Each week you read some chapters, discuss them in class and improve specific areas of vocabulary or grammar while also examining literary aspects of the novel. Personalised feedback improves your grammar, vocabulary and pronunciation. The Book Club books Passing by Nella Larsen: Clare Kendry "passes" as a white woman. She is married to a white man who is unaware of her African-American heritage. On meeting her childhood friend Irene, both women examine and reassess their marriages, confronting their past lies & fears for the future. Nella Larsen's intense, gripping story & insight into identity established her as a key author of America's Harlem Renaissance. Giovanni's Room by James Baldwin: David, a young American in 1950s Paris, plans to get married. However, while waiting for his fiancée to return from holiday, he meets Giovanni, a handsome Italian barman, starting a passionate affair. Tortured by his sexual identity, he has to decide who he is and who to spend his life with. 'Audacious... remarkable... elegant and courageous' Caryl Phillips 'Gorgeous, fearless, tempered by dark knowledge and pain ... the greatest American prose stylist of his generation' Colm Tóibín Geoff says: "These two short novels are both important contributions to literature by black writers. Passing (1929) established Nella Larson as one of the most important black female novelists in American history. Recently made into a Netflix film, Passing is the second and last of Larson's novels, and considered a classic work. She was a pioneer in writing about sexuality, race and the secret suffering of women. James Baldwin's powerful and controversial second novel is his most sustained treatment of sexuality, and a classic of gay literature."

Read and discuss the Queen of Crime - Agatha Christie! Highlights Join this book club and gain extra motivation to read in English 7 hours of live classes to help you develop fluent speaking in English Study this classic detective story and work out the clues by understanding the text Be corrected by an expert English teacher to remove errors and mistakes Learn English online using this great story from Agatha Christie - the most widely published author of all time and in any language. This is an 7 week online Zoom course with an expert English teacher from the UK. The Book Club book In Death on the Nile Poirot finds himself in the middle of a confusing murder while on holiday in Egypt. What reason would anyone have to murder the beautiful victim? And will they kill again? With an intricate plot, this is one of Agatha Christie's finest murder mysteries. Geoff says: "Agatha Christie is known as the Queen of Crime. She is the best-selling novelist of all time, writing 66 detective novels and 14 short story collections. This one stars her much loved detective, Hercule Poirot."