public speaking coach

Stop touching your face in Zoom meetings

Body language is essential to get right whenever you’re presenting.

Even though we’re only seeing the top third of your body on Zoom (or Microsoft Teams or Google Meet), how you appear up there matters.

This is especially true when you need to be perceived as a leader.

This is not about lookin’ good.

It’s about gaining the trust of your audience.

Whether you’re giving a sales presentation, talking with a client, leading a meeting, or giving a media interview — here are three things I highly recommend you stop doing.

Touching your face

When we touch our face it tells the audience we’re nervous or uncomfortable.

We want to come across confident so our audience trusts us and the company we represent.

Touching your hair

When we fiddle with our hair or move it away from our face, it again makes our audience less confident in us.

Make sure your hair is always away from your face and it doesn’t move into your eyes so you don’t have a tendency to touch it.

Looking at other monitors

You wouldn’t stare out of the window or at your phone during an in-person meeting, would you?

This is why we shouldn’t look away from the person we’re meeting with and at another monitor.

You’ve seen it, you’ve felt it, you know how rude this is.

Making these small tweaks makes a huge impression on audiences.

Whether it’s an audience of one or many.

One specific VP told me recently his team is much more engaged now when he speaks.

And it happened right after he enacted the “stop touching your face” (for him, he touched his beard a lot) and “stop looking at other monitors” rules I created for him.

He says his team is more engaged.

That’s all it took.

Worth a try, right?

P.S. Want more tips? Be sure to sign up for my LinkedIn newsletter where you’ll get exclusive tips on strengthening your mindset to become a better communicator. Click here to subscribe to Thought Leaders Amplified on LinkedIn.

P.P.S. I created a training for health care professionals who need to discover their message and story, deliver it clearly, succinctly, and confidently, and present in a way that intrigues, entertains and keeps the audience’s attention. Share it with your friends in health care. Check it out even if you’re not in health care. The tips and tricks are universal. Click here to learn more.

P.P.P.S. Whenever you’re ready… here are three more ways I can help you build your brand, own your voice, and stand out:

  1. Want more tactical advice you can implement today? Check out my blog here for great articles, stories, and lessons I’ve shared over the years.
  2. Looking for one-on-one coaching or a consultation with me? Schedule a complimentary call here to speak to our team about how we can help you.
  3. Follow me on Instagram here for more media and public speaking tips, videos… and a little fun.

A lesson from Elton John

Elton John finally made his way back to Chicago.

This was a show originally scheduled for 2020.

Like a lot of concerts, it was delayed because of the pandemic.

As the months passed, I didn’t think he would actually make it back.

As you may know, Sir Elton recently had COVID.

Was he going to be too nervous being in a big crowd again? Would he be fully recovered?

Instead, what I witnessed was a man who put every ounce of his being into the show.

From the first second to the last – he had endless energy.

He was like a kid.

And so were each one of the band members.

Many of whom are in their 70s.

But each one acted like they were… maybe 25.

So much energy and so much enthusiasm.

These legends have been playing on stages worldwide for decades.

We all would have been fine if they phoned it in.

But instead, they played like they were still earning our respect as musicians.

They genuinely acted like they were excited to be there.

Elton waved to the crowd for 2 1/2 hours like he was your grandpa and you were driving up to his house after he spent two years in quarantine.

Energy. Excitement.

Right from the top, no time wasted.

Preparation.

Practice.

True professionals.

They get it.

There isn’t time to warm up.

Once you hit the stage, you have to be ready.

To entertain.

To captivate.

This comes up with my clients all the time.

When they first call me, they explain how they were great in the middle of a podcast or another interview, but it took them time to warm up.

But we live in a world where we don’t have time to warm up.

If we don’t catch people right off the top, they will start checking their email or move to a different podcast.

We must captivate and entertain from the top.

Capture the audience and make them want to stick around.

Elton didn’t need to do that.

Nor did his 74-year-old percussionist, who has played for every major act in the world.

Yet, they acted grateful to be on the big stage.

The next time we’re on a stage or in the media – we have to act like we’re grateful to be there and that it’s not old hat.

We have to prepare and be ready on the first beat.

This is not a normal conversation.

This is something that takes a different level of preparation.

That first soundbite has to be a headline.

It has to encapsulate all of the excitement going on in your organization.

It’s an important lesson to learn from these pros.

They’re teaching us night after night, how to perform to make our audience keep coming back for more.

P.S. I had great seats (thanks to my United Center/Chicago Bulls client). If you want to see video from the show, I shared it here on LinkedIn.

P.P.S. I created a training for health care professionals who need to discover their message and story, deliver it clearly, succinctly, and confidently, and present in a way that intrigues, entertains and keeps the audience’s attention. Share it with your friends in health care. Check it out even if you’re not in health care. The tips and tricks are universal. Click here to learn more.

P.P.P.S. Whenever you’re ready… here are three more ways I can help you build your brand, own your voice, and stand out:

  1. Want more tactical advice you can implement today? Check out my blog here for great articles, stories, and lessons I’ve shared over the years.
  2. Looking for one-on-one coaching or a consultation with me? Schedule a complimentary call here to speak to our team about how we can help you.
  3. Follow me on Instagram here for more media and public speaking tips, videos… and a little fun.

They’ll love your snow stories

Have you ever met a really BORING person?

Been on a first date and wondered how someone could really be that bland?

Are you sitting in a Zoom meeting right now listening to a person go on and on… about nothing?

Or worse… are you afraid you might be that person?

The best piece of advice I give thought leaders I work with before they do a media interview or speech is:

Have a relatable story.

You MUST have a story people can relate to if you’re going to attract people to you, speak in public, or if you’d like to sell your brand by using the media.

No producer or writer is going to publish a story about your grand opening or sale.

But if you have a story, like you’re donating 40% of opening day profits to a charity that’s in the news… or there’s something special about the owner… you have a much better chance.

Numbers are great – but stories are even better.

You may have a great success story at your company. Numbers are way up. Bosses are happy.

The way to break through to an audience and show what those numbers really mean is to tell a story. Explain what those numbers mean.

Talk about how many people you were able to hire because numbers are up. Highlight a person you hired and their family.

You need a compelling story of human interest.

Remember: the media has a job to do.

They need to make sure their audience watches, reads, sticks with them even after a commercial, learns something and keeps coming back for more.

All you need to do is learn a few tricks to do it the right way.

Here are a few quick thoughts I shared on YouTube.

And think about how a story connects you to people in your day-to-day Zoom meetings.

I was on a call with an exec of a Fortune 100 company last week.

He showed up in a baseball cap and a hoodie.

Not his normal wardrobe.

He told me he had just finished shoveling his wife out of the driveway.

And then he drove her to work.

She’s a nurse.

At that moment, I knew I wanted to work with that exec – and I even happily altered my price when we negotiated my contract.

Give your audience an authentic story that makes them feel something and you’ll have a better chance of seeing your story in the media.

They may even become open to negotiating their prices because they just like you.

P.S. Creating a story that stands out is the critical component needed to grow your business or practice and ensure you get an ROI on your time and energy. I shot a YouTube video on this. Check it out here.

P.P.S. I created a training for healthcare professionals who need to discover their message and story, deliver it clearly, succinctly, and confidently, and present in a way that intrigues, entertains and keeps the audience’s attention. Share it with your friends in healthcare. Check it out even if you’re not in healthcare. The tips and tricks are universal. Click here to learn more.

P.P.P.S. Whenever you’re ready… here are three more ways I can help you build your brand, own your voice, and stand out:

  1. Want more tactical advice you can implement today? Check out my blog here for great articles, stories, and lessons I’ve shared over the years.
  2. Looking for one-on-one coaching or a consultation with me? Schedule a complimentary call here to speak to our team about how we can help you.
  3. Follow me on Instagram here for more media and public speaking tips, videos… and a little fun.

The ripple effect of communication issues

How are the people inside your company communicating with your customers?

Or future customers?

I was on a call with a $12 billion company today.

I’m sharing this in case you have the same issue.

They hosted their annual meeting recently.

Many of their execs had to give presentations and they quickly realized… several of them were having issues presenting and getting their message across.

These are well-regarded individuals inside a Fortune 100 company.

They’re smart and know the industry in and out.

But they have an issue.

And it’s costly.

They are not confident or convincing when it comes to presenting.

So they called me.

They need to be prepared before they present again in a year – but more importantly, the concern is:

How are they communicating on a daily basis?

In front of customers? Potential investors? Their team?

There’s a ripple effect when it comes to communication.

Whether it’s your receptionist who takes inbound calls and walk-ins, your sales team, all the way up to your leadership — your message should:

  • establish trust,
  • be confident,
  • show empathy,
  • and it should make people want to do business with you!

If your message is being miscommunicated, at any level within your organization, that’s a potential client or customer — gone.

Potential referrals — gone.

Potential media or speaking opportunities — gone.

It’s all interconnected.

As you’re reading this, think to yourself for a moment.

Could you possibly have a communications issue inside your company?

Don’t dismiss someone as having stage or Zoom fright.

They may have a bigger communications issue.

It’s fixable and a little work now will save (and make) you a lot of money quickly.

P.S. Worried your organization is struggling like this Fortune 100 company? I created a training for health care professionals who need to confidently show up on camera, attract more patients, move up in their careers, and let their expertise shine. Share it with your friends in health care. The tips and tricks are universal. Check it out even if you’re not in health care. Click here to learn more. Want training that’s more specialized for your industry? Let’s connect and make it happen.

P.P.S. I just published a new video on YouTube sharing with you some easy adjustments to make before recording a video or going live. This might be something you haven’t considered. Check it out here.

P.P.P.S. Whenever you’re ready… here are three more ways I can help you build your brand, own your voice, and stand out:

  1. Want more tactical advice you can implement today? Check out my blog here for great articles, stories, and lessons I’ve shared over the years.
  2. Looking for one-on-one coaching or a consultation with me? Schedule a complimentary call here to speak to our team about how we can help you.
  3. Follow me on Instagram here for more media and public speaking tips, videos… and a little fun.

How to Make Sure Your Message Takes Center Stage (and not this)

The key to any speaking opportunity – whether that’s speaking on Zoom in a meeting, on stage, in the media, in your website videos, or in job interviews – is to keep the audience focused on your message and nothing else.

There are a lot of things steering your audience away from you and your message.

A busy background.

Disrupting noises.

Or even a pair of glasses.

It’s one of the biggest questions I get:

“What do I do about my glasses?”

They’re not asking whether they should wear them…

But really – what to do about the fact that they’re distracting.

The light from their room is bouncing off the lenses…

They know they need help.

I struggled with this for so long – I just ditched my glasses for years… which has made it pretty hard to see my slides when I’m training.

But I figured out some tricks.

And I’m going to share a little bit with you now.

(If you want to go more in-depth with me, click here to watch this video I just shot.)

Do you have big thick frames?

Or are they too small and cutting off your pupils?

While glasses may sometimes feel like an afterthought, they could be detrimental to your overall message.

You want your audience to connect with your eyes.

The eyes are the window to the soul (or so I’ve heard).

This is also why it’s important to look directly into the camera. You’ll appear as if you’re looking right into the eyes of your audience.

This takes practice to get it down and not let your eyes wander off and look at all the other people on the call.

When you let your eyes move from person to person or somewhere else in your room, you may appear to be insincere, detached, uninterested, insecure, and even shifty.

When someone can really look into your eyes — they feel more connected to you. AND TRUST YOU MORE.

That’s why I care about this.

It’s not about looks.

I care that you connect with more people.

And they trust you.

P.S. I left out one of the other big no-no’s when it comes to making sure you connect with your audience and stand out. I’m talking about lighting. I just published a short video telling you all about it. Click here to watch.

P.P.S. I’ve created a special program just for healthcare professionals who need media training so they can confidently show up on camera, attract more patients, move up in their careers, and let their expertise shine. If that’s you or you know someone who can benefit from this, click here to learn more.

P.P.P.S. Whenever you’re ready… here are 3 more ways I can help you build your brand, own your voice, and stand out:

  1. Want more tactical advice you can implement today? Check out my blog here for great articles, stories, and lessons I’ve shared over the years.
  2. Looking for one-on-one coaching or a consultation with me? Schedule a complimentary call here to speak to our team about how we can help you.
  3. Follow me on Instagram here for more media and public speaking tips, videos… and a little fun.

How to Communicate in a Public Speaking Presentation, Social Media & On Stage So You’re Remembered

You may know Scott Galloway for his new show coming up on CNN+, but he’s also got an e-learning platform called Section4 and I was honored to be asked to present at their Member Lightning Talks recently.
The topic was communication, and I was asked to discuss how to communicate so you stand out and are remembered by your audience – in public speaking engagements, on social media, and on stage.
 
Is this something you’re working on right now?
 
Here are three strategies to help you stand out when you communicate:
 
1. Know your audience
2. Edutain (be provocative)
3. Be vulnerable to be memorable
 
P.S. – Don’t forget to prepare and practice!
 
Want to delve deeper into these concepts? Here’s the video with my complete talk.
Transcript:

Kathryn Janicek: Let’s now talk about how to craft your messages that will actually resonate with your customer the most, whether you’re on video, it’s your website, it’s social media, if you’re on stage, or in the media. I’m Kathryn Janicek, I’m the Founder and Chief Strategist at Kathryn Janicek Productions. It’s a super creative name. I’ve had my company for about seven years, I train in media and public speaking. I am a former TV exec. I’ve been the media for 25 years and I’ve won three Emmy’s. I have been so honored to be able to take three of the section four classes and it’s just been amazing.

How can you stand out as a thought leader? How can you show up as the expert in your industry? In your field? How can you impress audiences, future customers, current customers, investors make them trust and like you? I’m going to give you three ways you can do that today. There’s so many ways, but one way is to really know your audience. We hear it so often, but so many times, how often do you get to a conference and someone really hasn’t thought about their audience? Or they get up on any kind of stage or they’re being interviewed by the media and they’re really not thinking about who that end audience member is. So, think about your audience. If you’re in the media, for example, your audience is really not that journalist. Your audience is that person at home who might download your app, who might try out your brand new health thing or might buy your toy, whatever it is. But think about that 45-year-old female with two kids, who’s at home on the couch and that is who you’re talking to, that person.

You’re not talking to everyone. We narrowcast, not broadcast, right? We think about that actual person. And also to think about if you have a health company, if you have anything in healthcare or that honestly, anyone who needs to be trusted and if you need to look like you care about them, you need to look like you care about yourself. So, making sure you show up looking healthy and clean and it’s so, so important in front of anybody, right? Now, we all want a story tell, but think about your exact audience about who you’re telling a story to. And I was training a COO and other execs a couple weeks ago from a 12 billion company, I thanked them for taking the three days to fly to Chicago and actually take that time with me.

I told them about my dad was a weekend dad. He was around Monday through Friday, that resonated with this group. That would not resonate with 300 women who I might speak with who are in their twenties. I also told a story on day two about how I was misrepresented in an E! Entertainment story about Chris Farley. It was the Chris Farley biography that aired in 1998. This audience was perfect for it because it was men about 40 plus and they knew who Chris Farley was. I wouldn’t tell that story to a group of millennials or maybe women who were in their thirties because they just don’t remember who he was. So, think about who that audience is and what stories you can tell them. It’s really, really important. Another way you can think about it too, for yourself is I was training the new President of a major medical association.

And her job is to get more people vaccinated because she is in healthcare and that’s her job. She’s a pathologist. Now, instead of just saying, “you need to go get vaccinated,” we spun the story and I talk said “talk about as a CMO and as a mother of two college students, I really cannot tell you how important it is. I cannot underscore this enough, how important. When I got my two kids vaccinated, I needed them to get vaccinated before they go to college”. So, she wove in her story. So, be vulnerable and leave that in and we’ll talk about that in a second. Also, remember this is educating and entertaining. As much as CEOs will tell me all the time, I’m not a performer. I don’t want to entertain. It really is your job because you want to make sure you get your message across.

So, we have to edutain. We get up, we show our smarts, but we have to captivate an audience and keep them for 5, 10, 20, 40 minutes. So, you have to entertain. One of those ways is we can be a little bit more provocative. And I think that sometimes we think being provocative is injecting sex, it doesn’t have to be that way. If you really look at the old definition, the Latin origin of being provocative, it’s really about challenging, changing. How can you change the status quo and be provocative in your specific industry? And then how can you communicate how you’re different? You can’t compete with other companies head to head, right? You can’t compete with them with exactly what they’re doing. Try to change the status quo and then communicate how you are different.

And then really, really it’s important is making sure that your team is diverse because sometimes when we try to be provocative, you guys have seen all the bad stories out there when they backfire. When we want to be provocative, we should have a good diverse team, men, women, different people from all over the place, and also that reflects your audience because you don’t want it to backfire. Okay. In TV, we always made sure that we had people a diverse background, so we could talk to our specific audience. It’s really important. TV can do a little better of a job and they’re working on it. Also, be vulnerable to be memorable. Tell those really heart-wrenching stories and here’s, what’s really important is to practice, practice, practice. If you don’t prepare and really rehearse your speech, your talk, whatever it is, your two-minute video for YouTube, it’s really hard to then be vulnerable and be present and really emote, be thinking about every word you’re saying because you will not be impactful if we get up and read the words.

We have to really think about them because then you will touch the people, you will stay with them, you’ll be memorable. I’ve had CEOs who are great in the rehearsal, but then they get up and they get so much in their head because they’re trying to perform and look a certain way and make sure that all their ego gets going. And that vulnerable moment that we rehearse, that moment where they really thanked their team or whatever it was, and they kind of teared up, they didn’t do it when it was live because they weren’t present. They were thinking too much about how they were going to look. So, be prepared, so you can then be vulnerable. So, those quick takeaways are just making sure that we know our audience, we edutain, we are vulnerable but we rehearse, so we can be vulnerable and really be present. And I hope that was helpful.

How to Look Better Under Stage Lights or on Camera

Many of my clients had a successful career, but are now looking for help with their public speaking careers.

Some are looking for opportunities to get on live TV to talk about their companies or their story.

Do you know how to prepare so you look your best?

I’m going to show you how you can look better on TV or on stage. The lights really alter our appearance.

I always suggest that my clients hire a makeup artist — but if you have to do it yourself, here are a few things you can do to make yourself look better under all those lights.

If you’re going to present on stage soon, here are three things to ask before you show up.

Kathryn Janicek | Media Coach, Producer, Public Speaking Trainer
Kathryn Janicek is a three-time Emmy Award-winning television producer with 20 years of experience working in newsrooms across the country. Kathryn coached talent, producers, and writers before switching her focus on helping entrepreneurs and corporate executives. Now, based in her home city of Chicago, she is a much sought-after media coach and public speaking trainer who will help you produce the best YOU. Click HERE now to book a complimentary consultation with Kathryn.

Dude, what’s your car saying about you? A lesson in keeping your message simple.

Home Depot. Trip #189.
I’m tired. Dirty. And starting to think those hot dogs they sell in front look good. That’s pretty damn hungry.

We get back to the car and see this parking:

Dude, what is your car saying about you?
What are you trying to have it communicate? What’s the message?
I’m lost.

Sure, I can think of a dozen or so things you may mean, but I can’t be exactly sure.
When I posted this picture on my Facebook page, some people saw the message in how you were parked before the license plate.

Have you ever thought you were being clever, but you got blank stares instead of a laugh?

There is such a thing as too clever. It’s when your audience is lost. They don’t get it and good luck getting them back on board. You’ll move on, but they’ll still be a mile back wondering what you meant.

If you want to get your message to your audience, remember to KISS.

Keep It Simple Stupid.

I have no idea where I first heard this – but it’s been with me at least as long as I’ve been in TV. When you’re writing copy for news, you want to keep it simple. If you don’t – and you’re too clever – your audience will miss the next few lines that come out of your mouth because they’ll be stuck trying to figure out what you said a few seconds ago.

In BIG D’s case — if he doesn’t want people to think he means all the D words I can think of… then, it might be a good idea just to say what he means.


Kathryn Janicek | Media Coach, Producer, Public Speaking Trainer
Kathryn Janicek is a three-time Emmy Award-winning television producer with 20 years of experience working in newsrooms across the country. Kathryn coached talent, producers, and writers before switching her focus on helping entrepreneurs and corporate executives. Now, based in her home city of Chicago, she is a much sought-after media coach and public speaking trainer who will help you produce the best YOU. Click HERE now to book a complimentary 30-minute consultation with Kathryn!

Why Hire Me? If You Want to Double, Triple, or 10x Your Business…

I have amazing clients — but I’m always looking to help more people.

I’m often asked, “Who should hire you?” And, “Why should someone hire you?”

These answers are nicely outlined in a book I helped write last year that made it onto the Amazon best-sellers list.  I’m giving away free copies of the book to the first 50 people who ask for it.

Success Hackers Book - Kathryn Janicek

In the meantime, here’s a little excerpt from the book where I explain who I am and why you should hire me:

I’ve won three Emmys for breaking news and social media – and two Associated Press awards. I’ve been in media for almost twenty years. I have worked in cities across the United States as a TV news executive producer, producer, VP of news for a national network and a spokesperson for law enforcement. 

My career sent me to seven cities in less than 15 years – and when it was time for me to make my next career jump a few years ago – it meant moving to LA or NYC to move up and make more money. I wanted to stay close to my family, keep growing my network and roots in Chicago. I love Chicago because of the culture, theatre, work ethic, restaurants, neighborhoods, media… it’s a perfect city. It was time for me to figure out what was next without moving.

The problem was – I didn’t think I had skills that were translatable to another career. What exactly did I do? I wanted to leverage all the knowledge I had soaked up over the years. I knew how to produce television – live and taped… lead anchors, reporters and a team of producers and writers. I juggled live shots, a chopper and kept the weather guy talking when a story needed a few more seconds before it was ready to make air. I knew what was important for my viewers to learn… what was trending, how to dig up a story… how to train people on how to write news for TV, web and radio… but at the time, I didn’t know how to create a company out of that – unless I started my own television network.

I only realized my skills – when people started asking me to help them. I got clients immediately because once I was a free agent, people told me what they wanted from me. I didn’t go out and decide what to do. People came to me and said:

  • “I could really use help with media strategy.”
  • “I want to get better at delivering big speeches. I want to know what to wear and what to do with my hands on stage.”
  • “I want to get into the media. I want my fifteen minutes. I want free publicity.”
  • “I want my story out there.”
  • “My client needs a media coach.”
  • “I want to sell more.”
  • “I want to put more butts in seats at my restaurant.”
  • “Can you help me?”

That’s how I started Kathryn Janicek Productions.

I guide organizations in media and public speaking training. I coach executives looking to move up in their career, those who are making major speeches for the first or 100th time — and spokespeople who need to get “media ready.” They need help delivering a better message – a more memorable message. And I produce that for them. I also coach people who speak English as their second or third language – helping them with delivery, pronunciation, vocabulary, cultural things… whatever they need.

Some clients have really wanted to be on TV – or be seen as an expert in their field – but they need help getting their story out of them. I guide them on what a writer or producer may find interesting about them… and then I coach them on how to perform better when it comes to being on TV or radio, or how to give a more impactful quote so it makes the newspaper article or the magazine article.

And I haven’t stopped producing stories and video. I produce videos for clients because video is KING online. If you don’t have video – you cannot connect with your future clients. Not only will a well-produced video help your sales team share WHY a client should purchase your services or products, but video will help people connect to the people behind your company if you have a well-produced video on your homepage. Video should also be used on social media to attract future clients. Video is also what Facebook’s algorithm favors over any other content. You will be seen by MORE people and future customers if you have video. Video also gets more eyeballs on LinkedIn. This is why video is King when it comes to content.

I also produce stories for television. I produce for Soledad O’Brien’s show, Matter of Fact, on Hearst stations across the United States. I’ve also produced TV shows for PBS worldwide. I dig up the stories, plan the shoots, find the interviews – direct the crew – and then write the stories for TV and online. It’s been fun to travel to a few places I haven’t seen. For the majority of my career, I spent an ungodly amount of hours each day inside a newsroom. It’s nice to experience things in person – and not just through monitors in a control room.

That’s what I help people do. I can’t take credit for finding that myself. People started asking for help.

I followed the demand. Supply and demand. I listen to my customers and help them produce the results they want.

My most common client is a rock star at what they do. They’re in their 30s, 40s, 50s and 60+ — and the two things they all have in common is they’re an expert in their industry – and they need work when it comes to translating their message to a crowd and making sure their content sticks. I teach people how to make their message more relatable to a larger crowd, how to get more emotion when they present so people say “Wow! I want to work for that person,” or “I want to know that person,” “I want to buy their book,” or, “I believe in their company.” I teach people how to present better so they can attract more clients. I produce the best YOU.

If they need more energy — I help them inject that into their presentation skills. If they need help engaging their audience – I show them how to create more memorable messages. Sometimes they need more confidence so they can shine either at work or during a major presentation. I help with that too.

They learn how to breathe correctly – how to deliver their message – what to wear in different scenarios – ways their posture changes their message – how to alter their tone to change how the message is delivered – how and where to sit at a conference room table – how to end and start sentences in an authoritative way – what colors to wear – how to carry themselves on stage or during an interview – how to make a statement without going overboard when it comes to makeup (men too) and jewelry… and how to work with stage lighting. One of the biggest improvements I made with a client’s overall presentation had to do with his eyebrows.

In this video, I outline what you need to know before you show up to a public speaking event. This is very helpful information that will prepare you — and make you feel and look more confident:

If a client is preparing for an interview – we go through key points they need to land. Even if the hiring manager doesn’t ask – we practice ways to make sure those messages are delivered – and the employer sees the client is incredible.

I think people more in their 30s, 40s get it. They say, “There’s a reason I haven’t been able to move up,” or, “Maybe there’s a reason I haven’t been able to get my story out in the media or sell more,” or, “I’m a financial advisor like her – why haven’t I been able to get into an article in Forbes or on a cable news segment?” — and then they finally act on it and hire help.

I would absolutely love to help more people who are just starting out, but usually, it’s by mentoring. Many people in their 20’s, who need the coaching respond, “You’re x-amount per hour or x-amount per month? I really can’t afford that.” They haven’t realized yet that you MUST invest in yourself to come off as your best in an interview or during a presentation.

I produce the best out of people and companies. That’s a service worth paying for.

People need to invest in themselves and this training earlier on so they can avoid performance mistakes. And – they won’t develop bad habits!

I think that if we all could have been a better-produced version of ourselves in our 20s we might have worked up the career ladder a little faster.

Success Hackers Book - Kathryn Janicek


Kathryn Janicek | Media Coach, Producer, Public Speaking Trainer
Kathryn Janicek is a three-time Emmy Award-winning television producer with 20 years of experience working in newsrooms across the country. Kathryn coached talent, producers, and writers before switching her focus on helping entrepreneurs and corporate executives. Now, based in her home city of Chicago, she is a much sought-after media coach and public speaking trainer who will help you produce the best YOU. Click HERE now to book a complimentary 30 minute consultation with Kathryn!