WORK SMARTER, STRESS LESS: HOW TO HANDLE YOUR MANY ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES
The Vital Role of Secretaries and PAs in an Organisation.
with Elmarie Pretorius

Secretaries and personal assistants perform a variety of administrative and clerical duties necessary to run an organisation efficiently and as the reliance on technology continues to expand in offices, the role of the office professional has greatly evolved. Secretaries also work under a lot of pressure, especially when they work for more than one manager, administrator or other important workers. In addition secretaries have to do many jobs at the same time, deal with many interruptions and have to handle various people with different and sometimes difficult personalities.

Elmarie Pretorius

Elmarie Pretorius obtained a BA degree in Communications from the University of Potchefstroom and started her career as Public Relations Officer for Toyota Marketing. She held various marketing positions and steadily climbed the corporate ladder. At the age of 34 she was appointed Managing Director of Primedia Publishing, a position she held for 3 years, before accepting the challenge of CEO of Cinemark.

MASTER YOUR BUSINESS WRITING SKILLS
with Tiffany Markman

Would your job be easier if you could master the skill of producing crystal-clear writing?

Words have enormous power
Good writing attracts attention, achieves credibility and impresses everyone, while poor writing leads to forgettability or even laughability. Would your life be easier if you were ‘a better writer’? Or are you 100% confident in your own ability, or your team’s ability, to produce writing that gets results?

Effective writing is in your reach
Most people aren’t 100% confident of their writing ability. But you can be. You can learn everything there is to know about producing great writing in a busy and demanding marketplace, by hacking through the grammar jungle, enhancing your language usage and improving your personal style.

Tiffany Markman

Believing strongly in the power of words, Tiffany Markman is a prolific copywriter, editor and writing trainer. She is also a five-time published author in the fields of life skills, careers, emotional intelligence and democracy for young people. As part of her day job, Tiffany focuses on corporate and creative copywriting and copy editing, with an emphasis on websites, newsletters, ads, marketing campaigns, brochures, books, magazines, sales letters, feature pieces, scripts, multimedia presentations and reviews.

She has worked for over 90 blue-chip, start-up and public sector clients over the last 10 years. Tiffany runs regular workshops on print copywriting, web copywriting, basic and advanced editing, freelancing, newsletter writing, proposal writing, corporate communications, grammar and other topics, all of which can be customised to address delegates’ specific needs and requirements. A member of both the Southern African Freelancers’ Association (SAFREA) and the Professional Editors’ Group (PEG), Tiffany is also a regular presenter for the International Association of Business Communicators (IABC), which has twice voted her ‘Best Speaker’.

When she’s not writing, editing or teaching others how to write and edit, Tiffany can be found in a corner with her nose buried in a book. Her secret joy is book reviewing and her book reviews appear in Marie Claire, as well as on her blog, http://bookreviewsbytiffany.blogspot.com. Tiffany holds a BA Honours, Politics Cum Laude and BA Journalism Cum Laude.

EFFECTIVE PERSONAL BRANDING TO ENHANCE YOUR ROLE AS AN OFFICE PROFESSIONAL
with Bronwen Saayman

Bronwen Saayman

"I had never considered a career in fashion, fashion found me and thank goodness it did - I wouldn't want to do anything else!" Bronwen started her business knowing two things: She wanted to focus on Women and their Personal Development. She had no idea, at the time, that the personal development part would take place in front of many a disorganised wardrobe!

Her unique ability and passion has translated into Bronwen becoming a sought-after fashion personality. Addressing groups of women, and men, her powerful persona, blend of modern sensibility and style savvy has seen her present to over hundred companies and personally style over sixty wardrobes in 2007.

Bronwen's talent has been recognised by the media. She has styled front covers and fashion pages for a magazine, written for media groups, is the resident image expert on Women24 and recently completed a style series on the business TV network CNBC Africa. This style maverick has built her reputation through her superb feel for what works and her innate understanding of body shapes. Her unique wardrobe concept creates a sophisticated look at an accessible price.

As the founder and creative director of Bronwen, Bronwen Saayman will continue to develop and design an original look for the style-conscious woman who is aware of fashion but not ruled by it.

MANAGING CONFLICTS AND DIFFICULT SITUATIONS IN THE WORKPLACE
with Shurnell Andersson

At some point in our professional life we will experience 'conflict' with one person or another. Depending on who the person is and what the point of conflict is, we may choose to 'fight' or 'flight'. Either way, it is most likely that one of you will lose out on what you really want to happen and will walk away feeling like you were compromised in some way. When this happens it brings anger and resentment which, if not resolved, can damage the best of work relations.

Shurnell Andersson

Mother, wife and passionate believer in the potential of people! Shurnell Andersson is an internationally accredited Life Coach - specialising in Workplace and Personal Relationships and Child & Youth coaching. She is also a brilliant Inspirational Performer, and an energising Workshop Facilitator & Trainer. Born on the Caribbean island of Barbados, Shurnell has dedicated her life and talents to empowering people to be their best self and choose a life of success.

In achieving this Shurnell combines her coaching, training and speaking skills to stimulate, challenge and inspire people’s thinking and actions. Shurnell is especially passionate about youth and family relations and works closely with educators, parents, community and youth leaders to empower them to give the encouragement and support that young people need if they are to become the great individuals they are destined to be.

Shurnell is owner/manager of Make a Difference Empowerment Solutions & Services. She has a background in Social Work and many years experience in Youth Development, Behaviour Change and Personal/Team transformation. Over 20 years of experience in human development has helped Shurnell hone her natural ability for people development and allowed her to expand her talent for growing and inspiring others to reach their potential. Shurnell has worked with diverse groups and individuals in the Caribbean, the US and a number of African states. She has lived in Trinidad, Zambia and Botswana and is currently residing in Johannesburg.