Capitalizing on PRSA Teleseminars

By Amanda Piasecki

It’s 2:30 p.m. on Thursday and 30 minutes away is the PRSA-sponsored teleseminar “How to Develop the Mind of a Strategist” presented by James E. Lukaszewski. The presenter’s name is familiar from PRSA e-mails and advertisements, but I have never attended a seminar presented by him. Past seminars I have attended have been hit and miss, so I have learned to outline my expectations prior to the seminar in order to make the most of my time during the presentation.

The stated goal of the teleseminar is to “generate your invitation to the table earlier in the decision-making process.” I like to think my colleagues and I can edge our way into a meeting if we need to, so my personal goal is a bit different: to learn about tools to develop and present strategies. 

I leaf through the 37-page handout and can tell that this seminar is going to be different than others I have attended in the past. Presentation slides are expected, but this handout includes diagrams, models, and papers authored by the presenter, Mr. Lukaszewski, on strategic thinking. I don’t have time to read through the papers now, but they will probably be a helpful supplement to the seminar. 

I look at the presentation slides and begin to draft questions I hope are addressed during seminar: “what does being strategic mean?” and “what tools and techniques do you use in strategy development?” I begin to realize my questions resemble the outline of the presentation. If Mr. Lukaszewski sticks to his outline, this seminar should be a pretty productive use of my time.
 
The seminar is about to start, so I dial in to the number provided and am greeted by an operator who takes my name and contact information. After a few minutes of Muzak, I am placed into the conference at 3 p.m. and begin to take notes. After a short introduction, Mr. Lukaszewski begins his presentation. He skips past the slide advertising his business and provides a short overview of what he hopes the attendees will take away from the seminar. It is apparent he has a lot of practice presenting as he avoids my teleseminar pet peeves, which include reading directly from the slide and not specifying the page number of the slide.Mr. Lukaszewski offers a nice mix of anecdotes as a way to expand from the information on the slides. My notes are full of one-line phrases from these anecdotes that will help me remember a practical application of his theories: “You are the table,” and “predict the future.” Throughout the presentation, he gives credit to authors and texts that have helped him form his theories on strategic thinking. These books are also cited in a bibliography in the handout, which provides me with a reading list to continue my growth as a strategic thinker.
 
It’s 4:30 p.m. now, and his promised 70-minute presentation with 20-minute Question & Answer has turned into a 90-minute presentation without Q&A. My schedule is tight, so I leave the seminar before I hear if any questions are asked. If the Q&A is like other seminars I have attended, I probably won’t miss much. Although skeptical of some of Lukaszewski’s techniques, I hang up the phone knowing a little more about strategic thinking and what tactics are working for other PR professionals.

Read the Description. The title of a seminar can often be deceiving, so reading the entire description can tell you whether the class is relevant to your position by outlining the presentation and sometimes defining objectives.

Determine Objectives. Decide what you hope to get out of the seminar and how it can be applied to your career.

Draft Questions. Write down questions that you hope the seminar will address. Oftentimes, they will be answered in the seminar or in the Q&A session.

Take Notes. PowerPoint slides can often be incomprehensible when you come back to them, so it is best to take notes on what you need to remember.

Ask Questions. Presenters appreciate questions, but remember you are on the line with industry professionals. Some questions, like definitions of industry terms, may be easily researched in lieu of expending others' time

Apply what you have learned!