How do you put the oomph in your presentation to get people to listen and learn? For 39 Department of Education officials and staff,  counting the many ways may have been tedious but worth the effort during a training course conducted last June 5-7 at the Helena Z. Benitez Training Center in Tagaytay City.

The Powerful Presentation Skills Training conducted by AIJC helped the participants to dig into their own gold mine of talent and skills as they learned to enhance presentations using dynamic visual aids. Each learning session was followed by hands-on preparation of PowerPoint presentations. Peer critiquing was used to draw valuable insights of the process.

Other modules of the training-workshop engaged the participants in effective public speaking with vocal drills and exercises; developing skills in oral presentation from organizing ideas, understanding audience and purpose, and crafting message; using tools in effective delivery; and handling/managing difficult questions. Highlight of the workshop was a session on facing the media where participants learned what to do to ensure proper handling and management of media interviews through a hands-on media exercise followed by a critiquing session.

Resource persons AIJC creative director Liza Azarcon, Convergys training manager Amy Ojerio, and PR specialist and AIJC consultant Archie Inlong walked the participants through each session to enable them to get the feel of the real situation.