For Meeting Planners and Workshop Organizers

Dear Meeting Planner or Workshop Organizer,

You have the important mission of bringing people together to help them learn, grow and bond. Please let me help!

I’ve given hundreds of speeches, workshops and classes at businesses, schools, conferences, arts organizations, activist organizations and community organizations. I will adapt my content for your specific audience and context, creating a custom event that will transform, energize and inspire for years to come. I’m also low maintenance (whiteboard only!) and UTTERLY reliable, and provide great handouts.

Below are my content descriptions, but first a few testimonials from other organizers like yourself (more here). Together, we have the potential to create much growth, change, joy and community, so email me now to schedule something! Thanks, Hillary

The response from your presentation was overwhelmingly positive. — Becca Marcus, The Woodhull Institute for Ethical Leadership, New York, NY

You left raving fans in Pittsburgh! — Jennifer Morris, Pennsylvania Spring Arts Conference, Pittsburgh, PA

Your presentation was articulate, interesting, humorous and human, not to mention helpful. — Bonnie Dallinger, Institute for Social and Economic Development, Washington, DC

Hillary’s series of talks for our resellers were widely attended and very well received, and were designated a company-wide best practice. — Paul Bazley, Microsoft Corp., Redmond, WA

Our audience of successful entrepreneurs demands a high standard for our guest speakers, but Hillary’s talks more than met their expectations. — Brandon Mastrangelo, InnerCity Entrepreneurs, Boston, MA

Hillary’s dynamic, heartfelt workshops not only empowered and inspired our staff members, but provided them with insights and tools that they could use to empower and inspire others, including our clients. — George Zeller, Jewish Vocational Service, Boston, MA

Descriptions

Overcoming Procrastination, Perfectionism, Blocks and Fears

(1 hour – 3 hours; best partnered with Time Management, below)

This workshop helps participants understand the specific nature of their procrastination and blocks, and why they may not previously have been able to overcome their procrastination problem. It also discusses the key causes of procrastination: perfectionism, resource constraints, time constraints, bias and internalized oppression, and traumatizing rejection. After precisely characterizing the problem, we move onto solutions, and I provide tools and techniques that participants can start using immediately to boost their productivity and lead a happier and more productive life. We also discuss mentors as a crucial component of success and empowerment, and how to locate and cultivate them. After the workshop, participants typically report feeling energized and motivated, and many later report making more progress on their writing and other goals than they have in a long time.

Values-Based Time Management

(1 hour – 3 hours; best partnered with Overcoming Procrastination, above)

This workshop begins with a discussion of how time should be valued; why one needs to manage it; and how successful people use time. Then we move onto the five foundational principles of time management, and contrast examples of managed and unmanaged time schedules. We then discuss right and wrong ways to invest time; lifestyles that support and inhibit success; and techniques for budgeting and tracking your time. We also discuss how to set priorities; how to maintain boundaries even in tough situations; and how to “create” time through delegation and other techniques. Finally, we discuss tips for sticking to your schedule and dealing with unsupportive people. After the workshop, participants report being more productive and less stressed.

Secrets of the Prolific: Overcoming Procrastination, Perfectionism and Writer’s Block

(recommended length: 4 – 20 hours; length and content adaptable to your organization’s needs)

This class helps liberate participants from the internal and external constraints that are frequent causes of procrastination, perfectionism and writer’s block. We discuss six sets of constraints and how to liberate yourself from them. We also do in-class writing exercises that help you experience, and develop the habit of, the kind of effortless and fun writing that leads to prolific output. Topics include:

1. Liberation from Procrastination, Perfectionism and Writer’s Block
Procrastination, perfectionism and writer’s block are not moral flaws; nor are they caused by character deficiencies such as laziness or lack of discipline. Rather, they are habits rooted in fear and the great news is that once we start properly characterizing and alleviating our fears, our procrastination and related problems are often remarkably easily solved. We examine the true nature of, causes of, and solutions to, procrastination, perfectionism and blocks.

2. Liberation from Internal, External and Community Constraints
What resources do you need to write prolifically? More than you might think! We discuss the internal resources (including resilience and compassion toward self), external resources (time, information, software), and community resources (colleagues, mentors, supportive family) most writers require. We also discuss the eight stages of the writing process and the requirements for each stage. Finally, we examine the (major) role luck plays in writing careers, and how to function in its presence or absence.

3. Liberation from Time Constraints
We discuss the true importance and value of time, and time management as a primary tool for achieving your important goals, including writing goals. We also discuss how to manage (budget and track) your time, guidelines for prioritizing, and delegation and other techniques for creating time.

4. Liberation from Bias and Internalized Oppression
Society offers many negative ideas and stereotypes about writers and writing. We examine the degree to which you may have internalized them, and how having done so may be affecting your writing. Also, the truth about writers and writing, and how can you attain a more objective and compassionate view of your endeavor. We also examine how various writing genres are deprecated, and the costs, to the writer and society, of that deprecation.

5. Liberation from Fear of Rejection: “Coming Out” as a Writer
Many blocked writers are terrified of rejection. For them, the block, while a source of shame and frustration, also serves to render them invisible to a professional community who might harshly judge and/or reject them. We talk about how to “come out” as a writer to yourself, your immediate circle, your colleagues, and others. We also discuss strategies for coping with rejection, an inevitable consequence of coming out.

6. Liberation from Weak and Exploitative Career Paths
We discuss which marketing and sales strategies work for writers, and how slush piles and other heavily luck-reliant approaches should be, at best, a small part of your strategy. We also discuss how to utilize the Internet’s revolutionary ability to provide today’s authors with what their forebears could have only dreamed of: the ability to cheaply publish, promote and distribute their work to a global audience.