Media Masquerade: 10 Ways Media Impacts Girls, Women, Body Esteem & Confidence

From the dolls girls play with to the ads they see and the shows they watch, media’s impact is far-reaching and all encompassing. Appealing to girls, young women, and anyone who works with girls and women, this illustrative and often shocking presentation is filled with in-your-face images and video that brings the problematic issues to the forefront. Dr. Robyn Silverman, the author of the body image book Good Girls Don’t Get Fat:

• Shines light on the ten detrimental types of media messages, from sexualization to thinspiration, that plague girls and women every day.
• Engages the audience in a back-and-forth conversation as she presents what is seen and what is implied by the images they see.
• Provides tips and takeaways for all those who attend so that they can immediately make a change and make a difference.

It is not uncommon for people to be so moved by what they see that they call out from the audience in astonishment. Dr. Robyn wouldn’t have it any other way! This presentation can be customized in both length and format.

Creating a Community of Character: Cultivating Responsible, Respectful Role Models Among Our Young People

In this dynamic presentation on character and leadership, Dr. Robyn Silverman appeals to educators, parents, law enforcement, legislators, youth workers, and mentors as the foundational builders of this generation’s future leaders. Anchoring her solutions to her personal mantra, “We must regard young people as assets to be developed, not deficits to be managed,” she describes how we can create a community of character by cultivating role models in our young people. Specifically, she talks about how we can:

• Recognize that all young people come with unique gifts and challenges that can help them thrive depending on how they are framed and regarded.
• Understand what we bring to the table so that we can help the young people in our lives thrive in powerful, positive, and productive ways.
• Collaborate with these young people, to envision, plan out and create a community of character that is safe, fair, and advantageous for everyone.

Tailored to your timeframe and needs, Dr. Robyn uses video, activities, stories, and audience participation to create an engaging exchange with the participants. Everyone leaves with specific hands-on strategies for creating respectful communities and responsible leaders.

Victim or Victorious? Combating Bullying from a Place of Strength

The impact of bullying is pervasive and great. In the soon-to-be-released companion book to the acclaimed documentary Bully, Dr. Robyn Silverman explains, “Bullying doesn’t just have legs – it has teeth. The memories hold on tightly even as we leave our childhood behind.” We all know that bullying is a complicated and pervasive problem. In this frank and story-filled presentation, Dr. Robyn explains:

• The main issues that make bullying an even more complex problem in our communities.
• The effective solutions that help to promote positive youth development in our young people.
• How we can all be accountable for making positive change.

The layered answer to the bullying problem stems out of her interviews with “high-risk” youth – those who could easily have been “victims” who nevertheless were victorious in school. A girl, considered medically obese, who became senior class president and is thought to know everyone; a boy who is severely disabled and was still named as the most admired and popular boy in his class by his peers; a girl who came out as a lesbian who found people on whom she knew she could always lean. Participants leave with a more concrete understanding of the problem, a new way to look at the young people who make up their communities, and solutions that they can implement immediately.

Leadership Bootcamp: Launch Your Leadership Skills

In this powerful, effective program, which can be customized from a one-hour presentation to an all-day retreat, Dr. Robyn Silverman presents leadership skills in an accessible way. Drawing from her experiences as a success coach, she provides powerful yet easy-to-implement leadership strategies that allow participants to emerge as leaders among their peers, colleagues, or workmates. Participants will learn specific ways to:

• Create their future in advance through goal-setting and visioning.
• Identify obstacles to success from procrastination to perfectionism.
• “Forward” themselves and others who they lead into action.
• Stay accountable for themselves and become a powerful example to others.

Often named “the highlight of any conference,” participants come away with an action plan that they can put into effect immediately so that they can make a success of any partnership, group, team, or personal goal. Whether geared towards teens in and out of school or adults in the workplace, those who attend this program will be able to apply these leadership skills in every area of their lives. Ideal for team building, group cohesion, and leadership training, it can also be used in a “train the trainers” format.

Mentoring Women & Girls: Striving, Thriving & Breaking Down Barriers

Whether you are looking to create powerful women in the workplace or strong girls in and out of school, mentors can make a real difference. However, mentoring women and girls takes a unique understanding of the challenges they face in today’s society as well as the right skills to help them thrive. During this visual and skill-filled presentation participants will discover how to:

• Shine light on societal and self-placed barriers that get in the way of individual success.
• Refocus relationships among women to relieve or redefine the 3 dreaded Cs: Competition, Cattiness, and Comparison (instead of collaboration, caring, and connection).
• Provide specific skills to help girls and women state their vision, their goal, their action plan, and their accountability partnership.

Mentoring girls and women continually shows a great return in productivity, performance, confidence, and positive action. This presentation can be tailored to your needs in terms of time, focus, age range, and number of hands-on activities.