Strengthen Communication Effectiveness

Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey in personal development but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Karin Reed, CEO & Chief Confidence Creator of Speaker Dynamics, located in Raleigh/Durham, NC, USA.

What's your business, and who are your customers?

Speaker Dynamics is a corporate communications training firm featured in Forbes. We help our clients to speak with ease and impact across any platform - in person, on camera, or through virtual communication tools.

Tell us about yourself

I began my career as an Emmy award-winning broadcast journalist before leaving the news business to apply my skills in the corporate world. More than a decade ago, during a successful stint as an on-camera spokesperson for a variety of industries, I was approached by a c-level executive who was struggling to be an effective on-camera communicator for a video series she was tasked with hosting. This was someone who was a double Ph.D. who was feeling "less than" because she lacked confidence in her on-camera presence. I felt that was patently wrong and decided immediately to try to help her. I came up with a curriculum based on the MVPs of On-Camera Success (The Mental Mindset, Vocal Variety, and Physical Factors) that is the cornerstone of our teaching today at Speaker Dynamics. We apply that philosophy to any platform now, so our clients are equipped to captivate any audience, whether they are in the same room or on the other side of a camera lens.

What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?

I am most proud of organically growing a business based on empowering people. I believe anyone has the ability to be an effective communicator, provided they are authentic and have a message worth sharing. There's so much brilliance inside people's heads. I feel like it's my mission to help them get it out of their heads and into the world to enrich us all.

What's one of the hardest things that comes with being a business owner?

With deep expertise in video communication, our business grew exponentially when COVID hit. Given the fact that everyone was speaking through a webcam, we went from training the executive leadership team to training the entire enterprise. Scaling is hard, and we had to determine the best way to do that. We landed on scaling through technology and developed an online platform called Speaker Dynamics University that allows organizations to level up their entire team through multi-tiered, self-paced learning. Using that platform to deliver the foundational principles allowed organizations to create best-in-class virtual communicators quickly at a time when many others were struggling.

What are the top tips you'd give to anyone looking to start, run and grow a business today?

First, base your business upon something that you are uniquely qualified to do. When I started Speaker Dynamics in 2012, I didn't know of anyone who was teaching business professionals how to speak through a camera. With the expansion of video across the corporate landscape, I knew there was a growing need. I also knew I could parlay my broadcast and business experience into a firm that was ready to meet that need.

Second, keep your ears open for new opportunities. We've been quick to adapt our offerings to address shifting needs, and it's worked well for us.

Third, learn to say "yes" to things that excite you and align with your overall mission. Learn to say "no" to opportunities that will lead you away from your core mission, even if they might appear lucrative. Trying to be everything to everyone rarely works and will muddy your message to potential clients and customers.

Where can people find you and your business?

Website: https://speakerdynamics.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SpeakerDynamics/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/speakerdynamics/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/SpeakerDynamics
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/speaker-dynamics/

If you like what you've read here and have your own story as a solo or small business entrepreneur that you'd like to share, then please answer these interview questions. We'd love to feature your journey on these pages.

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