Coach Pronunciation: kōch Function: noun Usage: often attributive Etymology: Middle English coche, from Middle French, from German Kutsche, from Hungarian kocsi (szekér), literally, wagon from Kocs, Hungary Date: 1556 Definition: A person you invite to your SureSpeak account to give feedback. This can be a friend, a relative, a teacher, a therapist, a child or anyone from whom you are looking for feedback.
So, this isn't exactly how Miriam Webster would define a coach. Nonetheless, this is the definition of a coach at SureSpeak. But how do you invite a coach? Well, I'm glad you asked. Here's the answer.
Last week, Lou and I attended the ASTD International Convention in San Diego. ASTD, which stands for American Society for Training and Development, is the leading organization for training and coaching professionals throughout the world. The convention hosted about 8,000 attendees and was a great source of a knowledge for those who attended.
We participated in the expo, which was the first large-scale trade show we have attended since the re-launch of SureSpeak. The feedback we received was phenomenal! I heard countless people say things like “We’ve GOT to get this”, “This is awesome” and many “wow’s”. The reaction we received made me excited and proud. Attendees were most impressed by how it simply yet completely addresses a need that no one else has yet to address in the training world.
This need is exactly the reason I created SureSpeak in the first place. As a corporate trainer, I recognized the value of role-play, yet had no complete way to incorporate it into training. I couldn’t personally role-play with all trainees during training sessions, so I created this platform to allow trainees to practice and record themselves. I was then able to evaluate each person as if I were there with them. And so SureSpeak was born. While, at ASTD, we saw other products with similar thought processes behind their development—such as games or virtual sales contacts, but nothing was as complete as SureSpeak. I am so proud of the product and its evolution, and the team that has helped get it there. But the team is incomplete without great partnerships. If you’re a coach or trainer, individual or potential corporate client, please contact me about setting up a time to demo SureSpeak. I would love to find out more about you and/or your company and how we might be a great fit for each other.
Darren has been chosen to represent SureSpeak on a business leadership panel at the 2008 HOBY North Illinios Leadership Seminar. He will be speaking and answering questions among a group of other prominent Chicago business people. The event will be Friday, June 13th at Robert Morris College in Downtown Chicago. HOBY’s local leadership seminar is designed for high school sophomores to recognize their leadership talents and apply them in becoming effective, ethical leaders in their home, schools, workplace and community. The high level of energy, encouragement and motivation as well as the interaction with peers, panelists and volunteers are important elements in nurturing the students’ future leadership roles. We wish these students the best in the future! If you are a high school or college student, and you’re looking for business advice, feel free to email Darren.
We now have a mirroring feature available when you are recording in SureSpeak. While I touched on this in a previous post involving updates, I wanted to give specific instructions on how to enable this feature. I know it’s something our SLP/Autism users have been asking for, so here it is! For the time being, only recording is available with the mirroring feature — meaning, when you play back the recording, it will not be mirrored. That will happen in the future, however.
That’s it! Keep the suggestions coming!
Hey SureSpeakers, We wanted to let you know of a few changes to the site.
Q & A — a new way to communicate You can now ask questions back and forth using our Q&A feature, which we’re super excited about. You can launch this when you record a video, by clicking the “A question or challenge to send” box. Feel free to use this feature to launch your east-to-west coast battle rap competition.
MySpeak page — a better way to view your videos There’s also a redesigned “My Speak” page where you can view recent activity on your SureSpeak.
Awesome Video Player — SureSpeak is cutting-edge There is also a fancy new video player that allows you to choose a “mirroring” option when recording. This feature was added specifically for our SLP/Autism users. You can find this when you’re recording, by clicking on "Menu".
Connections — manage your “people” Finally, we’ve added a new connections page that allows you to see who your coaches are, who you are coaching (“SureSpeakers”) as well as who you’ve chosen to view a video once (OnDemand Coach).
As part of the ongoing site redesign, there is a new path to courses. If you’re looking for courses, choose “My Courses” below your avatar from your MySpeak page. Choose the course category you want to view, and from there the lesson you want. Or, Freestyle away! If you have an idea, suggestion or a comment, send us an email. Enjoy your SureSpeak experience. Remember, practice makes perfect!
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