Frequently asked questions

Executive communication coaching focuses on the skills leaders actually use: organizing a message so it lands, presenting to a board or a room, running meetings people contribute to, handling questions and pushback, and the delivery habits — voice, pace, gesture, expression — that decide whether people believe you. Work starts with an assessment and targeted goals, then moves through practice with feedback. It is distinguished from broader executive coaching by its focus on observable skill and behavior change rather than mindset alone.

Both, and they work well together. One-to-one coaching runs as ten to twenty one-hour sessions built around your goals, with customized agendas, materials, and audio and video feedback. Group work runs as three to six ninety-minute sessions with a needs assessment first and customized feedback for each member. Our favorite engagement is a small group where every member also gets individual sessions — the group builds a shared language and the one-to-ones handle what is personal.

Executive communication coaching for individual leaders; group workshops and coaching for teams; keynote, conference and investor-presentation preparation; media training; coaching for leaders who use English as a business language; a program for conquering the fear of speaking; and the Train the Presentation Coach Certificate Program for people who want to coach others. If you are not sure which fits, that is what the complimentary consultation is for.

Group sessions run $2,900 for a half day and $5,900 for a full day, per coach. Individual coaching is $475 an hour, or $9,500 for a twenty-hour package, when a company is paying; $375 an hour when you are paying for yourself. Most engagements are scoped rather than taken off a shelf, so the consultation is where we work out what you actually need — but we publish the numbers because you deserve to know roughly where this sits before you pick up the phone.

Yes — they are most of the work. Clients are typically at director level and above, and referrals usually come from Human Resources, Learning and Development professionals, or the leaders themselves. Programs are built for people whose communication has consequences: rolling out a change, presenting to a board, raising money, or leading a team through uncertainty.

Enough to change outcomes, which is the only measure that matters. A start-up executive who came to us before investor meetings went on to close three investments in the seven figures. A biotech HR team we trained now runs its own presentation coaching in-house. Progress is tracked deliberately rather than assumed: goals are set at the assessment, feedback is gathered from expert, peer, video and client sources through the program, and there is monthly follow-up afterwards.

Yes, and high-stakes events are some of our favorite work — investor presentations, board meetings, panels, conference talks, town halls, media appearances and keynotes. For a specific event we build the preparation around it: the message and structure first, then delivery, then rehearsal with feedback, and often a session shortly before the date. Tell us what is coming up and when, and we will tell you honestly what is realistic in the time you have.

Both, and virtually is the norm — around ninety percent of our clients choose Zoom, and our clients are worldwide. Virtual is not a lesser version of this work: video makes feedback sharper, sessions are easier to schedule around a leadership calendar, and recordings give you something to review. We come to you in person when a company brings us on site, and that is straightforward locally or when travel is covered.

Laurie will answer this one herself — we would rather you heard it in her words than in ours, so we are waiting for her to record it rather than writing it for her. In the meantime: she has been coaching leaders to speak well for over thirty years, has worked with more than fifteen thousand clients, and has written three books on speaking and communication. Ask her on the consultation; it is a good story.

Small enough that everyone speaks, presents and gets feedback in the room — if people can hide, the session is too big to change anything. Group rates are quoted per coach precisely so that a larger team can be split and properly staffed rather than squeezed. Tell us the size and make-up of your group and we will tell you how we would run it, and whether it is better as one cohort or several.

Tell us where you are and we will tell you what is possible. A budget limit is not a reason to stay quiet — it changes the shape of a program, not whether we can help. Shorter formats, a smaller cohort, a focused set of sessions on the one thing that matters most, or training your own people to carry it on all cost differently. There is a fit at most levels, and there is a version of this conversation that does not waste your time.

Against goals that are set at the start, so there is something concrete to measure against. Assessment and goal planning open every program. Through the work, feedback comes from several directions — the coach, peers in the group, video review, and the client's own read of how it went. Progress is applied and assessed as you go rather than at the end, and there is monthly follow-up afterwards. The real test is what happens in the meeting, the pitch or the town hall.

The Train the Presentation Coach Certificate Program is a three-month course of six modules, blending theory, practical skill and professional development. It covers best practices in presenting, coaching techniques to add to your existing skills, and supervised coaching experience with actual clients. It is aimed at people who already hold a degree or position in coaching, speech, learning and development, communications, training or facilitation, and who want to coach others properly. It is one of the few programs of its kind.

Ask Laurie on the consultation. We never name the people or companies we coach without their say-so — coaching only works when it is safe, and that discretion is not negotiable — so references are arranged with a client's permission rather than published. In the meantime the site carries testimonials from directors and leaders who agreed to be quoted, and two anonymized accounts of how engagements actually ran.

Very likely. Over thirty years and more than fifteen thousand clients, the concentration has been in biotech, healthcare, finance and technology — fields where people have deep expertise and need to make it land with someone who does not share it. That said, the skills are not industry-specific: a scientist explaining a trial and a partner pitching an audit contract have more in common than either expects. Ask, and we will tell you what we have done in your sector.

Laurie Schloff, founder and communication skills coach, who takes every inquiry personally and matches you to the right coach. Hava Horowitz, senior communication skills coach. Tori Hollingworth, executive communication coach and communication training expert. Susan Shoer, creative director, writer and video producer. You will never be asked to pick a coach from a list — Laurie handles that after she understands what you need.