NAPW New York City, NY Local Chapter Learned the ABC’s of Today’s Professional Women at September Networking Event
Garden City, NY (PRWEB) October 02, 2013 -- Members and guests of the NAPW New York City, NY Local Chapter gathered on September 16th for a professional networking meeting at The Ladders, 137 Varick Street in Manhattan.
Three expert panelists, all NYC Chapter members, discussed the ABC’s (Appearance, Business Knowledge and Communication Style) of today’s professional women with attendees.
New York City Chapter President Louise Newsome opened the meeting with the exciting announcement that she joined NAPW as the new National Director of Local Chapters.
The evening kicked off at approximately 6:30pm with a 30-minute cocktail networking session. Once the group was settled, Louise Newsome, New York City Local Chapter President, took to the floor to welcome members, both old and new.
As with most Chapter meetings, there were many new faces in the crowd. The Chapter President then made an announcement.
“I have officially taken on the role of NAPW’s new National Director of Local Chapters,” said Ms. Newsome.
“I am extremely excited about the position! I will be able to contribute to the organization on a national level and I hope to bring all the new ideas to the NYC Local Chapter, which will be the ‘test Chapter’ to see what will work and what might not work across all NAPW Local Chapters in the U.S.”
President Newsome went on to introduce the NYC Chapter officers and committee heads who were present at the meeting: Janine Schindler, Chapter Vice President and panel speaker; Laura Ruben, Chapter Secretary, Laura Rivchun, Chair, Mentoring Committee, Becky Barker, Co-Chair, Mentoring Committee, Karen Booker, Event Planning and panel speaker, Shantha Kalia, Chair, Member Welcome, and Erika Ladanyi, Chair, Fundraising Committee and Karen Booker, Event Planning Chair and panel speaker.
Members were reminded about the upcoming breast cancer walk on Sunday, October 20th in NYC. More details will follow so that members can sign up and join the team walk.
The Chapter President then announced the topic of discussion for the evening: The ABC's of Today's Professional Women (Appearance, Business Knowledge and Communication Style). The evening’s discussion focused on the ABC's of engaging an audience in the first 30 seconds through powerful appearance, relevant business knowledge and effective communication style.
“Changes in corporate America today show that you must become a savvy professional as you define your future in the workplace,” President Newsome said to the audience.
Louise then turned the floor over to NYC Chapter members Janine Schindler, JAS Coaching & Training, Inc.; Karen Booker, The BeBe Group and Sylvie de Giusto, image consultant and personal branding strategist. The panel took members focused on their individual areas of expertise and shared tips that can be applied easily to all areas of their work lives.
Sylvia De Giusto began by speaking about “A” or the importance of Appearance. She said that a person can make 11 decisions in just seven seconds; decisions including whether a person is reliable, likeable, social, dressed right, who may be married, rich and has kids. And, if you “mess up” the appearance part, this can make it harder for other decisions made about you.
Her suggestions included determining the part of the body you like the most and work from there; choosing color wisely. What does your color say about you?; working on your hair, eyewear and accessories; follow a dress code. Dress for the job or position you want, not for the one you’re currently in and what you wear shows others who you are as a person. The clothing and brands are key in representing who you are to others.
“Ms. Booker then reviewed the area of business knowledge. She stressed how fortunate we are to be in NYC where programs that offer such knowledge are available,” said President Newsome.
“She suggested we seek the smartest person or tech-smart person and make a connection.”
When you find that person, ask him/her “what do you do?” and “how did you get there?” Ms. Booker told members and guests. She mentioned Coursera, which offers 8 to 12-week university courses, for free. These courses are offered by schools such as Stamford, Yale, Harvard, and many more. Visit coursera.org for more information.
The last topic, communications, was tackled by Ms. Schindler. “If you get the communication wrong, you then need to spend time explaining yourself,” she said. “Often times, we over promise and under deliver; therefore, it’s best to under promise and over deliver. Try to live by the golden rule: do unto others as you would have others do unto you! Adjust your style of communication, be it via a handwritten note, email, phone or text, to the style of the person you are communicating with or trying to reach.”
“Ms. Schindler told us, when communicating, less is more. Take one minute to get your message across. She suggested a book called the One Minute Manager by Kenneth Blanchard.” said the Chapter President.
“Be specific and timely with your communication,” Ms. Schindler reminded the women. “Be prepared, do your research, know what you’re going to say, have your objectives first, rehearse/practice and above all, ask for help if you need it!”
Before opening the floor to discussion, the panel randomly chose the names of three members to win free services offered by each of the speakers. Congratulations to Lisa Thurlow, winner of services offered by Janine; Magdalena Botschev, winner of services from Sylvie and Andrea Gaines, winner of services offered by Karen.
The Chapter President reminded the group of professional women to not forget to check out the Chapter’s October Newsletter and the schedule of meetings to know where and when the next meeting will be. She then announced that the next chapter meeting will be Tuesday, October 15th ; the topic is Optimizing Public Speaking for Women. More details will follow.
Due to the ever growing, very large NYC Chapter, the September meeting had to be capped at 65 attendees due to fire codes. The Chapter is in search of a venue that will hold a much larger group. Please contact the Chapter President with any larger (and free) venue suggestions where future meetings may be held.
Chapter Members who attended the meeting included: Lolita Alford, Jennifer Ilchishin, Janine Schindler, Kristine Arutyunyan, Etta Jackson, Audrey Schwartz, Amanda Augustine, Marie Joseph, Maria Schwartz, Rebecca Barker, Shantha Kalia, Barbie Sellmeyer, Tamiko Bejamin, Heather Kernes, Alexandra Smargiassi, Sheila Black, Rekha Krishnamurthi, Jessica Taran, Karen Booker, Diane Kwest, Anne Marie Tedesco, Magdalena Botschev, Erika Ladanyi, Gloria Temple, Victoria Bradshaw, Beth Lockwood, Lisa Thurlow, Doris Braun, Bianca Lyder, Virginia Trunkes, Kim Ciesinski, Stacey Mathis, Melissa Tswana, Elaine Cohen, Sue Matthews, Shanna Van Ness, Doreen Connors, Lisa Matthews, Florence Washington, Sylvie di Guisto, Amy Neiman, Erika Weinstein, Andrea Gaines, Louise Newsome, Sunita Woodcheke, Iram Ganju, Louise Nicholson, Melissa Wright, Kristina Ganzen, Karen Rauen, Valerie Young, Kristina Ganzen, Joanne Riley, Kristen Zavo, Lisa Gatti, Laura Rivchun, Vivien Zhao, Megan Grandinetti, Lisandra Rosa, Annie Zhomg, Michelle Hall and Laura Ruben.
To contact Sylvie di Giusto, visit executive-image-consulting.com; email: sylvie(at)executive-image-consulting(dot)com; phone: 267.303.7577. Get 10% discount until September 30th; 4-6 hour personal consultation ($799 -> $720); 8-10 hour complete makeover ($1,899 -> $1,710); use coupon code NAPWNYC when you book online at executive-image-consulting.com.
To contact Karen Booker, visit thebgsolutions.com; email: kbooker(at)thebebegroup(dot)com; phone: 347.256.0595. Receive a 10% discount on four coaching sessions OR 1 Color Code personality assessment and debriefing session redeemed prior to December 31st.
To contact Janine Schindler, visit jascoaching.com; email: janine(at)jascoaching(dot)com; phone: 646.742.0770. Receive a 10% discount on four coaching sessions OR 1 DISC behavioral style assessment and debriefing session. Must be scheduled prior to September 30th and redeemed prior to December 31st.
The National Association of Professional Women (NAPW) is the largest and most recognized network of female professionals. NAPW provides a forum where women can interact, exchange ideas, educate, network, and empower. NAPW Local Chapters allow members to maximize their experience through meetings, networking opportunities, and professional events.
For additional information regarding the NAPW New York City, NY Local Chapter and/or NAPW, please visit http://www.napw.com.
Follow NAPW on Facebook and Twitter.
###
Louise Newsome, National Association of Professional Women, http://napw.com, 516-453-6185, [email protected]
Share this article