Better communication helps anyone's career
Clear, concise, compelling
A former newspaper reporter, college journalism teacher and chief learning officer for a global public relations firm, and for 25 years now an independent consultant, I can help you get quickly to a few clear points and illustrate them with compelling examples. Whether you're speaking in media interviews, meetings or presentations to groups large or small, I can keep you from boring your audience or burying them in detail.
Individualized coaching
I provide media training and presentation coaching for individuals and small groups, and interactive workshops for larger groups. First I listen to what the people I coach want, then we work on doing more of what works and less of what doesn't. In one-on-one sessions or in small groups, I record and play back participants' videos of something they're currently working on and provide tips and tools to improve. We work on structuring and streamlining messages and on delivering them with the presence and passion I draw from each person I coach. I'll fly anywhere for in-person sessions or work with you over Zoom, etc.
A catalyst for learning
My curiosity has always driven me to learn and discover, and I love helping others do the same. I learned how to think critically and learn on my own at New College, an experimental college in Florida, and gained skills and practice through a master's in journalism and mass communication at the University of Minnesota. I now am privileged to work with talented, motivated people who are smart enough to know how crucial communication is to everyone's job.
Thanks to my clients
I've worked with CEOs and organizations' newest hires, with scrappy startups and multi-billion-dollar global companies. I've learned from them all. Clients past and present include Amway, Assurant, Best Buy, Borg Warner, Cargill, Corewell Health, Citrix, Ecolab, JM Family Enterprises, Land O'Lakes, Medtronic, National Indian Gaming Association, Royal Caribbean, Thomson Reuters, UPS, and the University of Minnesota.
Minnesota, Florida, Virginia
After too many winters in Minnesota, my wife, Lisa, and I moved to the Tampa Bay area with our felines in 2010, then to the lush beauty and history of Charlottesville 14 years later. I love writing, and have written three books and edited others. My 10 years as a daily newspaper reporter and 20 as a college journalism teacher (full-time and adjunct) taught me to digest and analyze information and present it in clear, concise, conversational language. And that helps me help you.
Presentation Lessons from Alysa
A lively young woman gave a four-and-a-quarter-minute presentation in Milan that we can learn from.
Alysa Liu at 20 captured the gold – and the world – skating like the wind at the 2026 Winter Olympics.
What did she do before and after her first blade sliced the ice?
- She structured her presentation with variety, changes of pace, thrilling twirls then gliding calm. Variety – in pitch pace volume, pausing movement posture, expression gesture attitude – holds the audience.
- She included the required elements, did the jumps and figures, and made them look like her idea. As if you told Van Gogh, “paint me some flowers, paint me some stars.”
- One of my clients’ first reaction: “She’s smiling. She looks like she’s enjoying every minute, every move.” Better if you look that way; best if you feel that way. Present in ways you enjoy.
- She built in to her program moves she loves to do, that are strategically chosen to meet the requirements, and that she knows will move the audience. With all three, you’re confident that you’ll connect, and it will show.
- She practiced. Enough that the practice went away and revealed the skater.
- Liu finished every move. Coming out of a spinning jump, one skate kissed the ice while the other skate cut the air back and around and up for balance, making a complete and lovely figure.
- She put it all out there. And she got it back. She radiated joy and fluid competence; the audience reflected that and boosted that and sent it back to fuel her.
- She used every molecule of her body -- everything buzzing, everything alive.
- Most talks and presentations are too long. Look what Liu was able to do in just over four minutes.
- She started with a little smile to herself, and wrapped up her whole routine at the end with a flair.
- And the gold medal lesson? Liu quit competitive skating when she was 16. Too many rules, too many people telling her what to do. She came back to skating on her own terms – as herself. It’s you we want out there on the ice, on the stage, holding the conference room in the palm of your hand. Just you: practiced, honed, sailing and gliding.
- And that gorgeous hair; she let her flag fly, freaky and free.
Give it a whirl.
