Q&A with March Luncheon Speaker Cynthia Oelkers

Written by Riley West.
@RileyWest7

Cynthia Oelkers with Conclaro will teach you how to be more persuasive using power and likeability at our next luncheon. During her talk “Power and Likeability: Balancing the Two Keys to Being Persuasive” you will learn about two concepts of power and likeability as they relate to public and 1:1 communication. It will be presented in a dynamic way, using video, business-appropriate humor, and examples from the media. The presentation seeks to break down the mystique of persuasion into actionable parts, allowing audience members to self-diagnose and apply strategies to improve their own images.

 

Get to know our March speaker with this short Q&A.

Who should attend this luncheon?
– People who run meetings
– Lead teams
– Make sales pitches
– Present at conferences

What new knowledge should attendees walk away with after your talk?
After this presentation, participants will be able to:
1. Define the concepts of perceived informal power and likeability
2. Explain why a balance of these two traits is usually necessary to be persuasive
3. List ways (s)he can increase his or her perceived levels of power and likeability
4. See live demonstrations of 2-3 participants getting coached and changing their communication tactics to be more successful

Have you always enjoyed public speaking?
I have a sickness. I usually love speaking in front of people! I still get nervous, but it feels like a thrill. Loving attention is also why I have performed comedy improv here in Austin since 1999. Right now, I am in a troupe called Girls, Girls, Girls and we improvise Broadway musicals… all based on an audience suggestion. In April, we will present our Spring show “The Secret Lives of Soccer Moms” where the secrets will be suggested by the audience.

At what point in your career as a public speaker did you integrate design thinking into your presentations?
After college, I enrolled in a six-week public speaking bootcamp. There, we were taught not only how to deliver a talk, but how to design one.

What advice do you find yourself having to constantly give clients in regards to giving an engaging and effective presentation?
Professionals today are FLOODED with communication. We all suffer from communication and decision fatigue. We are tired, tired, tired of processing ideas and messages from everywhere!

Do you want to be remembered? Be simple. Cut, cut, cut. Present only the points salient to your audience and wrap those points in juicy stories! Get the audience to play with you and your information! Be funny! Take that vague data and turn it into something human. Don’t expect the audience to make those leaps because they are tired. Do the work for them. They will do the rest!

Is there anything else you would like WCA members to know about you?
I gave up desserts for Lent. Who wants my dessert at the WCA luncheon?

Register now for the March luncheon