Ravit Barak from Align notes the visible difference in her team’s ability to connect others to what they say
Who is Align Technology?
Twenty years ago, Align pioneered the world’s first clear dental aligners. Align develops its own specialized software to create innovative products which have helped over 9 million patients all over the world. Align is headquartered in San Jose, California and currently has over 15,000 employees worldwide.
“We are a global leader when it comes to the technology behind orthodontic and restorative dentistry. Our daily communication is flooded with technical information. Our managers were really struggling with the messages they were receiving from team members. They wanted clear, simple, concise messages that they could easily translate into actions - but often that just wasn’t the case. I realized that there was a real issue here.”
— Ravit Barak, Director HRBP
Align sites Talli works with: United States, Switzerland, Denmark, Brazil, Israel
CHALLENGES:
What challenges led you to get communication training for your team?
Ravit: Constant meetings are an inherent part of our culture. We’re in a phase of rapid growth and things are happening fast. There is a real need to identify what is critical in a simple and concise way and to eliminate discussion and messages that are just not critical. We needed training for that specific thought process in order to make sure that conversations are always short and to the point.
Presentations are a key part of our day to day. We have thousands of employees scattered around the world and require frequent global meetings where different sites come together. It was important for me to support employees who may naturally have less charisma or less of an inclination to speak in front of a crowd. I wanted to help them bring out their personality and really build their confidence. This is even more important for those of us who are non-native English speakers. That can often make critical presentations even more difficult and bring up high levels of stress and anxiety.
Main Challenges:
Eliminating overloaded messages and identifying simple core messages that will lead to business results
Lack of tools to create clear, bottom line messages to guide multiple meetings with little preparation time
Increasing managers’ confidence and stage presence for presentations with top level global executives
Given your challenges, what training tracks did your team complete?
APPROACH:
What made you choose this training for your team?
Ravit: Talli has two unique advantages that were important for us. First - her multicultural and global experience. She worked with a large number of individuals in Align from various countries and cultures, and with various mother tongues. She adapts herself to the personality of the person she works with and at the end of the day, her goal is the same for all of us - to make sure we can independently build and confidently deliver concise and simple messages that will engage others and drive them to take action.
Second - communication in a virtual environment is really important for us. Because of the global nature of the company, virtual meetings were a part of our lives long before Covid. I feel like Talli has a real advantage here - she’s a pro at virtual communication. Her sessions with trainees take place over zoom and this allows her to train our employees on the very platform in which we need them to perform and bring out their very best.
Talli works with many of us one on one, and also runs multiple group workshops. I feel like she can really see each one of us as a person and recognizes our strengths. She sets a very high bar and she’s very direct. She gives practical tools and step by step methods so that you can work, practice, and train - she paves your path to success. That makes her very special”.
RESULTS:
What did your team get from the training?
A clear singular framework to guide presentation goals from start to finish with fewer and cleaner slides
A functional methodology to help managers quickly and easily prepare for high stakes meetings
A visible increase in team members’ confidence and an improved ability to impact others
Ravit: I had the privilege of working closely with Talli so I speak from experience when I say that I would not have reached the accomplishments I have if it wasn’t for her - my ability to deliver engaging and confident presentations greatly improved. She helped me and other employees on my team instill critical communication capabilities in our day to day - which is really the most important part. How a presentation should look, how to build it, how to prepare the overarching message that drives the entire presentation and how every sub-message and slide work together to tell a compelling story.
I can see the improvement in my colleagues’ communication. Whether they can now tell their story or deliver clear messages, or whether their range of vocal intonation has expanded or if they use more facial expressions, the bottom line is that they can connect others to what they have to say.
Endorsements
“WOW! The change in my team members’ presentation after the communication training is simply transformational! They now have way more tools and capabilities to show up like never before in global meetings. Huge Kudos”.
— Arie Eshco, VP, Global Portfolio Management, iTero Scanner and Services
“Talli is an excellent consultant who managed to very quickly understand who I am and what my complex challenges are. She gave me real tools to improve the way I convey messages so that I can succeed in the organization”.
— Vered Bennett, HRBP Director
“I learned that it doesn’t matter whether it’s a one on one meeting or a discussion with many participants or a global meeting in English, which isn’t my mother tongue. What matters is that I show up every time I need to speak with a clear and simple bottom line.”
— Ravit Barak, HRBP Director