Elaine Eksvärd – an expert in rhetoric
We all love hearing the professional keynote speakers at ITSM conferences. They are entertaining, usually give you something to laugh about and, something to inspire you, or maybe they were just someone famous and you can brag to your friends and family that you heard them speak.
It is not so often that we fine one of these professional keynotes who really has something to say that could make a true impact on your professional life, something that has business value.
Breaking the mold
Keynote speaker at this year’s itSMF Norway “ITSM with Superheroes of the World” event, being held in Oslo, April 12-14, Elaine Eksvärd, breaks the mold and promises to leave audience members with skills that will make a difference in their roles once they get back to the office after the conference.
I had the pleasure of chatting to Elaine about her upcoming presentation. Elaine is the founder of the Snacka Synggt rhetoric agency, and is Sweden’s top rhetoric expert. She is frequently commissioned to lecture on this subject; she analyses politicians and corporate leaders and is the author of several rhetoric-focused books.
Your most powerful tool
Elaine’s key message is that your voice is the most powerful tool you have. “I hope that people will come away with tools that they will be able to use straight away after the presentation,” she says. “ I don’t want people to just know stuff, I want them to know what to do with what they have learned. I want them to know how to become more convincing and to get their voice heard”.
Elaine will talk about how to speak with difficult people in an easy-going way. Personally, I think this is something that anybody working in IT will find a use for pretty quickly! She wants to give the tools you need to deal with the type of people who insist on calling you ‘darling’ – and I know I have cringed at that word many times in my career.
Step away from the PowerPoint
Elaine urges us to let go of the PowerPoint safety blanket we often cling to when talking to a group. “Just be aware that the best tool you have is yourself and your voice,” she reminds us.
She will remind us to be aware of the people you are talking to, taking note of their personality types – what should you do differently when dealing with introverts as opposed to extroverts?
A valuable session
If you want to learn to become more convincing when speaking and find out how to enhance your speech with the use of appropriate body language, tone of voice and other tools, then Elaine’s keynote will offer some real value to you, and to the organization you work for.
This session, which will presented in Swedish, promises to be very valuable, as well as being entertaining, it will be informative and certainly one that you will remember long after the conference is over.
