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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Episoder(499)

211: How to complete logical case studies? (Strategy Skills classics)

211: How to complete logical case studies? (Strategy Skills classics)

For this episode, let's revisit one of the classics by Strategy Skills where we discuss how to complete logical case studies. Enjoying our podcast? Get access to sample advanced training episodes here: www.firmsconsulting.com/promo

26 Jan 202210min

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

210: 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. Enjoying our podcast? Get access to sample advanced training episodes here: www.firmsconsulting.com/promo

24 Jan 202213min

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

209: 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. Enjoying our podcast? Get access to sample advanced training episodes here: www.firmsconsulting.com/promo

19 Jan 202211min

208: Great management consultants are artists (Strategy Skills classics)

208: 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. Enjoying our podcast? Get access to sample advanced training episodes here: www.firmsconsulting.com/promo

17 Jan 202224min

207: Tesla's strategy. Co-hosted by Bill Matassoni (Strategy Skills classics)

207: Tesla's strategy. Co-hosted by Bill Matassoni (Strategy Skills classics)

For this episode, let's revisit one of the classics by Strategy Skills with Bill Matassoni, where we discussed a topic about Tesla's strategy. Every now and then, someone comes along and makes the subject of management both fun and insightful. That's what Bill Matassoni has done in his memoir—a combination of compelling stories and contrarian substance—that covers his forty-year career selling what he calls "ephemeral things." In addition to the memoir, Bill plays host to a series of videos that are entertaining, irreverent, and filled with his conviction that marketing is the primary driver of progress in both commercial and social markets. We will soon release Bill Matassoni's memoir and documentary series. If you would like to read a bonus chapter, view advance content and receive other exclusive strategy material, please sign up below. Enjoying our podcast? Get access to sample advanced training episodes here: www.firmsconsulting.com/promo

12 Jan 202234min

206: Can a functional partner lead the workshop over a sector partner? (Strategy Skills classics)

206: Can a functional partner lead the workshop over a sector partner? (Strategy Skills classics)

For this episode, let's revisit one of the classics by Strategy Skills, where we discuss whether a strategy (functional) partner can/should lead the workshop over an energy (sector) partner. There is a difference, and the answer is not obvious. Enjoying our podcast? Get access to sample advanced training episodes here: www.firmsconsulting.com/promo

10 Jan 202220min

205: Does the strategy workshop offer precise answers? (Strategy Skills classics)

205: Does the strategy workshop offer precise answers? (Strategy Skills classics)

For this episode, let's revisit one of the classics by Strategy Skills, where we answer a question, "Does the strategy workshop offer precise answers?" Enjoying our podcast? Get access to sample advanced training episodes here: www.firmsconsulting.com/promo

5 Jan 202215min

204: Adam Levin, How to protect yourself from cyber threats

204: Adam Levin, How to protect yourself from cyber threats

Welcome to Strategy Skills episode 204, an episode with a recognized expert on cybersecurity, privacy, identity theft, fraud, and personal finance, Adam Levin. In this episode, Adam speaks about various digital threats that individuals and organizations face today. He shares that anyone can be a cyber-crime target: consumers, businesses, companies, or the government. He shares valuable insights about cybersecurity and ways to protect yourself and your organization from cyber-crimes. Adam K. Levin is the Former Director of the New Jersey Division of Consumer Affairs, the founder of CyberScout, and co-founder of Credit.com. He is a graduate of Stanford University and the University of Michigan School of Law. Levin is a sought-after speaker who, during his career in the public and private sectors, has shared his expertise with numerous state and federal regulators and legislative committees, and appeared before a wide variety of organizations—government, law enforcement, public interest, education, human resources, insurance and financial services—throughout the United States and Europe. Levin's mission is to educate consumers, businesses, law enforcement officials, and lawmakers on identity management and protection, privacy, credit, and election security issues. He has appeared on The Today Show, Good Morning America, CBS Evening News, CNBC Closing Bell, MSNBC, Fox Business, Fox & Friends, ABC World News Tonight, ABC News Nightline, PBS Nightly Business Report, and many others. His radio appearances include NPR, ABC News Radio, Bloomberg Radio, the Associated Press Radio, CBS News Radio, 1010 Wins, WTOP and SiriusXM. Levin is also a regular commentator for print and digital journalism, including the New York Times, Associated Press, the Wall Street Journal, the Los Angeles Times, USA Today, and the Chicago Tribune. Check out a fun cybersecurity podcast with Adam Levin: "What the Hack with Adam Levin" is true cybercrime with dad jokes. It's a no-shame zone for anyone who's ever been scammed, hacked, phished or cyber-bushwhacked. Every week, it features fascinating people talking about the terrifying, annoying, embarrassing, or infuriating things they've experienced online. Join consumer affairs veteran Adam Levin with co-hosts Beau "Hack Me" Friedlander and Travis "Here's What Actually Happened" Taylor for a good story and tips on how to make yourself a little harder to hack. Get Adam's book here: Swiped: How to Protect Yourself in a World Full of Scammers, Phishers, and Identity Thieves. Adam Levin: https://amzn.to/3sKTO42

3 Jan 20221h 8min

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