About Shana Gold
Shana Gold (ICF-ACC) is a leadership development and executive communication coach and facilitator. She has spent 20 years helping professionals to speak and lead masterfully and cultivate the investment, client, or high-performance teams they and their company need to succeed.
Shana uses her theatre experience (MFA-CUNY),time at companies like Dell, Motorola, Centria, and 3M, and certification in Positive Intelligence to help guide participants to be dynamic speakers and leaders who can create engagement with even the toughest crowds.
You can read more about me and my practice here. Below you’ll find a list of my current communication services, all of which are available virtually or onsite. If you see something that piques your interest, please get in touch. I’d love to hear how I can be of assistance to you or your organization.
Talks
Shana will share strategies to help you understand and impress your listener every time you speak and get results: increased sales, improved client and team relationships, and powerful influence from the big rooms to the board room—and everything in between.
From Stage Fright to Spotlight: How To Cultivate Confidence and Authentic Leadership Presence
Ever have a meeting, interview, or interaction that doesn’t seem to be landing, and you don’t know why? Whether it's rallying a team towards a common goal or persuading stakeholders to invest–learn the techniques that transform passive listeners into active participants.
You’ll discover how to:
Clear blocks and transform nerves to excitement (even if you’re an introvert)
Discover the subtle yet profound ways to convey confidence and conviction
Learn how to grab your listener and hold their attention (and even put down their device)
Stories That Sell: 3 Secrets to Irresistible Storytelling That Resonates
Have you ever noticed your listener tuning out the data? Learn to create narratives that transform information into stories that touch emotions, instill trust, and drive action.
You’ll discover how to:
Craft a compelling story (even if the subject matter is dry)
Learn how to grab your listener and hold their attention (and even put down their device)
Use stories to build trust with clients and close deals
Courageous Conversations: Positive and Proactive Tools for Offering Feedback and Having Difficult Talks
Ever feel like you have to choose between being a pushover or aggressive? Learn to disagree gracefully, get on the same page, uncover solutions, and get results with clarity and empathy.
You’ll discover how to:
Expertly interpret body language and understand what’s unsaid
Uncover a secret technique that transforms every conflict into an opportunity or gift
Discover the keys to active listening that unlock a world of creativity and collaboration
Coaching Services
Training Options (available virtually or onsite) include:
Individual, Small, and Large Group Presentations Coaching
Whether you are presenting to a large group, pitching a proposal to investors, or leading a meeting with colleagues, the rules of the game are the same. You need to be clear, credible, confident – and relevant. You want to listen actively, adapt your approach as you learn about your audience, and aim to stay calm and focused if you are interrupted and challenged.
Crafting Your Personal or Corporate Story
What are your personal values and passions? What are your company’s values? How are these manifested? How did you get where you are today? Crafting and telling a powerful story can help you and your company understand and shape policy, communicate with employees, help raise funding, and guide brand management.
Interview & Meeting Preparation
Ever have a meeting, interview, or interaction that doesn’t seem to be landing, and you don’t know why? This workshop explores how the body language others exhibit can help us understand their responses. We will refine and practice the skills required to analyze how non-verbal signals are transmitting both to us and from us. Taking the time to understand clients’ and co-workers’ perceptions gives us a great deal of information that we can use to influence them effectively.
Collaboration & Innovation Training + Team Building
A company that wants to remain on the cutting edge can't do it by resting on its laurels or past successes--it needs to be continually developing. Learning to collaborate successfully will significantly increase efficiency, productivity, and creativity. This program will help your company find innovative solutions to challenges and work successfully as a team.
Accent Management for Professionals
This program helps international business professionals communicate effectively in an American context. Coaching is customized to meet the client’s needs, whether it is intensive or over a period of months. Using exercises, taped playback analysis, and customized content; the client will gain confidence and fluency in standard American business communication.
The Perfect Pitch
Perfecting your pitch is essential for every entrepreneur. In this workshop, we’ll go through the pitch process from start to finish. Beginning with understanding the importance of the pitch, your purpose and when to use it, you'll then learn how to create a compelling pitch by identifying your objective and context, identifying why the investor or customer needs what you’re offering, communicating your unique selling point, and knowing your goals for a successful outcome.
Client Testimonials
“I hired Shana to help me prepare for a presentation, and I became a better leader as a result. She coached me from feeling like I was going to fail—to by far the best presentation I’ve ever given. After just 3 sessions with Shana my team and colleagues acknowledged they thought that I was more present, positive, and engaged during our one on ones and in department meetings. I continue to work with Shana regularly and recommend her work to anyone looking to level up and create a positive impact.”
“Shana prepared me for many events at Dell, from progress reports to keynote speeches in front of hundreds of people. The feedback from everyone has been very positive. Her ability to synthesize content and her supportive, but rigorous approach was indispensable in that positive outcome.”
“The Austin team placed 3rd overall in the National Sales Showcase Competition. Shana’s coaching really made all the difference both in how we collaborated as a group and in the quality of our presentation.”
“I was fortunate to receive coaching from Shana on how to create an effective and vivid presentation. She helped me communicate in English with confidence, and I will always be grateful for her assistance.”
“At the onset of the pandemic, we found ourselves in a difficult place, navigating intense conflict and needing to change the whole paradigm of our company. And now, we have a renewed sense of clarity on our values, purpose, and mission. We are so grateful to Shana for conducting a leadership audit, which enabled us to explore new ways of collaborating, to create healthy approaches to navigate the hard conversations–and for reminding us that empathy and curiosity always make us better leaders and colleagues.”
“Shana is a dynamic and energetic communication leader. She led a series of strategic planning and team building retreats for the University of Arkansas campus fundraising teams. She incorporates robust research data and shares case studies to engage participants. Shana masterfully encourages participation and sparks creativity and innovation. Each retreat concluded with specific actionable insights and a clear path to success. All our employees were highly engaged and sent positive feedback after the sessions.”
“Shana is an excellent speaking coach with brilliant insights into story, structure, and fundamentals—and her corrective feedback is incredibly impactful.
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“I was one of 3 students chosen (out of 300) for the Dynamic Speaker Award at the McCombs Pitch Contest. All of Shana’s tips were essential as I was presenting to the panel of judges, particularly handling nerves, responding to body language, and connecting with the audience. I couldn’t have done it without her.”
“Shana’s hard work, unfailing good cheer, and succinct direction during the filming of my Thinkwell lectures were invaluable. Her input had a significant impact on both the style and content of the lectures and made them far more effective than they would have been without her expert coaching.”
“Public speaking used to be my biggest struggle, and now I confidently speak in front of hundreds of people. I can’t thank you enough for the excellent workshop and coaching. You helped me find confidence in myself, and gave me the tools to confront my fears .”
“Working with Shana has been a transformative experience for me. When I came to her, I was completely burnt out and overwhelmed. The skills and practices I’ve learned have reduced my anxiety by about 75% The work we did helped me identify achievable goals and realize that the gaps in my life weren’t as insurmountable as I thought. Using her coaching techniques, I’ve shifted my mindset from fear to possibility, increased my revenue, and celebrated my successes along the way. With Shana’s guidance, I’ve come a long way in a short time, and I’m moving steadily towards my big goals.”
“Shana is a gifted coach who knows exactly how to empower you to both celebrate your successes and make positive change in your life. After a few months with Shana, I was able to break a seemingly intractable habit and immediately felt like I had the tools at my fingertips to carve new paths forward in my life. Shana’s guidance helped me re-imagine what I was capable of and access the support I needed to accomplish it. I can’t recommend Shana enough–working with her has truly changed my life for the better! ”
Results-Driven
According to Forbes.com 57% of senior leaders say communications is the number one skills gap.
Leaders practicing mindfulness training become less reactive and more responsive, boosting the bottom line.
— goalcast.com
Half of all workers say interpersonal skills are crucial to their job, especially in the high-pace tech industry.
Practicing interpersonal communication decreases stress as well as increases focus, resiliency, and vigor.
Additional reading on communication skills and mindfulness in the workplace: goalcast.com, journals.lww.com, inc.com, linkedin.com, and pewsocialtrends.org