601: Former CNN and NBC News Anchor Lynn Smith on Building Authentic Presence and Excellent Communication

601: Former CNN and NBC News Anchor Lynn Smith on Building Authentic Presence and Excellent Communication

Lynn Smith, former national news anchor for NBC News, MSNBC, and CNN Headline New, and now executive communication coach, reframes public speaking as an internal leadership skill, not a performance. She identifies the recurring obstacle as the "brain bully", the inner critic that turns preparation into paralysis, and shows leaders how to retrain it so that clarity, calm, and connection become repeatable outcomes.

This episode translates decades of live television experience into actionable communication tools for high-stakes settings—from boardrooms to keynotes to broadcast media.

Key takeaways:

  • Name and neutralize the "brain bully." "It's that inner saboteur saying, 'You're not good enough' or 'What if you say the wrong thing?'" Smith explains. She traces these patterns back to early experiences and teaches clients to "control–alt–delete our prehistoric code" so fear no longer drives performance.

  • People don't want perfection, they want resiliency. Recalling a keynote where she froze on stage, Smith says, "I had to stop and tell the audience, 'I'm so sorry, I'm failing at this.'" That failure became the basis for her coaching framework. "People don't want perfection, they want resiliency. They want to see people overcome."

  • Replace over-scripting with intentional structure. "Executives spend hours memorizing, but the result is robotic. The big revelation is… it has nothing to do with your prep; it has everything to do with your mental game." Instead, she recommends bullet-pointing key ideas for authenticity and flow.

  • Drill down, don't dumb down. Smith's "Goldilocks effect" balances preparation, "not too much, not too little", so communication stays sharp and digestible: "If you communicate everything, you communicate nothing."

  • Make voice and presence technical. Drawing from broadcast training, Smith advises projecting "from your diaphragm, not your chest," and using "the power of enunciation" and pauses to improve recall and connection.

  • Manage energy deliberately. "Everything is energy," she notes. High-frequency energy, calm, clear, positive, creates magnetism. "When you're vibrating at the level you want others to meet you at, people lean in."

  • Model resilience for the next generation. Her children's book Just Keep Going distills the same mindset for young readers: that fear and failure are not endpoints, but steps toward growth.

For executives preparing keynotes, investor meetings, or media appearances, this conversation provides a research-informed playbook to quiet the inner critic, align mindset and message, and lead with authentic, repeatable presence.

Get Lynn's book, Just Keep Going, here: https://tinyurl.com/ymt4jvtv

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387: $42 million in fees for one engagement (Person)

387: $42 million in fees for one engagement (Person)

In today's Strategy Skills podcast episode, Kris and Michael will share with you some key lessons you need to know related to the upcoming Mega Program called Innovating An Industrial Giant. This particular program is phase two as part of a larger series, phase one is called How to Sell Over $10 Million Consulting Studies, which we also called the Andrew program where all 214 episodes were already published on strategytraining.com. In today's session, we will get you up to speed on phase one. We also decided to separate this discussion into three parts: person, assets, and problem. So, in this first episode of this three-part series, our focus will be on the person—Andrew. Here are some free gifts for you: Overall Approach Used in Well-Managed Strategy Studies free download: www.firmsconsulting.com/OverallApproach McKinsey & BCG winning resume free download: www.firmsconsulting.com/resumepdf Enjoying this episode? Get access to sample advanced training episodes here: www.firmsconsulting.com/promo

9 Loka 202351min

386: Three career path options for consulting partners (Strategy Skills classics)

386: Three career path options for consulting partners (Strategy Skills classics)

For this episode, let's revisit one of the classics by Strategy Skills where we discuss the 3 career path options that consultants face once they become partners. We discuss each career path and what it means for a consultant's career. These are differences that are crucial to know and understand because partner career paths that appear to be more attractive often lead to disappointing results. For example, did you know it is a really bad idea to emulate the career path of all the McKinsey and BCG partners who appear in the McKinsey Quarterly, BCG perspectives, and HBR? This counter-intuitive podcast will explain why. Many consultants don't spend enough time analyzing and considering the implications of following each career path. They take a superficial look at who are the partners most known and respected within the firm and try to emulate those partners. Yet, down the road, they often end up at a dead end. We further address which partner career path you should follow if your goal is to become a CEO one day. Here are some free gifts for you: Overall Approach Used in Well-Managed Strategy Studies free download: www.firmsconsulting.com/OverallApproach McKinsey & BCG winning resume free download: www.firmsconsulting.com/resumepdf Enjoying this episode? Get access to sample advanced training episodes here: www.firmsconsulting.com/promo

4 Loka 202313min

385: When should you not brand yourself ex McKinsey (Strategy Skills classics)

385: When should you not brand yourself ex McKinsey (Strategy Skills classics)

For this episode, let's revisit one of the classics by Strategy Skills where we talk about one of the issues that we deal with at Firmsconsulting and which many ex employees of major consulting firms (e.g. ex McKinsey and ex BCG consultants) encounter as they embark on building their own boutique consulting firms or even when they join other consulting firm as employees. Here are some free gifts for you: Overall Approach Used in Well-Managed Strategy Studies free download: www.firmsconsulting.com/OverallApproach McKinsey & BCG winning resume free download: www.firmsconsulting.com/resumepdf Enjoying this episode? Get access to sample advanced training episodes here: www.firmsconsulting.com/promo

2 Loka 202311min

384: Great Management Consultants are Artists (Strategy Skills classics)

384: Great Management Consultants are Artists (Strategy Skills classics)

How do you become an outstanding management consultant? Should you excel at analysis? Should you master problem-solving? Should you become the world's most gifted communicator? You could master all of the aforementioned items and still be an average management consultant at best. Great management consultants have all these skills but they have one more quality that makes them great, they are not just competent business people but they are also artists. For this episode, let's revisit one of the classics by Strategy Skills where we explain the mindset we encourage teams to use on the study. This is the mindset I used in my career and it is very different from what you would expect. Here are some free gifts for you: Overall Approach Used in Well-Managed Strategy Studies free download: www.firmsconsulting.com/OverallApproach McKinsey & BCG winning resume free download: www.firmsconsulting.com/resumepdf Enjoying this episode? Get access to sample advanced training episodes here: www.firmsconsulting.com/promo

27 Syys 202324min

383: How to handle a "horrible" client (Strategy Skills classics)

383: How to handle a "horrible" client (Strategy Skills classics)

For this episode, let's revisit one of the classics by Strategy Skills where we answer a question from our audience. Facing a "horrible" client is a common experience in the business world. You could say that it is part of the journey. It can be hard to know what you should do during this situation. But it is exactly in these types of situations that we learn a lot. Here are some free gifts for you: Overall Approach Used in Well-Managed Strategy Studies free download: www.firmsconsulting.com/OverallApproach McKinsey & BCG winning resume free download: www.firmsconsulting.com/resumepdf Enjoying this episode? Get access to sample advanced training episodes here: www.firmsconsulting.com/promo

25 Syys 202314min

382: How and when a consultant must disagree (Strategy Skills classics)

382: How and when a consultant must disagree (Strategy Skills classics)

Welcome to Strategy Skills episode 382. For this episode, let's revisit one of Strategy Skills classics, where we discuss when a consultant must dissent and how it should be done. Here are some free gifts for you: Overall Approach Used in Well-Managed Strategy Studies free download: www.firmsconsulting.com/OverallApproach McKinsey & BCG winning resume free download: www.firmsconsulting.com/resumepdf Enjoying this episode? Get access to sample advanced training episodes here: www.firmsconsulting.com/promo

20 Syys 202313min

381: How to get to $500k per month in 4 years (with Samuel Moses)

381: How to get to $500k per month in 4 years (with Samuel Moses)

I recently had a great conversation with Sam Moses, which I think you will enjoy. We speak about how Sam managed to build a $500k in revenue per month business in just 4 years. We cover a lot of ground in this episode of the Strategy Skills podcast. Sam shares the most important points that anyone planning to start a business wishes to know. He discussed how to find the right manufacturer and supplier and how to build relationships with them. He generously shared the process of his business from manufacturing to delivery, how to manage SEO for an online business, how to find the right employees, and most importantly how to get customers and clients. As a bonus, Sam offered his advice to other entrepreneurs who are starting their own businesses. If you are thinking about starting your own business, or if you are already an entrepreneur, this episode is a must-listen. Samuel is the Founder and CEO of Sockrates Custom Socks, a company based in Boca Raton Florida which specializes in producing the highest quality custom socks at the fastest turnaround time. With over 4000 clients, Sockrates has emerged as the industry leader in its field with clients in the United States, Germany, France, Iceland, UK, Israel, and Canada. Visit Sam's website: ​​https://www.sockratescustom.com/ Here are some free gifts for you: Overall Approach Used in Well-Managed Strategy Studies free download: www.firmsconsulting.com/OverallApproach McKinsey & BCG winning resume free download: www.firmsconsulting.com/resumepdf Enjoying this episode? Get access to sample advanced training episodes here: www.firmsconsulting.com/promo Cheers, Kris

18 Syys 202356min

380: Private Equity Firm CEO on Power, Success and Getting Results (with Rick Walker)

380: Private Equity Firm CEO on Power, Success and Getting Results (with Rick Walker)

Welcome to Strategy Skills episode 380, an interview with an experienced founder, leader, and thinker across a variety of domains, Rick Walker. In this episode, Rick walks us through his leadership journey, how he built his first company in his 20's, the lessons he learned across multiple domains, and how he was able to do multiple things successfully, simultaneously. He also shared his views about fear, pride, faith, religion, and ethics in relation to leadership and business. Rick Walker scaled his first company to 400 employees when he was 26, and simultaneously, as Chairman, scaled a 53-country international nonprofit from 800 to 2,100 team members, simultaneously while helping his hometown of Houston attract over $5 Billion in job-creation investments. Rick's volunteer service also includes stints as a Director of a college in the middle east and Chairman of a $250 Million charitable foundation. His 3:30 AM wake-up call helps fit everything in. Rick hosts a podcast to help multi-domain leaders learn well - and has interviewed friends, who also happen to be world-class leaders, such as billionaires, musicians, members of the President's Cabinet, US Senate, US Congress, and great thinkers. The podcast is hosted inside a 13,000-square-foot mansion, which was the former party mansion of a Fortune 500 CEO, which Rick restored and uses for his family office, charitable events, and podcasts. Rick lives in Houston with his wife and 3 girls, where he spends much of his time serving alongside the best team members in his commercial real estate private equity firm. Here are some free gifts for you: Overall Approach Used in Well-Managed Strategy Studies free download: www.firmsconsulting.com/OverallApproach McKinsey & BCG winning resume free download: www.firmsconsulting.com/resumepdf Enjoying this episode? Get access to sample advanced training episodes here: www.firmsconsulting.com/promo

13 Syys 20231h 2min

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