Training and Accreditation Programmes
POWERtalk Training Manual
POWERtalk has a ‘Master’ training manual which is a comprehensive guide to speaking and presentation. It is available for members to download free of charge from the POWERtalk International website www.powertalkinternational.com
The manual also contains many practical ‘projects’ to provide experience in a variety of different speaking situations including the ‘leading’ of club meetings and the ‘evaluation’ of other speakers.
Other projects include:
- Speech to entertain
- Speech to persuade
- Speech using visual aids
- Storytelling
- Book review
The projects may be completed in any order with no fixed time period though experience suggests that around 2 years provides the optimum level of personal development.
The project ‘specifications’ are not intended to be mandatory and may be adapted to individual needs.
Evaluation
Each speaker at a meeting is normally assigned an
‘evaluator’ who will provide a realistic assessment of
the speech together with helpful suggestions for improvement.
The whole concept is to support each other and to gain greater understanding of speaking techniques from analysing the work of fellow club members
The General Evaluator provides an overall assessment of the meeting.
Of course, evaluations are themselves a speaking opportunity and should be delivered as a ‘structured’ speech.
Accreditation
The POWERtalk accreditation programme is a more formal system of
qualifications based on 5 courses leading to the award of
certificates for each level of achievement;
- Effective Communicator (EC)
- Proficient Communicator (PC)
- Skilled Communicator (SC)
- Accomplished Communicator (AC)
- Distinguished Communicator (DC)
Training and accreditation programmes are regularly updated to
meet changing presentation techniques.
Competitions
All clubs participate in the annual speech contest which progresses
though club, national and international levels. There is also a
very popular writing contest with sections for fiction, non-fiction
and poetry.
Speech Contest Judge Certification
Club members may apply for POWERtalk Speech Contest Judge certification
once all necessary criteria are met. Candidates are assessed at the
annual Region POWERtalk Speech Contest Final.
POWERtalk Corporate Trainer
The Corporate Trainer Programme offers a pathway towards
professional training. It can be used to train on behalf of POWERtalk or
as a career option.
Fellows of ITC
Top achievers in POWERtalk may be awarded the title of Fellow of International
Training in Communication (FITC). Candidates must attain an 80% pass mark in
their assessment which involves running a training workshop, giving a ten-minute
presentation on their skills and experience and giving an evaluation of other
candidates. FITC assessments are held at international events such as Convention
or President’s training weekends. A qualified FITC may run training sessions on behalf
of the International Board.