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Packaging Horizons
News & Views - Take Your Pick from Our Packed Tool Chest
Women in Packaging offers its members the tools necessary to sharpen their professional skills and package themselves. Increase your visibility, marketability and credibility by utilizing these tools created for Women in Packaging (WMPKG) members
Speakers Bureau - This is your one-stop shop for the best speakers in the packaging industry. WMPKG has immediate access to speakers who address the topics that can affect your bottom line. Our speakers are authors too.
Speaking of which...Cathleen Fillmore, who coaches professionals and executives on marketing themselves as speakers, offers a few pointers about the value of public speaking.
Public speaking is an essential business tool if you want to climb the corporate ladder. This is great news because developing your presentation skills will also help develop your confidence as well as your social and communication skills. Oh, and you get to deal with many of your fears!
If you’ve given a speech or presentation and gotten less than great feedback, then you know it’s time to sharpen your skills. Or maybe you got great feedback but you know you could have done much better.
Sharpen your presentation tools by taking courses, attending Toastmaster’s, joining the National Speakers Association or the Canadian Association of Professional Speakers, getting a private coach (a really great investment) and simply practicing every chance you get. Offer to speak to community groups free of charge until you’re completely confident of your skills and your message. Trade presentations in particular can be boring and highly technical — if you can learn to deliver a dynamic speech at a trade convention, you’ve just exceeded expectations and placed yourself in a great position.
When you’ve given enough presentations so that you’ve become somewhat complacent and your speech no longer really engages you, it will not engage your audience either. It’s time for more training, more enthusiasm and possibly a change of topic or venue.
Content is no good when your audience is zoning out! I got great training with Myer Levine of Dynamic Presentations. Myer videotaped me telling a story and then replayed the video. I was stiff and very reserved. After some coaching, we did another videotape and the difference was dramatic. That difference in animation carries over to my phone conversations, my negotiating skills, and every aspect of my business.
My communication skills both in writing and speaking are the greatest asset in my business. I maintain my edge by keeping up with the latest strategies, by getting constant upgrading and training, and by reading voraciously. What helps me helps the clients I coach. Cathleen Fillmore is co-author of “Going for Gold! A Complete Marketing Strategy for Speakers” and author of e-book “Smooth Talking: Getting into Professional Speaking.” She coaches professionals and executives on marketing themselves as speakers. She can be reached at e-mail cfillmore@idirect.com, phone (416) 466-6540 or web site www.speakersgold.com. You can order Cathleen Fillmore’s books online at Women In Packaging’s new web bookstore. Go to www.womeninpackaging.org/bookorder.asp.
An Online Bookstore at WMPKG for your Convenience - You can now get books that are targeted to women in the packaging industry from WMPKG’s new online bookstore. Go to www.womeninpackaging.org/bookorder.asp and select a title that addresses your needs. WMPKG will continue to add new books to this latest feature of its web site, so keep checking what’s available.
Packaging Horizons Magazine - This cutting-edge publication leads packaging professionals to the pinnacle of business know-how. Members are invited to contribute to articles and make themselves available for interviews. All contributors receive full accreditation for participation and the contact information they would like to include such as their company’s web site, phone number and e-mail address. If you’re an author of a book and send a review copy to WMPKG prior to the magazine’s publication, you can include information about your book and where to order it.
Movers & Shakers - The place to find out who is doing what in packaging. The Movers & Shakers section of the WMPKG web site features promotions, relocations and biographical information about WMPKG members. Tell the world what is happening in your career and get recognition for your achievements.
Packaging Career Hotline - The hottest packaging job board on the Internet is a service of WMPKG. This job board offers a win-win situation for candidates and employers alike. An e-mail subscription of the weekly job postings is available to members. Sign up today for the most up-to-date information about who is hiring at www.packagingcareerhotline.com.
Request for Proposal (RFP) - The RFP section of the WMPKG web site is an outreach to the corners of the globe requesting and offering assistance in the many niche markets of packaging. If you need a question answered or want a proposal on a project, this is the place for solutions and options.
How to Join Women in Packaging Inc.
You can apply to Women in Packaging Inc. by filling out the printed form at the back of Packaging Horizons Magazine and sending it to: Women in Packaging, 4290 Bells Ferry Road, Suite 106-17, Kennesaw, GA 30144-1300. Or, you can go to the Women in Packaging web site at http://www.womeninpackaging.org/benefits.html and fill out the membership application online.
From Where Our Readers Sit
• “Thank you for all the great years of support and information with your organization. Even though I am not an active participant in the activities you do, it’s nice to know they are there. I want you to know I do appreciate it.” —Marcia Rieff
• “Packaging Horizons Magazine this past month was a pleasure to read!!!!!!!!!!! What a great job!” —Ginger Kindred, RockTenn.
• “We remain interested in all that you do. We frequently have clients interested in going into packaging, and we refer them to you for advice from the industry. Your materials are read and shared, and in our opinion, you provide an important and useful service for women in packaging. Moreover, women who are not in packaging find your materials are practical and often the information translates to other industries as well. By all means, keep us on your mailing list.” —David A. Ellis , Management Counselor, Rappahannock Region, Small Business Development Center, James Monroe Center, Mary Washington College. E-mail: dellis@mwc.edu. Phone: 540-286-8060.
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