Three campuses: the history of the public speaking school

What we have achieved in ten years: a story in three campuses

Our first courses were held at the kibbutz seminar. In the beginning I rented classes by the hour - what classes - one class and that too with difficulty. The classes had to move Around the campus every cycle, according to the availability of the rooms, and every holiday, when the seminar was closed, I had to find an alternative place for a week or two.

In Passover 2009, the seminar had to be closed for three weeks, and it was a very hard blow for me, because it was very difficult to find an alternative place for half a course.

But by an interesting coincidence, just then the engineer Shaul Azuri, a fresh graduate (they were all fresh graduates at the time because the courses were new...) of the October 2008 class, approached me and told me that a large hall was becoming vacant in his family's office building, which he thought could transform me from a guy who does courses' for a 'real school'. 'It's time you realized your potential,' he said.

It was a bit of a mindset change. Until then, I really didn't think of myself as a school, and it required a large investment, but it was very tempting - and I was stuck anyway with where to do classes on Passover - so I jumped into the water - to 8 Ha'Tish Street.

The first office on Industrial Street.

He was very beautiful and homey. Maybe because the building was an anonymous office building in Ramat Gan, and it was important to give a warm feeling. There was one hall, and one office, and a coffee corner - maybe not Enough to be called a school, but it was no longer just 'Guy Rival doing courses'.

And the physical change became a thinking change, and an organizational change. For example, I started holding meetings for graduates, simply because I had a place that I didn't have to pay for. And I also started to expand in manpower.

Our first staff member was our psychologist Dr. Yael Schlesinger. A graduate of the July 2010 class, who started doing CBT workshops for social anxiety, and continues to do so to this day. Under her influence, I also started looking for a school secretary who would do sales, and in October of that year Miriam (Mimi) Blum started working for me, who quickly became very dominant in the relationship between the school and the students, and over the next five years she shaped the dynamic of the 'Guy is the tough policeman who makes demands on the students and achieves goals, and I'm the good policeman who helps when it's difficult' - a dynamic that continues to this day and helps students achieve goals that are sometimes difficult for them to imagine they will succeed in when they enroll.

The current campus - 127 Bialik Street in Bursa

After two more years we outgrew it, and in 2011 we had to move again.

We were looking for a central and particularly accessible place, students from all over the country studied with us - from Mitzpe Ramon in the south to Kiryat Shmona in the north. We needed a place with convenient parking for CEOs, but also proximity to the train and a bus terminal for soldiers and officers, and after much searching and deliberation we chose a place (which used to be a large sports store until then...) on Bialik Street in Ramat Gan. 500 meters uphill to Ayalon, 8 minutes walk to the train, and another minute to the Arlozorov terminal. And really, since then students have studied with us much further south than Mitzpe Ramon and north from Kiryat Shmona (Majdel Shams, for those wondering how far north there is).

…and the team also grew

In 2012, Red Forbes, the voice development teacher, started working with us, and that was also the last time an employee who did not graduate from the school joined

During the 'Tzuk Eitan' operation in 2014, we went through a severe crisis, which brought the school to the brink of closure. Fortunately, at that time, CPA Nir Caspi studied with us, who was an excellent student, among other things because he helped all the other students in the class. As an experienced accountant he also helped to stabilize the cash flow and pass the war in peace, and when the routine returned he found that helping others helps him a lot.

And so when Nir finished the course he established the practice and strengthening sessions - a unique framework that allows graduates to continue to mentor students, and thus have an opportunity for practice and learning, while at the same time giving the students more support, guidance and accompaniment.

In 2015, there was an expansion that brought Itai, Eitan and Mor to the school, meaning most of our permanent staff.

Itai Rosenberg replaced Mimi as study advisor, and later as director of counseling and registration. Itay brings with him not only a degree in psychology and certification in coaching and guiding groups, but also the order and organization that allowed us to expand the team. Itay was one of our first mentors, later he became one of our first instructors who worked outside, and today he gives training to external organizations on a regular basis.

A little later he joined us Eitan Melker (June 2015 cycle). At first as a study advisor, but we soon discovered that as a 'soul player' he is much more suitable for the practice and strengthening sessions that have greatly expanded under his guidance. A 'souled player' is a concept in basketball that describes someone who is ready to kill himself for any lost task, and Ethan is exactly the one who will not let go of any struggling student, and will sit with him for hours if necessary - encouraging, flattering, pushing and not giving up until the student successfully stands in front of the crowd.

In the last six months, the last two team members (for now) were added to us: Shay and Ilana.

Ilana Tilo, a lawyer who does not like to be reminded that she is one, started working at the school already during her studies in the course (March 2017 class) precisely on the administrative side - she was responsible for getting us an approved vendor status in the Ministry of Defense and other bodies. After finishing the course, she decided that she likes working with people much more than working with documents, and today she is a study consultant and diagnostician.

Last but not least is Shay, O'Rabbi Shai Ben-Odiz' as he is called in the settlement of Bat-chen where he is the rabbi of the settlement. Shai is currently responsible for the relationship with the graduates, which he says is quite similar to managing a community as a rabbi. You should be there for them when they need you, remind yourself from time to time, especially on the occasion of celebrations, and support them along the way.

Future Plans

In the coming years, we expect the school to continue to grow, and especially to focus on three trends that we emphasize

• Expanding the activities for graduates - we started to increase the frameworks to empower the graduates. To the monthly graduate forum, and the weekly strengthening meetings, we are adding a debate club that will be held twice a month, a 'huge audiences' workshop to prepare graduates for conferences and large events, a 'workshop-workshop' that will train graduates to deliver their own workshops, and more.
• Deepening the support for the students - the strengthening sessions are becoming more and more professional, thanks, among other things, to the formation of a community of mentors, who undergo regular training and thus gradually become real professionals.
• Geographical and commercial expansion - we bring our courses to more and more places. Last year we sent guides to 30 organizations and companies, and we expect to double this number. In the coming years it is likely that we will open more branches in Jerusalem and in the north.