Since 2008, Spoken with Authority has helped professionals brilliantly craft messages, confidently convey them, and make a lasting impression on their audience: whether they’re informally chatting with a colleague or client, or formally addressing thousands of peers and professionals at a conference.
Spoken with Authority
Coaching by the Numbers
World-Class Coaches
Coaching Sessions in 2021
Published Books
01
Executive Communication Coaching
Spoken with Authority’s executive communication coaching provides robust and ongoing presentation skills coaching to professionals who need to communicate at an executive level. Like regular meetings with a personal trainer to make workouts more efficient and to fast-track fitness goals, the investment in ongoing executive communication coaching benefits participants by saving time through streamlining the process of preparing for important meetings, difficult conversations, briefings, pitches, conferences, and other internal or external speaking roles; improving communication outcomes in those situations; and, fast-tracking the development of communication skills needed to thrive in positions of leadership.
Why Ongoing Executive Communication Coaching?
Reduce stress by proactively planning for routine and high profile speaking roles
Save time by streamlining the preparation process with expert guidance from your Spoken with Authority coach
Improve communication outcomes in both internal and external communication situations through a deep understanding of the audience, situation, speaking purpose, strategic messaging, and theories of informing and persuading
Increase the internal feeling of confidence and the outward projection of it during speaking roles
Experience steady growth as a communicator through the application of increasingly advanced communication principles to workplace speaking roles
Enhance your personal brand through consistently strong oral communication, which will result in more invites for high-profile and high-stakes speaking opportunities
02
Leadership Communication Coaching Engagements
Spoken with Authority’s leadership communication coaching engagements give leaders and emerging leaders the speaking skills they need in a range of speaking situations — everyday conversations and phone calls; routine meetings and briefings; and formal reports, educational programs, board meetings, pitches, and conference presentations — to thrive now and reach their full potential in the future.
Our leadership communication coaching engagements aren’t just a few sessions here and there; they are a robust, structured, and cumulative series of sessions aimed at helping clients learn and apply new tools, build skills and confidence, and establish essential communication habits.
Our Clients See Results
Reduce nervousness and feel more in control during speaking situations
Achieve better communication outcomes in less time by streamlining the process for planning and practicing presentations
Win new business or acceptance of new ideas by crafting compelling messages based on an analysis of audience and situation
Engage and influence listeners through storytelling, visual aids, and interactivity
Establish rapport with listeners and audience members
Project confidence, elevate presence, and boost authenticity in formal and informal, online and in person workplace communication contexts
Answer questions and converse with clarity and succinctness
Improve intelligibility for non-native English speakers or speakers with a regional dialect
Adapt best practices for speakers with disabilities, neurological differences (such as ADHD), and anxiety disorders
Testimonials
“Spoken with Authority and Lisa Richard tailored my coaching engagement to meet my needs and goals. Using the Sandwich Structure, and Lisa taking the time to review it and offer detailed feedback, was very beneficial. My coaching engagement has made public speaking in a wide range of situations feel much easier. I would recommend Spoken with Authority and Lisa Richard to anyone looking to improve their public speaking skills and professional presence.”
“Today, after two months of coaching with Spoken with Authority, I had a meeting where I ended up doing about 85 percent of the talking. It just hit me (almost an hour later) that I wasn’t even a little nervous! I went through the entire agenda and gave updates, explained how I thought things should flow—I even made a joke! I utilized the techniques that we have worked on without even realizing it because it felt so natural.”
“Jean is amazing. She patiently stepped me through what I needed to work on and I never felt judged or corrected. My feeling about public speaking has done a 180 and I am much more comfortable with it. I can’t say enough good things about my coaching engagement and Jean – I’ve been telling everybody about it.”
03
Presentation Preparation Coaching Engagements
Spoken with Authority’s presentation preparation coaching engagements enables leaders, emerging leaders, and subject-matter experts to achieve a personal best on a specific presentation. These intense and focused coaching sessions help professionals achieve outstanding results in a wide range of speaking situations, such as: participating in an important meeting, leading a meeting, introducing themselves at a networking event, interviewing for a job, moderating a panel, speaking on a panel, briefing colleagues, training learners, pitching clients, presenting at a conference, offering a toast, and even delivering a TED-style Talk or ceremonial speech.
More Coaching Specifics
Hour 1
Analyze the situation and audience, set goals, craft an outline, brainstorm visuals (slides, pre-read, handouts, evaluations, etc., as appropriate)
Hour 2
Review and refine the outline and visuals, check timing of the presentation and edit as needed, create a timeline for practicing content aloud before the dress rehearsal
Hour 3
Dress rehearsal with technology, record and review video of rehearsal, refine delivery to make it more confident and dynamic.
Benefits of Presentation Preparation Coaching
Whether you are communicating to an audience of one, several, or many, and whether you are communicating in person or online, the benefits of a presentation preparation coaching engagement include:
Decreasing stress and overwhelm by breaking down the preparation process into manageable parts
Reducing the time necessary to craft and rehearse an effective presentation
Avoiding embarrassment and repetitional damage caused by a lackluster presentation
Clarifying goals and key messages to make the most of each speaking opportunity
Increasing audience attention and engagement by suggesting ways to incorporate visuals, storytelling, and audience interaction
Providing the valuable perspective of a knowledgeable outsider who knows best practices and recent trends of presentations and public speaking
Helping manage assignments and personalities involved in group presentations
Offering targeted, specific, encouraging, and insightful feedback that makes the most impact in the least time
Improving future presentations by collecting and reviewing evaluation data, and reflecting on speaking experiences
Bolstering confidence and opening doors to new opportunities
Testimonials
“Working with Spoken with Authority on our annual report to our closest funders was great! It went extremely well. One of our toughest funders remarked at the end how wonderful the presentation was. We felt very well prepared, and I know I’ll go into future presentations more confident because of the experience.”
“Lisa was fantastic! She organized and executed our meetings with structure and purpose.Our sessions were on point and filled with great information. Lisa helped me to get a deeper understanding of my strengths and weaknesses in connection with public speaking and day-to-day communication with my colleagues. She helped me to prepare for a presentation in front of a large audience using the Sandwich structure. I have to say I had never felt so confident and prepared to present publicly before! The presentation was a big success with many listeners reaching out to me with compliments. “
04
Job Interview Preparation Coaching Engagements
Schedule an initial consultation with Spoken with Authority to discuss how job interview preparation coaching sessions can benefit you.
More Coaching Specifics
Hour 1
Review the context and interview format, identify unique character traits and examples that highlight them, and craft a compelling response to “Tell me about yourself.”
Practice storytelling, especially bridging from likely interview questions to key examples and conversationally highlighting unique character traits and other key themes
Mock interview using the setup / technology anticipated in the job interview, record and analyze communication behaviors, and make delivery more dynamic and authentic through targeted rehearsal
Testimonials
“You have made a tremendous difference in my speech and more importantly in my confidence. I feel significantly more prepared and ready for the interview compared to how I felt just yesterday! You have a way of not just helping someone improve in their speaking, but also in their self image.”
“I just wanted to send a word of thanks to you both for the incredible training you provided me over the years. You all taught me so much and it has transformed the way I give talks in all my professional life since then.
And it came in really handy to land my new job! As part of the interview process, I had to prepare a 7-9 minute TED-talk style presentation. And only because you all had helped me so much in understanding how to prepare and deliver a memorable speech, I didn’t worry one bit! The talk went well and they offered me the position that afternoon! Your expert help continues to help me all these years later.”
05
Training Reinforcement Coaching Sessions
Spoken with Authority’s training reinforcement coaching sessions give participants of our live webinars, recorded virtual training, and in-person workshops a supportive learning environment to apply newly learned tools and techniques, and to tailor them to their unique speaking situations and goals. These responsive and timely coaching sessions may be conducted in a private or semi-private setting. They take place in the hours or days following a group training program; and they:
- Reinforce and enhance concepts introduced in training programs
- Individualize content of group-training programs to meet the needs of diverse participants
- Can help increase attendance and the return on investment in training programs
Schedule an initial consultation with Spoken with Authority to discuss how training reinforcement coaching sessions can improve the participant experience and enhance the value of your Spoken with Authority webinar, virtual training, or workshop.
Frequently Asked Questions
WHO DO YOU WORK WITH?
Spoken with Authority provides coaching to subject-matter experts, emerging leaders, and leaders at law firms, consulting firms, associations, nonprofits, and government agencies. We elevate the presence and expand the influence speakers who are novice, intermediate, and advanced.
Our clients are focused on improving outcomes in a wide range of interpersonal, small-group, and large-group communication situations that take place online, in-person, or as hybrid events. They include: presentations, briefings, reports, lectures, conferences, pitches, TED-style talks, ceremonial speeches, toasts, meetings, phone calls, panels, networking events, job interviews, performance reviews, casual conversations, and difficult conversations.
We have a track record of success supporting a diverse range of speakers, including those who have a deep-seated fear of public speaking, are non-native English speakers, or are neurodivergent (ADHD, Autism spectrum disorder, etc.).
We do not specialize in helping professionals overcome shyness, improve written communication skills, script word-for-word speeches, or understand the nuances of communicating with listeners outside Western business culture. We can, however, connect you with highly regarded specialists in these fields.
ARE YOU TAKING ON NEW COACHING CLIENTS?
Yes. Because Spoken with Authority has a dedicated and talented team of coaches, we have bandwidth to help you — usually within a few days of your inquiry.
If you have an unexpected speaking opportunity and need to prepare on a tight timeline or are setting your long-term professional development goals and want support to achieve them in coming months and years, book a meeting with us today to get started.
DO YOU CONDUCT IN-PERSON COACHING?
Spoken with Authority conducts all coaching engagements online. In fact, we have used Zoom for coaching engagements since 2016 (and Skype before that) to enhance the presentation skills of professionals across the United States and around the globe.
When conditions are safe to do in-person work, we can conduct training reinforcement coaching sessions on site on the same day as your in-person Spoken with Authority workshop.
HOW LONG ARE YOUR COACHING ENGAGEMENTS?
Executive communication coaching engagements are consistent and ongoing; they entail a minimum of 90-minutes of coaching a month broken into two x 45-minute increments or three x 30-minute increments.
Leadership communication coaching engagements are two or four months of more intensive coaching; they entail a minimum of six hours of coaching for every two months of the engagement.
Presentation preparation coaching and job interview preparation coaching engagements are three hours spread over two or three sessions.
Training reinforcement coaching sessions range from 30 minutes to 60 minutes in length, depending on desired coaching outcomes and scheduling requirements.
HOW MUCH DOES COACHING COST?
Executive communication coaching starts at $600 a month. Leadership communication coaching engagements start at $4400. Presentation preparation and job interview preparation coaching engagements start at $1200.
If you would like a cost estimate for training reinforcement coaching sessions or another coaching engagement tailored to your needs and goals, please schedule a time to discuss further.
WHY SHOULD I WORK WITH SPOKEN WITH AUTHORITY?
First, learn about our qualifications and values. Then, consider how collaborating with Spoken with Authority on your coaching engagement will get you better, faster, and easier results than doing it on your own; will prevent the reputational damage that can occur when you deliver a disappointing presentation; will give you the oral communication skills necessary to thrive now and achieve your leadership potential; and will help your organization live up to its diversity and inclusion goals.
After all, we have track record of effectively and compassionately coaching hundreds of professionals at law firms, consulting firms, associations, nonprofits, and government agencies. We have a team of dedicated and expert coaches who can accommodate most scheduling needs, even if you have a last-minute coaching request or need to book sessions on evenings and weekends.
And, we offer responsive and white-glove coaching — so our clients look forward to each session and get the most value out of each engagement (which we actually document and measure in our leadership communication coaching engagements with the Statement of Goals and Metrics Report as well as the Final Engagement Report).
WHO ARE YOUR COACHES?
Spoken with Authority coaches include Lynne Adrine, Deidra McGee, David Henderson, Christina McLean, Jean Constanza Miller, Michele Morrissey, Lisa Richard, and Bjørn Stillion Southard.
HOW WILL A COACH BE ASSIGNED TO ME?
You will have an initial consultation to discuss your goals, learning style, coach preferences, timeline, and scheduling needs. Based on this information as well as coach expertise, availability, and Spoken with Authority’s commitment to equitable distribution of work, you will be paired with one of our expert coaches.
After the first session with your coach, we will check in to get your feedback on the coaching experience and make adjustments as needed.