Say goodbye to one-sided snooze fests.

Chris regularly teaches groups of people about public speaking, communication, and personal storytelling. His teaching style is “keynote calibre,” meaning he brings the same creativity, engagement, and polish to a small team training as he does to a conference or retreat. The goal is for every audience to feel like they’ve experienced something special—while also learning a whole lot of meaningful, practical content.

• Audience size: A handful to over a hundred people

• Virtual available: Yes, but let’s discuss

• Duration: 60- to 90-minutes (half- and full-day engagements are also possible)

• Interactivity: Each session is approximately ⅓ teaching + ⅓ group exercises + ⅓ discussion

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“Your Story Changes Everything” Storytelling Training

Helping people see you as a person they respect and trust

Stories about yourself are an effective way to establish trust and build meaningful relationships with clients and colleagues. But what can you say about yourself? Which parts of your life are interesting? Is it OK to be funny? Should you be vulnerable? Chris teaches you how to tell stories using the same tools as successful TEDx speakers.

• Learning experiences: Using storytelling demonstrate values and establish trust; crafting memorable stories from your personal and professional experience; finding opportunities to share stories; how to be funny and vulnerable

Master a Meaningful Elevator Pitch

What to say when someone asks, “So, what do you do?”

What makes this question hard is trying to answer with a comprehensive summary of your work. The real challenge is recognizing you can’t soundbite your life, nor should you try. Crafting your “elevator pitch” is all about getting someone into a meaningful conversation about you and your work. Some of these conversations will lead, eventually, to an invitation to work together.

• Learning experiences: Making it easy for people to understand what you do and how you can help; creating space for meaningful networking conversations; crafting an authentic, engaging story to reflect your personal and professional identity

Thinking On Your Feet

Answering questions on the fly

You get halfway through your prepared material and then the questions start. Some you anticipated, most are surprises, and one stumps you completely. Your preparation goes out the window: “Um, ah, well… can I get back to you on… everything?” Thinking on your feet is a crucial skill for professional success. It’s also deeply challenging for professionals who communicate predominately in writing and struggle with perfectionism. This session unpacks the challenge of thinking on your feet and offers practical tools (and fun practice!) for giving thoughtful responses to unexpected questions.

• Learning experiences: Why verbal communication often works better when it’s less-than-perfectly polished; the truth about filler words (much more acceptable than you think!); practical tools from Classical rhetoric to support extemporaneous speaking; how to give thoughtful, meaningful responses to unexpected questions or comments

Get Better at Talking to Everyone

Foundations of workplace communication

Every person you talk to (colleagues, clients, peers) has different expectations around what kind of communication would be useful for them. Being an effective communicator means thinking about those expectations and adjusting what you say to fit the circumstances. This session offers participants a foundational toolkit for effective communication at work.

• Learning experiences: Making sense of your audience; calibrating level of detail; making it easy for people to follow along; giving better answers to people’s questions