methods | joecalamusa

keynote address

What are the ingredients of a transformative Keynote Address? It must delicately combine Integration, Innovation, and Inspiration. Integration is the Keynote's foundation and it is often built weakly and without care. So many speeches given as part of larger meetings miss the mark by not connecting to the content of the event; this is especially frequent when contracting outside speakers. The best Keynote Addresses integrate with the themes of the overall event so that the speech reinforces all that occurs before and after it. That requires a commitment to customization. Innovation is the source of incremental value and it often falls flat. Integration without innovation makes for just another item on an agenda. The speaker should be required to reveal concepts and constructs that take the audience beyond listening to a point at which they truly think. Finally, a Keynote Address can't transform unless it inspires. Inspiration is more than just the creation of a transitory emotion. Inspiration is a call to action that causes application well after the conclusion of the Address. The speaker raises the audience to the point at which they recognize personal and professional actualization through change. Audience transformation can happen in a single interaction if these 3 ingredients are present and properly infused.

large group training

Too often organizations are asked to sacrifice success for the sake of scale. Many teachers and trainers will rationalize their weak results by contending that big achievements require a small audience. Don't believe the hype. The amount of progress isn't inversely related to the amount of people. In fact, there can be a multiplying effect in a large learning environment. We define Large Group Training as a half-day or full-day session that includes between 25 and 250 participants. These sessions include pre-training surveys and assessments, teaching, discussion, video content, and experiential break-outs. A consistency of connection is created throughout the audience and activities by balancing collective purpose and process with individual priority and perspective. A single person's success story becomes the pursuit of all others in the session. What one attendee is fighting has already been faced by the others in the audience. Large Group Training gives us the opportunity and the objective to reveal internally and externally. We reveal externally by introducing innovative instruction and inspirational ideas. We reveal internally by facilitating the sharing of expertise and experience. Large Group Training allows you to scale success.

small group workshop

A Workshop should be symphonic. The curriculum should be so carefully composed that every ear hears a melody and a message. The attendees are more musicians than audience, turning notes on a page into collaborative sound. The instruments are custom-made and capable of making music for years to come. And the conductor orchestrates a rhythm that raises the collective performance to new heights. Was your last workshop "symphonic"? A half-day or full-day session with less than 25 attendees is how we define Small Group Workshop. These include assessment, teaching, discussion, and application pointed toward individual or team improvement. Quantitative analysis and qualitative anecdotes are combined to create an experiential learning environment. The schedule is fast-paced and fast-changing while the focus is clear and constant. Workshops are work: purposeful and productive. But when they are properly arranged, Workshops can be as pleasing and powerful as a symphony.

distance learning

We can have a presence without being present. We define Distance Learning as any training or coaching interaction for which we are virtually present. These sessions include Webinars, Videos, Calls, and any other content distributed via technology. There are obvious advantages to this medium: cost efficiency, scheduling flexibility, minimization of lost production time. The existential question on Distance Learning is always: what did I give up in efficacy to gain in efficiency? "Too much" has historically been the answer; and is still often the truthful response. But when your preparation and performance are built perfectly for the platform, then efficiency gains are maximized while efficacy losses are minimal. Preparation is about timing and technology. Pre-work going in, and post-work coming out, of the session eliminates the losses that often stem from Distance Learning requiring shorter sessions. Choosing the right technology for the desired results ensures the transfer of knowledge isn't stifled or stymied. Performance is about a powerful presence. Our delivery isn't dependent upon proximity. The energy and expertise we offer is just as potent when we're not in person. Our experience with Distance Learning ensures that everyone involved has a presence regardless of where they are present.

consultation

Some hire a consultant with the same care that they hail a cab. Hiring a consultant shouldn't be as simple as hailing a cab. It makes sense to stand on the corner and greet the next yellow taxi that comes your way if you just need to travel a few blocks. With all due respect to our friends in the taxi business, pretty much any car can get me there. But that's losing logic when it comes to embracing essential, and sometimes existential, opportunities within your organization. Often companies hire a ubiquitous firm to handle a unique problem: so your solution gets copied and pasted from the closest proximity project that can be found in their files. Just as often, companies hire the author of the most recent book on a subject similar to the problem at hand: so your solution is the author's book reprinted into a pretty powerpoint with your logo emblazoned upon it. Why are we so loyal to these losing strategies? Project-based consulting must mix external expertise with internal insight. It's just as likely that the issues seem internally unsolvable because they are internally indefinable. Our approach to Consultation is to get inside with new eyes. See the source of the problem first instead of blindly spending resources on symptoms. We find that most issues aren't systemic and solutions are almost always about reallocating existing resources. Stand on the corner and wave your arms to hail a cab; don't hire a consultant that way.

training certification

Is learning better without language barriers? For organizations with internal trainers there is often the opportunity to teach the concepts we create in the language of the learner. Through Keynote Addresses, Small Group Workshops, and Large Group Training, we immerse ourselves in the culture and study the language of the audience to the point at which we are almost fluent. In very specific situations we offer our content to in-house teachers and trainers who speak the local language with an even more vivid voice. Through Training Certification we experientially prepare those who will be translating our topics. Internal representatives receive a full explanation of a session's development along with a full example of the session's delivery. In most cases, the flow of teaching, discussion, and application is custom-built with and for the client organization. Published visuals, videos, tools, and user-guides are packaged and distributed to all those certified to teach the content. Certification often takes less than a day and content is consistently updated under a subscription model. There is internal efficiency and empowerment that makes Training Certification an obvious option for some. We'll train your team to teach in the learner's language.

coaching

One of the biggest buzzwords in business is "Coaching". It's a brilliant way to associate business with athletics, which results in increased activity on blogs, websites, and podcasts. But when you look only slightly below the surface you find that the buzzword "Coaching" is just a bunch of buzz. Real coaching is about building relationships that make others better. It's about being there for somebody. It's about following up and following through. Coaching is being on call and being counted on. We develop relationships that enrich beyond a single event; authentic connections that offer ongoing leading, listening, and learning through individual conversations and small group discussions. We leverage multiple mediums including in-person consultations, phone conversations, and virtual sessions in order to be a resource for strategic thinking and urgent decisions. Coaching can turn hearing into habit and transform training into personal and professional growth.