In this episode, Karen Bintz shares her insights on training discussion leaders for virtual briefings and beyond. Whether it’s virtual or in person briefings, learn how to empower discussion leaders to continue delivering engaging sessions that provide real value, build trust for long term relationships, and close business.

Episode Highlights:

• Why discussion leaders are such an important part in the success of briefings
• Training discussion leaders for virtual briefings
• Some positive outcomes from shifting to virtual briefings
• How annotations and tools can help
• Key skills that BPM have and what should they focus on
• Future of hybrid working
• The facilitators partnering with discussion leaders – how can that partnership lead to make sure folks that are virtual are not left out
• How program managers can go about identifying and approaching folks who may need more training
• How soft skills are just as necessary as hard skills

Guest Thought Leader:

Karen Bintz
Account Executive, Senior Trainer and EBC Consultant, Mandel Communications

Karen began her career in sales at IBM.  She also spent over 15 years building and leading the global executive briefing program at BMC Software.  She and her team achieved the highest honor in the briefing program industry, Association of Briefing Program Managers (ABPM) “Program of the Year” in 2008, 2011, 2012, and 2015 (more frequently than any of the 100+ member companies).  Karen was also the inspiration and first recipient of the ABPM President’s Service Award for her contributions to the briefing profession. ABPM subsequently invited Karen to serve on their advisory board to further the advancement of briefing programs across the globe. Karen has been a certified Mandel Communications trainer since 2011.  She has empowered people from 30+ countries with the skills to become better communicators professionally and personally.  She is in high demand as a motivational and instructional speaker for global sales teams, industry events, and conferences. Karen has a Bachelor of Science degree in Mathematics and an MBA, both from Texas A&M University.