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

Claim your free gift:

Free gift #1

McKinsey & BCG winning resume

www.FIRMSconsulting.com/resumePDF

Free gift #2

Breakthrough Decisions Guide with 25 AI Prompts

www.FIRMSconsulting.com/decisions

Free gift #3

Five Reasons Why People Ignore Somebody

www.FIRMSconsulting.com/owntheroom

Free gift #4

Access episode 1 from Build a Consulting Firm, Level 1

www.FIRMSconsulting.com/build

Free gift #5

The Overall Approach used in well-managed strategy studies

www.FIRMSconsulting.com/OverallApproach

Free gift #6

Get a copy of Nine Leaders in Acton, a book we co-authored with some of our clients:

www.FIRMSconsulting.com/gift

Avsnitt(499)

418: The most important output in a consulting study | management consulting project | benefits case (Strategy Skills classics)

418: The most important output in a consulting study | management consulting project | benefits case (Strategy Skills classics)

For this episode, let's revisit a Strategy Skills classic where we discuss one important thing you always need to present in all of your management consulting projects, a business case. If you are not presenting a business case to a client, or a benefits case, I prefer the word benefits because it makes it clear you are looking for a benefit for a client, if you are not presenting a benefits case to a client you are making it very difficult for the client to make the decision to implement what you are saying in your recommendation as part of your management consulting project. Subscribe to FIRMSconsulting's YouTube channel: http://bit.ly/Firmsconsultingsubscribe 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

29 Jan 202410min

417: A professor of global politics at University College London, Brian Klaas. FLUKE: Chance, Chaos, and Why Everything We Do Matters

417: A professor of global politics at University College London, Brian Klaas. FLUKE: Chance, Chaos, and Why Everything We Do Matters

Welcome to Strategy Skills episode 417, an interview with the author of Fluke: Chance, Chaos, and Why Everything We Do Matters, Brian Klaas. In Fluke, myth-shattering social scientist Brian Klaas deep-dives into the phenomenon of randomness, unpicking our neat and tidy storybook version of events to reveal a reality far wilder and more fascinating than we have dared to consider. The bewildering truth is that but for a few incidental changes, our lives - and our societies - would be radically different. Offering an entirely new perspective, Fluke explores how our world really works, driven by strange interactions and random events. Brian Klaas grew up in Minnesota, earned his DPhil at Oxford, and is now a professor of global politics at University College London. He is a contributing writer for The Atlantic, host of the award-winning Power Corrupts podcast, and frequent guest on national television. Klaas has conducted field research across the globe and advised major politicians and organizations including NATO and the European Union. You can find Brian at BrianPKlaas.com and on Twitter @BrianKlaas. Get Brian's book here: https://rb.gy/gueipv Fluke: Chance, Chaos, and Why Everything We Do Matters 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

24 Jan 202447min

416: Consulting workshop best practices (Strategy Skills classics)

416: Consulting workshop best practices (Strategy Skills classics)

For this episode, let's revisit a Strategy Skills classic where we discuss consulting workshop best practices. Subscribe to FIRMSconsulting's YouTube channel: http://bit.ly/Firmsconsultingsubscribe 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

22 Jan 20249min

415: If VCs & Gov. join forces we can solve society's biggest problems. With venture capitalist and lecturer at Stanford University, Arun Gupta

415: If VCs & Gov. join forces we can solve society's biggest problems. With venture capitalist and lecturer at Stanford University, Arun Gupta

Welcome to Strategy Skills episode 415, an interview with the author of Venture Meets Mission: Aligning People, Purpose, and Profit to Innovate and Transform Society, Arun Gupta. The book argues that if Business, Government, and Society come together, rebuild trust, and collaborate, we have a generational opportunity to address societal challenges―climate change, cybersecurity, disease outbreaks, food insecurity, and education. The book explains, with hope and passion, how our existing entrepreneurial ecosystem, with the ideals of democracy, can be the foundation for a new mission-driven capitalism. Arun Gupta is a venture capitalist, Lecturer at Stanford University, and Adjunct Entrepreneurship Professor at Georgetown University. He is CEO of NobleReach Foundation, which is focused on catalyzing and inspiring a renewed spirit of national service through innovation. Get Arun's book here: https://rb.gy/9eu518 Venture Meets Mission: Aligning People, Purpose, and Profit to Innovate and Transform Society 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

17 Jan 202456min

414: How to resign from your job the right way (Strategy Skills classics)

414: How to resign from your job the right way (Strategy Skills classics)

How can you resign from your job with dignity, compassion, and grace, without burning any bridges with your employer? For this episode, let's revisit a Strategy Skills classic where we share simple principles to help you leave your role in a way that leaves a positive impression on your superiors, colleagues, and organization. Do you have a story about resigning? Tell us more with a comment below. 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

15 Jan 202418min

413: Best-selling author and Harvard Business School professor, Ranjay Gulati — Courageous Leadership

413: Best-selling author and Harvard Business School professor, Ranjay Gulati — Courageous Leadership

Welcome to Strategy Skills episode 413, an interview with the author of Deep Purpose: The Heart and Soul of High-Performance Companies, Ranjay Gulati. In his book, Ranjay reveals the fatal mistakes leaders unwittingly make when attempting to implement a reason for being. Moreover, he shows how companies can embed purpose much more deeply than they currently do, delivering impressive performance benefits that reward customers, suppliers, employees, shareholders, and communities alike. To get purpose right, leaders must fundamentally change not only how they execute it but also how they conceive of and relate to it. Ranjay Gulati is the Paul R. Lawrence MBA Class of 1942 Professor and the former Unit Head of the Organizational Behavior Unit at Harvard Business School. Until recently, he chaired the Advanced Management Program, the flagship senior leader executive program, at the school. Professor Gulati has been ranked as one of the top ten most-cited academics in the fields of economics and business by ISI-Incite and has received similar recognition from The Economist, Financial Times, and the Economist Intelligence Unit. Professor Gulati studies how "resilient" organizations—those that prosper both in good times and bad—drive growth and profitability. His work bridges strategy (establishing clear strategic pillars for growth), organizational design (reimagining purposeful and collaborative organizational systems), and leadership (fostering inspired, courageous, and caring execution). Get Ranjay's book here: https://rb.gy/31r53k Deep Purpose: The Heart and Soul of High-Performance Companies 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

10 Jan 202453min

412: Overall goal of every consulting interaction (Strategy Skills classics)

412: Overall goal of every consulting interaction (Strategy Skills classics)

For this episode, let's revisit a Strategy Skills classic where we discuss the overall goal of every consulting interaction. 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

8 Jan 20248min

411: How important is corporate strategy? (Strategy Skills Classics)

411: How important is corporate strategy? (Strategy Skills Classics)

For this episode, let's revisit a Strategy Skills classic where we discuss the importance of corporate strategy. 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

3 Jan 20249min

Populärt inom Business & ekonomi

framgangspodden
badfluence
varvet
rss-svart-marknad
rss-borsens-finest
uppgang-och-fall
svd-ledarredaktionen
avanzapodden
lastbilspodden
rss-dagen-med-di
fill-or-kill
24fragor
borsmorgon
rss-inga-dumma-fragor-om-pengar
bathina-en-podcast
rikatillsammans-om-privatekonomi-rikedom-i-livet
rss-kort-lang-analyspodden-fran-di
rss-den-nya-ekonomin
market-makers
tabberaset