Executive Speech Coaching
FAQs

Why hire an executive speech coach?

Working with an executive speech coach only makes sense if it directly benefits you and your organization.

You could personally profit from working with Chris if you want to:

• Establish yourself as a leader worthy of people’s respect and cooperation
• Prepare a compelling message for an important speech
• Win your audience’s attention, respect, and cooperation
• Connect with your audiences, whether you’re speaking to a small, informal group or addressing a packed auditorium
• Project a commanding presence

Your organization could benefit each time you

• Secure a major job or contract
• Make a persuasive pitch to funding sources
• Influence the public’s perception of your organization
• Win the trust of shareholders and the board of directors
• Gain your employees’ cooperation.

At any time during your work with Chris, if you feel your aren’t benefiting, that month’s fee will be refunded. 

How does executive speech coaching work?

Chris works with his clients in person and by phone. How he works with you depends entirely upon your circumstances — what you need and want.

If you have an important speech coming up and all you want is help making it the most successful speech possible, Chris will jump in and focus entirely on it. He will help you plan your strategy, figuring out what you want to accomplish and how best to go about it. Then he will help you create a message that is strong, direct, and commanding. If appropriate, he will help you rehearse your delivery.

If you want to become a better speaker, Chris Witt will work with you over a period of several months. During an initial conversation the two of you will identify your objectives and how best to go about achieving them. Chris will help you understand the way you typically express yourself and how other people perceive you (using the DISC behavior assessment).

During subsequent meetings — in person or by phone — Chris will work with you on whatever speeches you already are giving. As he helps you with those speeches, he will coach you through a process you can apply to future speaking opportunities.

You can count on him for support, understanding, and advice.

How can I work with a speech coach who isn’t even in my city?

Most of his clients are based in San Diego and southern California, but Chris works — by phone and by email — with clients throughout North America, England, and Australia. 

Unlike other speech coaches who focus primarily on delivery — how to use your voice and body – Chris shows his clients how to strategize their presentations and craft a compelling message. He does this in a guided conversation over the phone. And he reviews his clients’ material by email.

Chris also reviews audio and videotapes of his clients giving presentations so he can help them improve their presentation techniques. 

If you are primarily concerned about improving your delivery, you would do better finding a local coach, someone who can observe you on an ongoing basis and work with you face to face.

Will Chris write my speeches for me?

No. But he will help you craft your own speech, and he will clean it up for you.

Unless you’re the President of the United States, you should be saying what you mean in your words — not delivering someone else’s ideas in words not your own. 

Chris will help you craft your speech. He will lead you through a process that helps you:

• Define your objective
• Crystallize your ideas
• Generate your material (evidence, stories, examples, etc.)
• Structure your speech
• Develop a tight outline

You will learn how to speak from an outline in a lively, conversational way. 

Chris will then show you how to use parts of that speech over and over again in different settings.

I get nervous talking in front of people. Can Chris help me?

Yes.

The skills, experience, and personal strengths that make you a leader can make you a confident speaker. Chris will help you lessen your nervousness and use the nervousness that remains to add energy to your delivery.

I’m pressed for time. How long does this take?

It depends entirely on what you want to accomplish. And on your schedule.

If you're working on an important speech, you may only have a few days or a couple of weeks. Chris can step in at the last moment and help you get it done.

If you're interested in improving your speaking, you may want to take more time. You will notice a great improvement in yourself within three months. By six months other people will comment on the improvement they see.

I've taken speech seminars and training sessions before. How is executive speech coaching different?

With coaching you get individual attention, ready when you are, customized precisely to your needs, talents, experience, and situation. What you won’t get is generic, one-size-fits-all advice. 

You will learn by creating presentations you’re actually going to give, instead of working on classroom exercises you’ll never use in the real world.

And you’ll remember what you learn and make it part of the way you think and act, something that’s not possible from a two-day seminar.

Does Chris work with teams?

Yes. 

Chris helps teams strategize their presentation, create their message, prepare their support material, practice Q&A, and rehearse.

He also works with groups that are creating a presentation for their sales force to take on the road. And he works with senior executives who are crafting a presentation to give to funding sources as they go IPO.

How much does executive speech coaching cost?

It depends entirely on what you want to accomplish. And on your schedule.

During the initial, complimentary coaching session, after you’ve explained your situation and what you’d like to accomplish, Chris will lay out several options and their associated fees. 

Working with an experienced coach is an investment in your career and in your company’s success. It is not inexpensive, although it often costs less than most executives spend on conferences or workshops. At the same time you can determine how much you want to invest at any one time. 

Remember, Chris offers a money-back guarantee. If you don’t feel you got value from any session, he will refund your money for that session, no questions asked. 

I’m not sure I can afford a speech coach. What do you suggest?

In addition to the resources posted on this website, you may want to check out a CD Chris co-produced called “Power Presentations for Professionals.”

Consider joining Toastmasters. It is an international organization that has clubs — tens of thousands of them — around the world. For a modest investment you can attend weekly meetings where you will be guided through a variety of exercises. You’ll be on your feet speaking in front of a supportive audience right from the start. It’s a great investment.

"Thanks to his coaching I receive two long ovations and a standing ovation at the conclusion of my speech in San Diego."
-Bob Hunt, President, Stepping Stones

For more information about how you might benefit from working with an executive speech coach, contact us.