A couple of weeks ago I went to the excellent PWI workshop “How to build a successful elevator pitch” presented by Peter Nolan and Paula Baptista.  It was a really fascinating talk and the idea that I formed (being an avid reader) was that your elevator pitch is rather like the opening sentence of a novel.  We all remember Jane Austen’s opening to “Pride and Prejudice” – ‘It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife.’ 

Who can resist reading further?  But that sentence also gives us the kernel of the book, which is about marriage, and whether that is for love or money.

So this morning, as I was reading an article on how to write emails (something we all do every day), I realised that your elevator pitch is also like designing an email.  Like the title of an email, your first sentence, needs to be tempting and mysterious, whilst still being honest and giving an idea of the subject that will follow.  “Do you want to know how to become a millionaire?” might tempt someone to listen, but if the rest of the discussion is about the sales of double glazing they will quickly walk away…..

I think everyone concentrates on that opening sentence – which is important – but without a clear message you still won’t make your sale, and, in this case, your sale is You.                                                                                                                                               

So your message, like the body of the email, needs to be concise and to appeal to the person who is listening.  As we heard in the workshop, it is vital to connect with this person – and to watch out for signs of boredom and change your emphasis.

The ending is just as important as the beginning.  As we were taught in school essays, it should encompass the main message of the conversation, but also include a follow-up – can we talk about this in more depth another time?  When is a good time for you?      

Here we also see the importance of the tone – friendly and encouraging but not pushy.  Who hasn’t walked away from the Hard Sell?

 Tempted into trying out your elevator pitch? 

Why not register for the PWI Networking Drink on April 23rd when we will all be practising together…..

http://www.pwi.camp8.org/events?eventId=665872&EventViewMode=2&CalendarViewType=0&SelectedDate=4/7/2013

Yesterday evening I attended this excellent workshop presented by Anita Sheehan.  It was really informative and inspiring.  Anita shared some stories with us and gave us some quite simple ideas which we can all use to make some very positive changes in our daily lives.  You could feel the energy in the room and the warmth as people connected with the person sitting next to them - many of them only meeting for the first time in this workshop.  Today I feel full of energy and I have more ideas running around my head than I know what to do with!  I would thoroughly recommend Anita as a speaker.

If you enjoyed 'The Courage to Ask' on November 7 with John Niland, you may be interested in buying his book, which is now available from Amazon. 

It was interesting to hear Mrs Corien Wortmann, who is Vice-President of the European People´s Party (EPP). I found the Q&A interesting and I've discovered that despite what we think from outside, the Dutch society is still quite conservative. The  social pressure is high on working mothers ( you are not a good mother if you work fulltime!) and they still have trouble finding good solutions for taking care of their children.

Being located in Brussels and participating in a lot of the EC presentations and round tables, I feared - I must admit - that the EC presentation would not be interesting enough for you. But I realized it was really an eye opener for a lot of you. The quality of the speakers was also very important. Both Rosalinde Van Vlies and Laura Beke were excellent. A particular thumb up to Laura Beke for her professionalism despite her young age ;)

After a drink in a sunny Brussels on Place de Luxembourg, we headed up to " la table d'Arthur" for a nice buffet. This gave me the opportunity to meet some of our Amsterdam' members and I had an exquisite and very interesting talk with them. Too bad we could not spend more time together.

Final word from all: " let's redo soon a similar event"

The only negative point for me: PWI members were outnumbered by EPWN Amsterdam ones. I hope next time, more of you could join us. You really missed an excellent event :)

Photos on our facebook page: Here

 

I was one of about 30 people who went to the NLP workshop "From a tool to a journey of self-discovery. It's up to you" on January 31st.  The speaker was Alessandra Zocca, who is also the Secretary-General of PWI.  Alessandra has a Masters degree in NLP and her passion for her subject was clear.  I had heard some interesting things about NLP before, but most of the points Alessandra made were new to me.  For the first time I really realised that the language we use to describe our experiences says a lot about which of our senses are the most important to us - I think I am a visual person and I always remember sunshine sparkling on the sea, and the seagulls swooping overhead.  I learned that most communication is not verbal, and how to make communication easier and more effective.  Altogether it was a very interesting and informative workshop.  As always I met several interesting people before and after the workshop, and I enjoyed the refreshments, delicious nibbles provided by La Table d'Arthur - so thanks to them and to Alessandra.

Back to PWI Magazine - Summer 2011

Networking lunch with Monika Kuschewsky 24 May 2011:

The ever changing data protection landscape and how it might affect your business

Monika spoke about a range of issues related to data protection from both a professional and personal perspective.  She talked of her concerns about social networking sites and about giving your consent to have this information made public.  She particularly addressed the issue around the use of these sites by teenagers and how it can cause problems in later life when future employers subsequently have access to this information.  Monika was also concerned about how much information you give away by using credit cards and how this information can be mis-used.  Dealing with companies based outside of Europe/North America is also a challenge since many online dealings are done using companies based in Asia, for example, and these cannot be effectively regulated.

Monika provides training for companies in compliance with current regulations and also lobbies for change and provides advice on new regulations.  For more information on Monika’s activities, see the article in this newsletter. The presentation was done by Monika Kuschewsky, Partner and Head of Data Protection Practice, Van Bael & Bellis

Back to PWI Magazine - Summer 2011

Back to PWI Magazine - Spring 2011

PWI Dinner: Becoming an author – dealing with publishers and the press

During a talk-show style networking dinner moderated by PWI President, Cristina Vicini, our two guest speakers both recalled their experiences and challenges faced during the course of writing and publishing their books.

Murielle Lona (www.foodforthought.be), author of the recently published novel ‘Je change de fréquence’ spoke passionately about the events that changed her life and led her to make the decision to take a new direction in many aspects of her life.  She described the challenges she faced emotionally as well as practically in writing and publishing her novel.

Chantal Samson, founder of Business Writers (www.businesswriters.be), brought a different perspective to the discussion and outlined her experience of publishing her co-authored book ‘De la Chrysalide au papillon’, an unauthorised biography of Elio Di Rupio.

Back to PWI Magazine - Spring 2011

Back to PWI Magazine - Spring 2011

Workshop on Financial Management and Planning for Women

Why is financial planning different for women?
There are several aspects of most women’s lives that affect issues of financial planning. Women often take a career break to have children and for child care. As a result they may have less pensionable earnings. Generally there is a reliance on their partner’s pension and then what happens on separation or divorce? There is also an expectation that women look after aged parents, or rather if anyone in a family is expected to care for aged parents it is much more likely to be the daughter rather than the son and this again puts pressure on careers and earning capacity. And women have a longer life expectancy so their pensionable needs are likely to be higher than those of men.

The workshop held at Fulcra’s offices at Montgomery, talked through these issues and then showed some simple and straightforward solutions. The most vital point is to raise awareness among women that they should be financially independent and take the time to evaluate their situation and work out their financial objectives for now and the future. There is great benefit in taking action and planning for the future earlier rather than later.

There were about 18 participants in the workshop which generated a good discussion. The session was both informative and enjoyable,  and there was a very pleasant social atmosphere with refreshments.

The workshop was lead by Melanie Barker, Senior Advisor at Fulcra Fulcra International Financial Planning.

Back to PWI Magazine - Spring 2011

Back to PWI Magazine - Spring 2011

Roz talks to PWI in Brussels

We had a very interesting lunch with Roz Morris on  March 18, 2011 on "Media Matters – how the huge and rapid changes in the news media affect you and your business ".

If you missed it, read here a short summary

Back to PWI Magazine - Spring 2011