I recently had the pleasure of speaking with a group of talented educators in upstate New York. Our focus?  Professional Learning Communities. This is a fascinating concept that applies not only in the classroom, but to any work environment. And, it relates to the idea of "re-inventing yourself" that we covered in our last newsletter. What is a Professional Learning Community? It is a group of teachers, administrators, parents and students all working together to seek out best practices for the classroom so that every student can learn. The key paradigm shift is that the focus is on learning rather than teaching. And, the common denominator with other organizations and businesses, is the importance of continuous learning for everyone! Of course, as a professional development specialist, that's where I get excited!!

Does this picture look familiar? One of the most frustrating situations for someone giving a presentation is lack of attention by the audience. Whether it's the colleague typing away at the keyboard, two people having an animated side conversation or an obvious lack of response, there are things you can do to avoid that sinking feeling that your audience would much rather be some place else

Studies at the University of Indiana show that the brain's attention span drops off rapidly after 10-15 minutes. (With a Power Point presentation, that allows for approximately 1 MINUTE PER SLIDE.) In reality, we actually phase in and out of a presentation about every 10-20 SECONDS!! In our Presentation Skills workshops we teach people to use "Attention Getters" to keep folks engaged. So, rather than droning on in a semi-dark room while folks check their email.....try one of these: