565: Founder and CEO of GK Training on Communicating Effectively to Live a Better Life

565: Founder and CEO of GK Training on Communicating Effectively to Live a Better Life

Michael Chad Hoeppner, CEO of GK Training and adjunct professor at Columbia Business School, brings a deeply practical lens to one of the most undervalued professional skills: spoken communication. With roots in professional acting and over two decades coaching executives, Hoeppner challenges conventional wisdom, arguing that most communication advice is either vague (“slow down”) or abstract (“just be confident”), and fails to address the real issue: communication is physical.

In this episode, he shares specific, kinesthetic methods that help clients speak more clearly under pressure. From using Lego blocks to build well-structured thoughts, to timing answers with a wiffle ball in political debate prep, Hoeppner demonstrates that improving communication is not about talent, it’s about training behavior.

“Speaking is movement. We put air into action—that’s what talking is. And you can learn to do it a lot, lot better.”

Key Insights:
  1. Delivery is Undervalued, but Often Drives Perception
    “Most coaching hyper-focuses on content and completely neglects delivery,” Hoeppner explains. Yet “delivery really, really determines much of the impression your audience makes about you.”
  2. Rambling, Fillers, and Anxiety Are Physical, Not Mental, Problems
    He critiques typical advice like “don’t say um” as “thought suppression” and instead teaches clients to physically anchor themselves. One client stopped chronic blushing mid-session by simply learning to ground her feet.
  3. Tools Like Lego Blocks Make Structure Tangible
    “Pick up a Lego block, say your first idea, and put it down in silence. That pause gives your brain time to think,” Hoeppner shares. These physical anchors help clients avoid word salad and clarify complex thinking.
  4. Founders with Growth Mindsets Improve Fast
    “They’re not held back by ego. They care deeply, they want to improve now, and that means they practice,” he says. In contrast, those with fixed mindsets (“I’m just a bad speaker”) often plateau.
  5. AI Will Make Delivery the Strategic Differentiator
    As language models democratize content, he argues, “delivery, how you say it, will matter more than ever.”

The episode closes with a powerful call to reframe communication not as a soft skill, but a trainable, high-leverage behavior, one that can transform not just boardrooms and keynotes, but daily leadership and presence.

Get Michael’s new book here: https://dontsayum.com/

Learn more about Michael here: https://gktraining.com/michael-chad-hoeppner/

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

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129: The nuances of a private equity strategy (Monday Morning 8 a.m. #12)

129: The nuances of a private equity strategy (Monday Morning 8 a.m. #12)

Hello everyone! This is Monday Morning 8 a.m., a weekly newsletter where we distill the insights from all of the distractions, articles, and emails that you receive in your inbox every day. In this newsletter, we’re going to focus on four major themes from last week’s news.    To listen to the audio version of this newsletter, search for “Strategy Skills” in any podcast app. To get a written copy with links to mentioned articles sign up here: www.firmsconsulting.com/promo

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128: How to eliminate bureaucratic red tape and bad excuses, with Martin Lindstrom

128: How to eliminate bureaucratic red tape and bad excuses, with Martin Lindstrom

Martin's book THE MINISTRY OF COMMON SENSE: https://amzn.to/3962pE9 Meet New York Times bestselling author Martin Lindstrom (one of TIME magazine’s 100 Most Influential People). We interviewed Martin about his new book THE MINISTRY OF COMMON SENSE: How to Eliminate Bureaucratic Red Tape, Bad Excuses, and Corporate BS. Doesn’t your workplace drive you crazy when you get cc’ed on irrelevant email chains, invited to unnecessary meetings, or forbidden by company policy to do the exact thing your boss commands you to do?  These and many other frustrations stem from the same underlying cause: a lack of common sense! In an interview Martin discusses the most typical roadblocks to common sense: (Bad) customer experience Politics Technology Meetings and Power Points Rules, Regulations, and Policies Compliance and Legal And has remedies for all.  Martin Lindstrom is the founder and chairman of Lindstrom Company, a global branding & culture transformation firm, operating across five continents and more than 30 countries. TIME Magazine has named Lindstrom one of the “World’s 100 Most Influential People,” and for three years running, Thinkers50, has selected Lindstrom to be among the world’s top 50 business thinkers. Among the companies he advises are Burger King, Lowes, Boar’s Head, Beverly Hills Hotels, Pepsi, Nestle and Google. Lindstrom is the author of seven books including several New York Times bestsellers that have been translated into 60 languages. The Wall-Street Journal praised his book Brand Sense as “one of the five best marketing books ever published,” and his book Small Data as “revolutionary,” and TIME called his book Buyology “a breakthrough in branding.”

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127: Fear is not a strategy (Monday Morning 8 a.m. #11)

127: Fear is not a strategy (Monday Morning 8 a.m. #11)

Hello everyone! This is Monday Morning 8 a.m., a weekly newsletter where we distill the insights from all of the distractions, articles, and emails that you receive in your inbox every day. In this newsletter, we’re going to focus on four major themes from last week’s news.    To listen to the audio version of this newsletter, search for “Strategy Skills” in any podcast app. To get a written copy with links to mentioned articles sign up here: www.firmsconsulting.com/promo

18 Jan 202130min

126: One of the biggest strategy shifts ever in the next 10 to 20 years (Monday Morning 8 a.m. #10)

126: One of the biggest strategy shifts ever in the next 10 to 20 years (Monday Morning 8 a.m. #10)

Hello everyone! This is Monday Morning 8 a.m., a weekly newsletter where we distill the insights from all of the distractions, articles, and emails that you receive in your inbox every day. In this newsletter, we’re going to focus on four major themes from last week’s news.    To listen to the audio version of this newsletter, search for “Strategy Skills” in any podcast app. To get a written copy with links to mentioned articles sign up here: www.firmsconsulting.com/promo

11 Jan 202128min

125: Netflix vs. Disney+ vs. AppleTV vs. HBO Max (Monday Morning 8 a.m. #9)

125: Netflix vs. Disney+ vs. AppleTV vs. HBO Max (Monday Morning 8 a.m. #9)

Hello everyone! This is Monday Morning 8 a.m., a weekly newsletter where we distill the insights from all of the distractions, articles, and emails that you receive in your inbox every day. In this newsletter, we’re going to focus on four major themes from last week’s news.    To listen to the audio version of this newsletter, search for “Strategy Skills” in any podcast app. To get a written copy with links to mentioned articles sign up here: www.firmsconsulting.com/promo

21 Dec 202030min

124: What Bob Dylan teaches us about digital strategy (Monday Morning 8 a.m. #8)

124: What Bob Dylan teaches us about digital strategy (Monday Morning 8 a.m. #8)

Hello everyone! This is Monday Morning 8 a.m., a weekly newsletter where we distill the insights from all of the distractions, articles, and emails that you receive in your inbox every day. In this newsletter, we’re going to focus on four major themes from last week’s news.    To listen to the audio version of this newsletter, search for “Strategy Skills” in any podcast app. To get a written copy with links to mentioned articles sign up here: www.firmsconsulting.com/promo

14 Dec 202028min

123: Career strategies don't build themselves (Monday Morning 8 a.m. #7)

123: Career strategies don't build themselves (Monday Morning 8 a.m. #7)

Hello everyone! This is Monday Morning 8 a.m., a weekly newsletter where we distill the insights from all of the distractions, articles, and emails that you receive in your inbox every day. In this newsletter, we’re going to focus on four major themes from last week’s news.    To listen to the audio version of this newsletter, search for “Strategy Skills” in any podcast app. To get a written copy with links to mentioned articles sign up here: www.firmsconsulting.com/promo

7 Dec 202028min

122: What is strategy, Understanding Michael Porter, ex HBR editor & MBB partner. Joan Magretta

122: What is strategy, Understanding Michael Porter, ex HBR editor & MBB partner. Joan Magretta

Joan Magretta, M.B.A (Harvard)., Ph. D., is an award-winning contributor to the HBR, where she was the strategy editor (1990s). Prior to that Joan was a partner at Bain & Company. As part of her distinguished career, Joan worked closely with Michael Porter and published number of important books, including her latest books: What is Strategy: https://amzn.to/2Jp80LV Understanding Michael Porter: https://amzn.to/39EECMj Free training episodes here: https://www.firmsconsulting.com/promo We use affiliate links whenever possible (if you purchase items listed above using our affiliate links, we will get a bonus).

4 Dec 202059min

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