Kayla Schwartz Presentation, Communication & Writing Coach

I often get calls from corporate clients – often the people organizing a conference or a person who works closely with a top executive – looking for coaching. They complain of conference presenters – or other presenters who deliver presentations internally in front of the execs – who are boring, un-engaging, and who lose the… Read More »

Greetings! It’s been a while since my last update so I’m happy to be in touch again. I’m currently working with a seasoned presenter who wants some help with the content of an important presentation she will be giving numerous times to different audiences. Helping her through her process, I am reminded of why I urge… Read More »

I’ve been working with clients from a small investment advisory firm who give a variety of sales-type presentations, mainly introducing their firm and their products. Presenters are usually seated at a conference table, speaking to 1-15 people. Their visuals are almost always letter-sized decks: printouts of PowerPoint slides. They send a digital version to participants… Read More »

Are you repeatedly frustrated because your team members (or coworkers, reports or supervisors) do not seem to understand what you are asking of them? You tell them what you want in a direct, clear manner, and judging from their response or the work they present to you, it seems like they heard the opposite! How… Read More »

You know what they say when a joke falls flat: “It’s all in the delivery.” Well, it’s true to a great extent with presentations as well. I’ve had clients who are smart as can be, do a phenomenal job of putting together information in a thorough and logical manner and excel in creating strategies, concepts… Read More »

I recently worked with a client who had become extremely frustrated that his technical creative team did not understand what he wanted for the product he had imagined – a new communications portal. In fact, he felt they actively disregarded his requests in their product designs. He was all the more upset that he repeatedly… Read More »

Lately I’ve seen some clients whose style of pulling together the content for their presentations confuses them and slows them down. I usually advise clients to do a “data dump” before starting to write. That is, to put all points, examples, facts, themes, etc. on index cards or write them individually on a document. I… Read More »

I recently had an inquiry from a prospective client who said: I am good speaking in situations where I feel supported such those who report to me and associates who I know are on my side, but in situations where I may be questioned or attacked, I tend to lose my train of thought and… Read More »

Have you ever gotten into an argument with someone and you had no idea why or how it started? You had all good intentions, but for some reason the other person took what you said the wrong way. Or have you ever done a really thorough job on an assignment and when your boss saw… Read More »

Ann Wylie, a guru of PR writing, offers a great newsletter. In a recent issue she advised using shorter words and simpler statements and quoted Pulitzer price-winning humorist Dave Barry in support of her recommendation. Dave Barry told Time Magazine: “I’d lecture a bunch of chemists or engineers about the importance of not saying, ‘it would… Read More »