Our Programs | Public Workshops

Public Workshops

North Star seminars are held typically in large cities such as Hong Kong, New York, Mexico City and London. Each is limited to 20 participants and homework is assigned. The following are on offer regularly or can be organized on demand:

• Writing
  • The Write Stuff: Everything You Need to Know to Communicate Well, a three-hour course on the basics of good writing. This can be taught in tandem with a variety of other courses, including:
    • Writing to Persuade: How to Sell Bill Gates a Mac, a two-hour course on writing effective marketing and sales material;
    • Short and Snappy: The Art of Synthesis in Writing, a one-hour seminar on writing concise English; and
    • Fix it Fast: Troubleshooting Common Errors in English, a three-hour course on learning to spot and correct the most common mistakes of written English.
  • Word Power: How to Build Your Vocabulary for Influence and Success, a three-hour seminar on learning and using new words every day for every occasion.
  • Riveting Reports: How to Distill Information for Interest and Value, a three-hour seminar on evaluating, organizing and writing the information required for compelling summaries.
  • Report Writing for Investment Analysts, an eight-hour program to help financial analysts hone the art of writing clear and compelling equity research reports. (A good command of English is required; participants would already know their derivatives from their convertibles.)
  • Think Before You Write: A No-Sweat Course on Mastering Life’s Two Most Important Skills, a full-day course designed for everyone who plans to take the Graduate Management Admissions Test (GMAT) for entrance into an international business school that requires it for an MBA or other graduate management programs.
  • How to Write a Term Paper (and Get an “A” Every Time), a half-day seminar for high school and college students who need to write well-researched and well-argued term papers, central to success in college and beyond.
  • Clear • Concise • Correct: Business Writing for Administrative Staff, a multi-part program for executive assistants who write the first draft of all kinds of professional correspondence: letters, internal memos, e-mails, reports and the like.
  • Creative Non-Fiction: Business Writing with a Human Touch, a multi-part program for everyone who already writes to inform, promote and solicit business but who now needs to convey information in a more compelling way to distinguish his or her company from the pack, hold the reader’s attention – and engage.
• Speechwriting
  • Executive Speechwriting: Public sessions are conducted usually with corporate communications managers or PR consultants who typically write their company executive’s first draft. The process involves helping the group learn the basics of good speechwriting – structure, sentence length, word usage, etc. -- and the subtleties of coaching for effective, competent delivery.
• Presentation Skills and Oral English
  • The Art of Presentation: Projecting Power and Poise in Every Speech, a two-day seminar on mastering the insider techniques of thinking on your feet, organizing complex ideas into simple points and overcoming stage fright, whether addressing an audience of one or one hundred.

  • Executive Speeches: Grasp the Subject; the Words – and Delivery – Will Come, an all-day seminar on compelling speech-writing and public speaking. Note: This class is particularly helpful for top executives or corporate communication directors who usually write the first draft. 

  • Speak Up! When Oral English Matters, a half-day course to practice the words and phrases used in professional life and to improve, practically overnight, pronunciation, enunciation, rate of speech, pausing, emphasis and pitch, while avoiding nervous fillers.
• Research
  • Beyond Google: Mastering the Art of Research, a half-day seminar on learning to conduct research that includes cultivating sources, developing interviewing techniques, mining the deep Web, distinguishing good information from bad – and more.
• Executive Development
  • Charismatic Leadership: Nurturing Star Performance in a Corporate Setting, a full-day primer meant to introduce mid-level and senior executives to the skills required to project a more powerful, confident and engaging leadership image through verbal and non-verbal communication.
  • Emotional Intelligence: Honing the Skills of Self-Awareness and Personal Interaction, a half-day workshop to help participants identify and nurture the emotional competencies that are today’s standard for judging professional success.
• International Business Etiquette
  • International Business Etiquette: The Do’s and Don’ts of Relating in a Globalized World, a half-day seminar on the fundamentals of cultural differences, particularly between East and West – and how to make them work for you.
  • East Asian Business Etiquette: The Do’s and Don’ts of Confucian Culture and Protocol, a half-day course for non-Asian staff on understanding the do's and don'ts of relating in the Confucian world: China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore, Macau, Japan and Korea.
• Media
  • Understanding Media: Everything You Need to Know To Get Your Message Across, a full-day seminar, designed especially for public relations and corporate communications staff, on how newspapers, magazines and television networks operate from an editor’s or news director’s point of view.
  • Straight Talk: Media Training for Crisis Management, a half-day primer for corporate crisis-communication teams – typically comprised of public relations staff, legal counsel and representatives from departments such as finance, operations and HR – to learn how to handle the press effectively when disaster or misfortune strikes, as it invariably does.