Dear Subscriber, Welcome to your November newsletter from Mindworks,

Mindworks, seeing things from a different perspective...

A Rabbit or a Duck?   (Hint:  the rabbit is looking right, the duck is looking left)

STOP PRESS:   HAVE YOU SEEN OUR ** SPECIALS** FOR OUR FINAL PUBLIC WORKSHOPS FOR 2005?  HAVE A LOOK - YOU'LL BE AMAZED AT THE VALUE.  IF YOU'VE BEEN MEANING TO DO SOME MORE PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT, NOW'S YOUR CHANCE TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF US....!!!

THE MINDWORKS MUSINGS

When I first joined the Mindworks Team, I told my childhood friend all about it.  “Laurie Kelly!” she exclaimed, “I did one of his courses five years ago. He’s BRILLIANT!” 

I was amazed – this burst of emotion coming from a front-line counsellor of many years in the Emergency ward of the Royal Brisbane Hospital – a woman who has attended countless training seminars in her long career.  What had Laurie done, I wondered, to leave such an impression? What made his seminar so outstanding?

One year on I know the answer to that question.  I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve heard a similar version of her words.

I was lucky enough to attend a full day seminar we held earlier in the year for a group of Grade 12 students.  We all know what kids are like…we’ve all given our teachers hell at some point; not listening, back chatting, mucking around or staring out the window, bored out of our minds.  I approached the session wondering how the day would go.  Well, I am still amazed to this day by the way those young people engaged in the workshop and the activities Laurie provided. 

Not once, at any time during the day, did one of those students lose focus on what they were doing. 

They engaged completely, enjoyed every moment of the workshop, took away a wealth of knowledge.  And the verdict?  Every one of them said they had learnt more in that one day than a whole month at school!  And those kids came back, every Tuesday night for 2 hours for 5 weeks afterwards, to continue that learning process.  Voluntarily! That is the honest truth – I was there!

How was this possible?  I’ll tell you.  Laurie’s secret is simple – KNOW HOW YOUR AUDIENCE LEARNS AND DELIVER YOUR MATERIAL ACCORDINGLY.

As a trainer, or facilitator, or company manager, or staff member, the answer is the same.  How do you get people to engage with your material?  How do you get your participants or staff to take on board and, more importantly, retain the information you’re imparting?  These are the techniques and skills we offer – the “Mindworks Magic” - that will make you, and your presentations and dealings with customers and staff members, “even better”.

I’ve now seen it in action time and time again.  I’ve watched people transform, open up, their creative juices flowing, the understanding of how their mind works, how they learn and retain information suddenly making everything they do, personally and professionally, understandable.  It’s a simple thing, yet most people go through life never learning something so basic. And so helpful!

Fun is a huge part of what we do.  If you’re having fun, you’re engaging and assimilating far more information that if you’re sitting and listening, and trying to focus on yet another long oratory seminar.  Our participants don’t just sit and listen – their whole body is engaged in their learning process – and by carefully crafting our seminars, every person in the room is fully focused – all the time. 

And THIS is what my friend remembered.  She’d not only learned a great deal about herself, her colleagues and new, practical ways of dealing with people and passing on her skills, she’d had FUN doing it.  So much so, that five years later, her enthusiasm for Laurie and his work had not diminished. 

That’s the core of Mindworks. 

What we teach you is real.  It’s proven.  It works.   

And people keep coming back for more…

Lindel Smedley - Office Manager

LINK TO MINDWORKS HOME PAGE

P.S.  Are you interested in what Laurie can offer your company, but would like to "try before you buy?"  Our first Showcase/Morning Tea is scheduled for 22 March 2006 - come along as our guest, experience Laurie's delivery first hand and get a sample of the Mindworks Magic!   

LINK TO SHOWCASE  

P.P.S. Did you know that if you just “talk” to your audience, only 7% of them are probably really listening to you??  Mindworks will show you how to target all 100% of them.

P.P.S.  Do you have a Mindworks story to share? How have we helped you?  What do you remember best about your seminar?  Are you still using our techniques?  We'd LOVE to hear from you!

QUINTESSENTIAL QUOTES

“A Man may die, Nations may rise and fall, but an Idea lives on.” 

J.F. Kennedy

2006 PUBLIC & IN-HOUSE COURSE DATES

Our new dates for all Public Workshops scheduled so far have been updated on our website. Check out which dates suits you best and book in early!

We are now booking 2006 conferences and in-house workshops - if you're planning your Training Calendar for the next twelve months, and you want the best in training for your staff - get in early and book Laurie for your In-house training course or Conference

LINK HERE TO VIEW COURSE DATES

RETENTION TIPS

Never underestimate the use of colour in your presentations.  Everyone likes colour, but Right Brain people LIVE for colour.  Use colour in your chart work, your whiteboard scribblings, your notes and flyers.  Colour your world, stand back and watch the difference.  Studying?  Buy a multi-coloured pen, like the ones we gift you from Mindworks when attending our workshops, and use it for your notations.  You’ll retain more information and your Brain will love you for it.  It’s a simple tip, but it works.  Try it!

ARE YOU SUFFERING FROM "INFORMATION OVERLOAD"?

ARE You need to: Read Smarter  - Think faster

We hear this from so many people –  managers, sales staff, IT experts, small business owners, office personnel, supervisors, professionals  - they all have the same question - "Great idea, but how do you do it?".

You have so much to read; you need to get through it all, and more importantly you need to be able to comprehend and retain all that you have read, and then figure out what is useful!! You are coping with an increasing workload and expectations in the workplace to get more done, with seemingly finite resources. There is a real challenge to keep on top of it all, whilst maintaining your sanity.

Mindworks have now developed a half-day workshop designed to teach you the skills and techniques to do just that!  In four hours we can help your team "sharpen the saw" and increase their ability to assimilate new data in the workplace.  This course is available in-house - we will come to you - just ask us. 

You will find further information under Course outlines / Information Overload on our website.

OUR WEBSITE GOES LIVE

An exciting new development for the Mindworks Team is the expansion of our website to include our promotional video.

See Laurie in action and enjoy our 4 minute film, designed especially to showcase Laurie's Keynote Conference techniques for Conference Facilitators, Managers and Event Organisers.

LINK TO VIEW

FEEDBACK

Comments

Thank you for your feedback. Below are comments received this month from happy Mindworks participants:

• “High energy speaker that keeps the class motivated – well done!”
• “Good time had by all – loved Laurie’s personality.”
• “Absolutely fantastic!”
• “Amongst the best day seminars attended.”
• “Excellent presentation & content.”

From the Training sector: 

• “By far the best “Train the Trainer” course I have ever done.  Excellent content, delivery and it will be very useful, very practical to put into practice.”  Oct 2005.

From the Education sector:

• “From DREADING the day to really enjoying it – THANK YOU!!!”
• “Thank you for sharing this wonderful information and skills with us.  It is very useful, and I wish I had some of the skills during my school days. Thank you – job very well done.”
• “It was all very KEWL, not boring.  Well done.”

From the Local government sector:

• “One of the best one day sessions that I have attended in the last 15 years of self development.  Fantastic - it recovered and put new light on numerous aspects of self.”
• “Brilliant presentation.  Skills that can be used regularly and will be hugely beneficial to workload and stress - finding the balance.”

LINK TO OUR COURSES  

Results

An Evaluation of our programs from you:

DID YOU ENJOY THIS NEWSLETTER? - WHY NOT SHARE IT!

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After all, most of our business comes via word of mouth and that fact that we're still here after 20 years means we must be doing something right!

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Thank You.

MINDWORKS - Helping to make you "EVEN BETTER"

407 Cedar Creek Road, Samford  Qld  4520   Ph: (07) 3289 4977  Fax:  (07) 3289 4992 

Email:  Info@mindworksteam.com.au       Website: www.mindworksteam.com.au