Join in festivities and fellowship as we kick back to celebrate the holidays of the season! Whether you are new to our group or a long-time member, this is an opportunity to get to know other coaches in a relaxed atmosphere.

Festivities include a special buffet luncheon, holiday icebreaker, and lighthearted coaching theme game complete with team prizes. In this season of giving, our event will also include a monetary donation box for the Greater Pittsburgh Food Bank, which is in great need due to the difficult economic conditions.

Join us Wednesday, December 9, from 11:15 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. at Station Square in Pittsburgh.

In addition to coaching and speaking, members of the Pittsburgh Coaches Association conduct workshops and seminars and for several years have also conducted teleclasses on a regular basis. These teleclasses are now held monthly, and are an opportunity for Pittsburgh coaches to share some of their coaching knowledge and experience with participants, as well as their passion for helping others to move forward and reach new levels.

This month the PCA features: Bringing Back the American Dream: The path to our Dreams can get a little rocky at times! with Freddie Cecchini on December 16, 2009 from 6:00-6:55 p.m. EST.

Have you ever felt like the weight of the world was on your shoulders or you felt like you had more than your fair share of challenges? Join Freddie Cecchini, Business Coach, Dream Coach and learn how to stay focused on what's most important to you... your biggest Dreams. Remember thoughts create Dreams. Join us and receive a FREE Ebook by James Allen, As A Man Thinketh.

Teleclass topics range from sales and marketing to creating space, leadership, and finding your dreams, and can help people to make important changes and take steps to reach their potential.

Intuitive Healing for Peace, Grace, and Well-Being

As an intuitive healer, I offer a suite of services that include Enneagram Coaching, Guided Imagery, Intuitive Energy Work, Reiki Treatments, and Stone Medicine. These modalities of healing have been manifesting themselves quietly into my consciousness, throughout my entire life, through clairsentience, clairaudience, and clairvoyance.

In 2007, I combined my passion for the healing arts with my former business experience ( HR director/Administrative Assistant/Financial Officer for Collaborative Fusion in Squirrel Hill and owner/entrepreneur of JaKay's Salon & Day Spa in Plum ) to begin my practice. Experience from these business arenas, along with years of Enneagram work, prepared me to begin my practice with Enneagram Coaching and laid the ground work for the intuitive healing services to blossom.

I study the spiritual dimension of the Enneagram with Sister Lois Dideon and Sister Joan Coultas at Kearns Spirituality Center - Sister of Divine Providence in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. I study Enneagram Deep Coaching with Roxanne Howe-Murphy in her Enneagram Coaching Certification Program located in San Francisco, California. I am certified by the International Association of Coaches and am a member of the Pittsburgh Coaches Association serving as 2010 VP of Marketing. I've also studied with Mentor Coach, an ICF accredited training program in Maryland. I'm certified as Reiki Master Teacher by Deborah Donoghue - Rainbow Star Productions of Pittsburgh, PA and hold a degree in Business Management from CCAC.

Skip the Apology: Retain Your Presentation Credibility

By Bonnie Budzowski
President, inCredible Messages, LP

An accomplished physician and researcher from Puerto Rico was presenting at a conference of her peers in the United States. "First," the doctor began, "I want to apologize for my English."

Sitting in the audience, I felt the energy drain out of the room. Audience members collectively caught their breath, preparing to sit through a problematic presentation.

I wanted to rewind the tape and skip the apology. Like other speech coaches, I advise against apologizing in a speech-especially during the introduction.

A primary goal of an introduction is to establish the speaker's credibility. To begin with an apology is to begin by undermining your own credibility and set a negative tone for the presentation. Not only did the doctor's apology expose a lack of confidence, it diverted attention from her expertise. The apology was entirely unnecessary-the doctor's skills as a clinician and a researcher had earned her the right to present.

It is appropriate to acknowledge an obvious difference that might distract audience members from your content, something like a heavy accent or the presence of a wheelchair. The doctor might have begun, "I've come from Puerto Rico to report significant findings from my research. These findings may impact your clinical practice in substantial ways. As we work together today, you might notice that English is not my first language. Sometimes my brain goes faster in Spanish than my tongue can translate. Thank you for your patience."

The same is true if you should encounter a problem with the room, with the equipment, or with another speaker failing to arrive on time. If the audience knows about the problem, acknowledge it. Then confidently report how you are going to handle the situation and get on with it. If you appear to take the situation in stride, the audience will as well.

Acknowledge differences, but skip the apology. Your credibility-and often the success of your presentation-depend on it.

Copyright 2008 by inCredible Messages, LP

The author invites you to download a free "before and after" of a persuasive business document at www.inCredibleMessages.com. You'll find lots of free articles on powerful presentations as well.

Speaker, trainer and coach, Bonnie Budzowski works with people who want to master the keys to driving their points home--so they can increase sales, gain commitment from others and boost their career success. She author of Secrets to Get Busy People to Respond to Your Messages and Clickety Clack: 86 Ways to Keep Your Speech on Track.

We invite experienced coaches, as well as those new to the profession, to join the Pittsburgh Coaches Association (PCA). This is an exciting time to be a member! We are a 501(c)6 professional organization, and an International Coach Federation (ICF) chapter.

Additional benefits for member coaches include networking opportunities with other professional coaches, a profile on PCA's 'Find a Coach' website directory, discounts for monthly luncheon meetings featuring interesting and relevant speakers, a forum to offer teleclasses on coaching-related topics of your choice, and special events to raise the profile of coaching within the community. There are many more benefits; please don't hesitate to become a part of one of Pittsburgh's best professional associations.

You can now register to become a member online at www.pittsburghcoaches.org. Join today. The $130 PCA full membership is discounted to $120 if you register before the end of the year.

We would love to hear from you! Just hit Reply to this newsletter with your ideas and feedback. Suggestions are very welcome, don't hesitate.

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