The work
Find the story that was already true, and build whoever has to tell it.
Every engagement starts the same way. Somebody comes to me because something isn't landing. Sometimes it's one person, an expert who knows more than anyone else in the room but can't get anyone to actually hear it. Sometimes it's bigger, a board that's stopped telling the same story, a conference running the same panel format for ten years and calling it programming.
I don't walk in assuming I already know what's wrong. The first conversation is just that, a conversation, to find out what's actually going on. After that, the work takes whatever shape it needs. Sometimes it's one person and one moment. Sometimes it's a whole room that needs to walk out believing the same thing. The job doesn't change: find the story that was already true, and build whoever has to tell it.
Three shapes this work takes
Coaching
One person, one high-stakes moment, or a longer arc toward a platform they haven't found yet. This is where an expert becomes the most compelling person in the room instead of the most credentialed one.
Training
A group heading into a moment where the stakes are real, advocates walking into stakeholder meetings, board members talking to donors, staff carrying a message they need a room to actually feel. Built for the specific room they're about to walk into, not a general communications workshop.
Showcases
A professionally hosted live storytelling experience built entirely from an organization's own members, in place of another panel or keynote. The proof that the people already inside an organization are its most memorable asset.
Who I work with
I work with professional associations, health and science coalitions, foundations, and mission-driven organizations, the kinds of institutions where the people doing the most important work are rarely the ones anyone remembers. If your organization has real expertise and real impact but struggles to make either land, that's the work.
Questions
- How is this different from a keynote speaker?
- A keynote is one person performing for a room. This builds your own people into the story, so the room hears from the experts and advocates who actually did the work.
- How do we start a conversation?
- Reach out. We'll talk through what's actually going on before we talk about what to do about it.
- Do you work with individuals, or only organizations?
- Both. Some engagements are one person preparing for one high-stakes moment. Others are a full organization building a showcase or aligning a board. The right shape follows the problem, not the other way around.
- What does it cost, and how long does it take?
- That depends entirely on scope, which is exactly what the first conversation is for.