Is this you?

You do intercultural, diversity or international education work. As a Trainer. Teacher. Facilitator. Advisor. Consultant. Coach. You work independently, at a university, or in a corporate environment. You can’t imagine doing anything else.

You strive to provide maximum value for your clients (the study abroad students you advise, the executives you coach, the teams you train). You seek maximum engagement, aha-moments, and application beyond your workshop, advising session or coaching call.

You know that maximizing your value by enhancing your skills toolbox isn’t a luxury. In this shaky economy, it’s a necessity.

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I’ve been where you are. Correction: I *am* where you are.

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I love the intercultural work I do with students and teachers.
(I’m Cate Brubaker, by the way. I run this website, CulturallyTeaching.com.)

I know my work is making a difference in my community. But I want to do even more. I want to make a wider, deeper impact. I know there’s always more to learn.

That’s why I’m always on the look-out for innovative training techniques, activities, and resources that help me deliver maximum, long-lasting value to more people.

But I’m busy. I don’t have time to travel to another state – or country – to attend a workshop. And I can’t justify spending money on airfare, hotel, meals, workshop fees, supplementary materials, and all of the other expenses that add up while away from home.

I’d much prefer a low-cost, high-value way to increase my knowledge and skills without leaving home.

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So I thought: if I want this, I bet you do too.

What if you could increase your marketing savvy during your morning jog (and do more of the work you love)?

What if you could learn how to use visuals to increase workshop engagement during your lunch hour (and increase participant satisfaction)?

What if you could engage in results-oriented professional development without taking time off work or being away from your family or business (and not lose precious vacation days, family time or income)?

Thanks to technology – and three awesome women who are willing to share their expertise and experience with us – it’s possible. And it’s happening. This month!

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Here’s what I’ve got for you:

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Two high-impact 6-week telecourses chock full of put-into-action-tomorrow take-aways taught by three engaging, smart, and successful interculturalists who really know their stuff (I’ll introduce Ann Marie, Candice, and Christine in a moment).

Ehhhh…what exactly is a telecourse? A telecourse is simply a course taught via the telephone. If you’re not familiar with telecourses, it may seem like a weird way to learn. But it’s not. It’s a really cool location-independent way to participate in professional development: if you have a phone, you can participate! What’s more, after the live telecourse you’ll receive an email with a recording of the session, handouts, and extra online resources. A bit further down the page I share my experience moving from telecourse skeptic to telecourse savvy.

Here are the 2 courses I’m offering in collaboration with my 3 colleagues:

1.  Bridging the Marketing Gap: Getting Intercultural Solutions to the Right People at the Right Time to Make a Real Contribution
–> Candice and Ann Marie will help you more effectively communicate the value of the intercultural, diversity or international education work you do, so you can do more of the work you love. Sounds great, right?

2. Unite Your Brain: How to Effectively Use Visuals in Training, Teaching & Coaching
–> Christine will help you engage workshop participants, students, and coaching clients on a deeper level. Who doesn’t want to increase participant engagement?

Is she smiling because she’s enjoying a telecourse? photo by Alan Gee

Who’s teaching these telecourses? 3 fabulous colleagues of mine.

I’ve gotten to know Ann Marie and Candice through our work marketing the SIETAR-USA conference, and by participating in their very popular SIETAR-USA pre-conference master class on marketing.

I met Christine, co-owner of VisualsSpeak, through using her VisualsSpeak ImageSet, reading her blog, and listening to her awesome podcasts and webinars about the power of using visuals in teaching, training, and coaching.

I’ve learned a tremendous amount from each of these women and was thrilled when they immediately agreed to turn their wildly successful workshops, podcasts, and webinars into telecourses just for you. (By the way, you can read their full bios at the end of this page.)

When are we holding these telecourses?

We’re planning to start the courses in the fall. Each course will have 1 session per week for 6 weeks. In addition to each live teleclass, where you’ll have the opportunity to ask questions and possibly even receive personal coaching, you’ll get a recording of the class (which you can download to your iPod or computer), handouts, and additional resources. Space will be limited in each course.

Here’s the best part.
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You can try both courses for FREE!

Yep, free. We decided to kick off this big telecourse professional development experiment adventure with a 60-minute FREE Dip-Your-Toes-In-The-Water session for each course.

Summer is the best time to dip your toes into something new and refreshing!  photo by Sadie_Girl

Why?

First, Candice, Ann Marie and Christine want to learn more about you before finalizing the 6-week course syllabus and posting the final course details. They really want to meet your needs.

Second, this gives you the opportunity to try out the telecourse thing, get to know Christine, Candice and Ann Marie, and learn how their courses will make you slimmer and better looking.

Ok, ok. Maybe that last one is a stretch. How about: help you do more of the work you love with people who love working with you!

In summary:
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1. You have the unique opportunity to learn about marketing your intercultural, diversity or international education expertise and skills and using visuals in your teaching, training, and coaching from experts and all-around wonderful women. Without leaving your family or your job.

2. These courses will be offered this fall. We’ll post course details and the registration page after the free course sessions are finished. Ann Marie, Candice, and Christine want to get to know you before finalizing the course syllabus.

3. We’re offering a free session of each course this month. After the free sessions, you’ll have the option to register for one or both of the 6-week courses.

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Here’s what you need to know to participate in the free course sessions this month:
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Free 60-Minute Session #1:

Bridging the Marketing Gap: Getting Intercultural Solutions to the Right People at the Right Time to Make a Real Contribution

Date/Time
Wednesday, August 18, 2010 @ 2pm Pacific/3pm Mountain/4pm Central/5pm Eastern
(Not in the U.S.? Check the time zone converter to see when the session will take place in your time zone.)

Location
Your phone or Skype (we’ll email you the call-in details and step-by-step instructions after you register)

Instructors
Candice Hughes (Bridging Cultures) & Ann Marie Lei (Ann Marie Lei Consulting)

What do you say when someone asks “what do you do?” or “what kind of work do you want to do?” Do you ever struggle to clearly articulate the value of your intercultural, diversity or international education work, the solutions you offer, and what exactly an intercultural/diversity/international education professional is/does anyway? Does your mother (father, sister, grandmother?) know how to tell her friends what you do or would like to do?

In this free 60-minute call you will:
:: Meet Ann Marie and Candice
:: Be introduced to the language of marketing
:: Learn how to structure an effective marketing message (or elevator speech)
:: Apply the structure to your own marketing message

Two or three participants will receive individualized feedback/coaching during the call, to refine their messages.

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Free 60-Minute Session #2:

Unite Your Brain: How to Effectively Use Visuals in Training, Teaching & Coaching

Date/Time
Saturday, August 21, 2010 @ 10am Pacific/11am Mountain/12pm Central/1pm Eastern
(Not in the U.S.? Check the time zone converter to see when the session will take place in your time zone.)

Location
Your phone or Skype (we’ll email you the call-in details after you register)

Instructor
Christine Martell (VisualsSpeak)

Are you limiting yourself to only half of your brain? What about the clients, students or teams that you work with? Consider nobel-laureate scientists. Award-winning filmmakers. World-champion athletes. What do they have in common? They think not just in words, but in images. These amazing people bring both the verbal and the visual together.

In this free 60-minute call you will:
:: Meet Christine, the instructor for the 6-week course (you’ll also meet me, Cate, who’s assisting Christine with the call)
:: Learn how to tell the difference between using visuals to convey, organize and elicit ideas
:: Discover how to use visuals to help people see cultural differences
:: Find out how visuals can level out differences in language proficiency
:: Discuss how incorporating visuals can draw out your quieter participants

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Interested? Sign up here to receive call-in details!

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Here’s what you get when you add your first name and email address to our Dip-Your-Toes free session mailing list:

1. Step-by-step instructions on how to access the live free sessions (feel free to forward this to a friend).
2. A quick reminder a few days before the free session.
3. A link to the session recording (so you can download it to your iPod or computer).
4. Additional high-value resources hand-picked by the instructors.
5. Priority registration for the 6-week course (you’ll get to register before anyone else – this is important because space is limited).

Even if you already have plans during the live session you can still participate! If you add your name and email to the Dip-Your-Toes free session registration list, we’ll send everything mentioned above to your email inbox. You’ll be able to listen to the telecourse recording and check out the resources when it’s convenient for you. That’s the advantage of telecourses.

Rest assured that you’re under no obligation of any kind by signing up to receive the Dip-Your-Toes session details. We won’t share your information with anyone. Ever. You can unsubscribe anytime, but we hope you won’t want to.

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How I went from telecourse skeptic to telecourse savvy.

When I came across my first telecourse (I think the topic was how to promote yourself even if you don’t like promoting yourself), I was skeptical. Really skeptical. Pay for someone to talk to me – and a bunch of other people I don’t know and can’t see – on the phone? Really? I’m a visual learner!

But I was curious, so I signed up for a free 60-minute telecourse. It was super easy. I simply entered my name and email address in the sign-up form. Soon I received the call-in information in my email inbox.

On the day of the call, I dialed the number I was given in the email, entered the passcode, and then heard the instructor laughing so hard at something a participant had just said that she snorted. The 60 minutes flew by as I took notes on my laptop, sipped a latte, and discouraged my cat from sprawling out on top of my desk.

A couple days later I opened my email to find a recording of the call, links to additional resources, and a very nice thank you note from the instructor. There was so much useful information to take in that I decided to listen to the session again. So I clicked on the link, downloaded the session recording to my iPod, and listened to it again while making dinner.

I was hooked. Since then, I’ve participated in a whole bunch of telecourses – some free, some paid – and I’ve come to enjoy and appreciate them immensely.

In fact, I enjoy them more than webinars because I love being able to download the course to my laptop or iPod so I can learn while I work, drive, make dinner, or exercise. I find that the resources and handouts that come with telecourses are all the visuals I need.

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On the fence about this telecourse thing?

We understand. It’s not for everyone. But you won’t know unless you dip your toes in the telecourse water. So why not give one of our free sessions a try? It’s quick and easy to sign up – just click here to enter your name and email address so we send you the details and step-by-step instructions for participating in the free sessions.

Now, how about learning more about my awesome colleagues?

Christine Martell is co-owner of VisualsSpeak. Christine earned a bachelor of fine arts in textiles at the Rhode Island School of Design and over the next decade, worked as an artist. Over that time, she frequently won awards for her work in a wide variety of venues across the United States. Christine then earned a master’s degree in education from Portland State University, focusing her research on the benefits of visual communication as a training tool. She followed up on that degree with additional certifications in intercultural training, training management, and web-based/multimedia training. Christine is an accomplished consultant, public speaker, and artist who brings more than 25 years of professional experience to VisualsSpeak.

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Ann Marie Lei is an independent consultant and teacher, with an extensive background in marketing communications and intercultural relations.  She worked in international advertising and marketing communication roles at Nike, Inc. for many years, and has continued to study marketing principles and apply them to her consulting business since 1999.  As an advisor to the SIETAR-USA board, Ann Marie has helped lead the rebranding of the organization, as well as the annual conference marketing efforts.  In 2007 she participated in Robert Middleton’s Action Plan Marketing Coaches Certification Program, with the intention of bringing his marketing principles to her colleagues in the intercultural field—to help all of us raise the visibility, credibility, profitability and impact of our individual practices and, ultimately, of the field itself.

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Candice A.Hughes, Ph.D., President, Bridging Cultures Inc., is a school psychologist, licensed professional counselor, assistant professor, and intercultural trainer who has lived and worked internationally.  She supports individuals and families with cultural transition and schooling issues and helps to make school communities more responsive to the needs of culturally diverse students and their families.  Candice has learned the value of having a clear professional mission statement, a concise “elevator” speech about her work, widespread yet focused professional networking, and timely interviews by reporters for publications with a wide circulation.   She also knows that the work of marketing oneself is never done due to continuous technological advances and multiplying opportunities for making connections! Candice currently is in her second term as a board member of SIETAR-USA and is responsible for marketing and public relations for the organization.

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Are you in?
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Candice, Ann Marie, Christine, and I would love to have you join us for one or both of the free Dip-Your-Toes sessions this month (and in one or both of the 6-week courses in the fall!). You’ve got nothing to lose and a lot to gain, so why not try it out?

Just click on this link to receive the details!

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