Skip to main content

FESTIVE ROAD / RADA masterclass, what happened next?

Eight months have passed since FESTIVE ROAD brought RADA in to train 50 women in the business travel industry to become better public speakers. We spent a chilly January afternoon learning how to increase our personal impact in presentation situations, how to speak with clarity and importantly how to manage nerves under stressful conditions. So what has the impact been??

Certainly on the event projects we work in across a number of clients weโ€™re starting to see better gender balance on stage. And at the last two events hosted by the Advantage Travel Partnership, we saw absolute parity with at least 50% female representation achieved surprisingly easily. But letโ€™s be clear, this is not about tokenism. Those people on stage were 100% qualified to be there. The first priority should be finding the very best speakers. We just happen to think thatโ€™s just as likely to be a woman as it is a man!

We have also stayed in touch with some of the โ€œRADA 50โ€ to hear about how the training changed their approach to public speaking and what they have achieved sinceโ€ฆ

Our Leading Ladies have formed quite a community and have been sending updates and photographs throughout the year of their speaking achievements. The RADA session marked a breakthrough moment for many and encouraged them to take up speaking engagements that they would have otherwise hesitated to. The focus on physical presence, articulation and authenticity all resonated with those who took part. So, letโ€™s hear from them!

โ€œI must admit, I reference our session quite frequently on how such small changes have made such a big impact in how I stand, and deliver a presentationโ€ฆ be it to an external audience or to my peers (the latter being the more nerve racking of course!) In fact, I even had my 10 year old Niece adopting the power pose before her drama festival last month… love it!โ€
Fiona Williams, Four Seasons Hotels

“I did the power poses behind the stage just like Megan Rapinoe before I went on (stage) in Spain. It really does work! I think the guys running the show thought I was mad, but I encouraged the others to do it too and everyone benefittedโ€
Amy Hogarth, TAG

โ€œSince the session you prepared for us at RADA, I have a Mantra: โ€˜Fake it Till You Become Itโ€™. That session marked a breakthrough for me: it boosted my confidence and eagerness to contribute to make this a better world. I realized that what motivates me is to have the capacity to elevate collective talent to the next level, by being a trusted and charismatic speaker, leading group sessions, panel discussions and debates.โ€
Veronica Gonzalez, NH Hotels

โ€œI took part in a Pecha Kucha style session at the annual ITM conference in May where four of us presented on Technology to innovate your travel programme. Pecha Kucha is Japanese for chit chat and the format is 20 slides for 20 seconds each โ€“ and the slides automatically move forward on 20 secs. It is intended to keep the content focused, relevant and succinct. It was surprisingly tricky, but fun, to master and went down well. There were about 200 people in the audience, and I think my favourite bit of feedback was that I was engaging and โ€˜connectedโ€™ with the audience.โ€
Helen Hodgkinson, Barclaycard

Pretty inspiring stuff! So now over to you. What have been your breakthrough moments when speaking on stage or within your organisation? Do any of you feel ready to get on stage for the first time but need a helping hand? We are always looking for speakers who know their stuff and we love nothing more than helping those who donโ€™t necessarily have the confidence or skills to do so. With a whole host of industry events kicking off for the next 12 months, now may be the perfect time to volunteer.

Just let us know and we will do what we can to help you to help this industry!

THE MACROSCOPE 2.0

Register here to receive your complimentary copy and future updates of the THE MACROSCOPE Report 2.0

PTM Coffee Table Book

Register here to receive your complimentary copy and future updates of the our PTM Coffee Table Bookย 

The MACROSCOPE Report

Register here to receive your complimentary copy and future updates of the MACROSCOPE REPORTย