Allison Shapira

Expert Speaker, Driven Entrepreneur & Best-Selling Author

Allison Shapira

Expert Speaker, Driven Entrepreneur & Best-Selling Author

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Biography

Allison is one of the world’s foremost experts on public speaking and presentation skills. She is the Founder/CEO of Global Public Speaking LLC, a communication training firm that works with emerging and established leaders to help them speak clearly, concisely, and confidently. She is an adjunct lecturer at the Harvard Kennedy School and has spent over 15 years working with Fortune 500 companies, government agencies, and non-profit organizations around the world.

Allison studied classical voice at Boston University. After becoming disillusioned with the field of opera, she moved into public diplomacy, where her operatic training made her a powerful speaker and coach. Allison started her own communication business in Boston, MA, and consulted with presidential advisor David Gergen when he taught the Arts of Communication at the Harvard Kennedy School. Over ten years later, she would teach that same course.

In 2012, Allison took a leap of faith and moved the company to Washington, DC. She engaged other trainers and coaches and published Speak With Impact: How to Command the Room and Influence Others with HarperCollins Leadership, making her teaching and philosophy available to people around the world.

Allison is passionate about empowering women, and she travels with the nonprofit Vital Voices Global Partnership, helping women leaders worldwide grow their business, run for office, or launch a non-profit organization. She has spoken at the Fortune Most Powerful Women Next Gen Summit, the Most Powerful Women in Banking LEAD Conference, and was a finalist for 2017 Woman Business Owner of the Year by the National Association of Women Business Owners, San Diego Chapter.

Allison is also an internationally-renowned singer/songwriter who uses music to help others find their voice. She has performed at legendary folk venues such as Club Passim and Caffè Lena, and she is a member of the two-woman band Joan & Joni, a tribute to Joan Baez and Joni Mitchell, which she performs with fellow musician Kipyn Martin.

Speaker Videos

The Power of Why You

Its Not About Being A SME

Lead with Your Voice

Speech Topics

Develop Your Leadership Voice

At its very essence, public speaking is about exercising leadership with your voice, connecting with your passion, and finding the courage to speak your mind.

Calling on her journey from a former opera singer to a successful entrepreneur and folk singer, Allison uses music as a way to help people find their voice at work or in their community.

In her interactive, musical keynotes, Allison will sharpen the skills of your emerging and established leaders and help them feel a greater sense of purpose in their work. Whether presented in-person or virtually, Allison’s keynote programs are engaging and skill-building.

Lead with Your Voice

As a leader, your voice matters. Your ability to enter a room with presence and speak in a way that commands your audience’s attention helps you build trust with clients and colleagues and has a direct influence on your leadership trajectory. Allison incorporates music into her program to share a memorable message of authenticity over perfection. This program is interactive, inspirational, and practical. Participants will learn Allison’s ACE Model of leadership communication, which will transform the way you communicate every day in order to have a powerful and positive impact on others.

Key Take-Aways:

Tap into your authentic sense of purpose
Learn to speak with clarity and confidence
Harness your best energy to engage your audience

Influencing Without Authority

One of the most critical challenges we face as professionals is convincing people to take action without having a formal line of authority. Learn how to break down business silos and build partnerships with others. This skill-building program combines the tools of persuasion, negotiation, and relationship-building and clearly illustrates how to apply these tools to your most pressing work challenges. Everyone leaves with a clear strategy on how to influence others both internally and externally to their organization.

Key Take-Aways:

Understand why your current messaging is not working
Learn key frameworks for persuading others
Strategically analyze your audience to understand what will influence them to take action

AI & Authenticity: The Future of Human Connection

Can artificial intelligence actually make us more authentic? Leadership communication expert Allison Shapira believes that generative AI allows us to tap into our authenticity and supercharge our creativity like never before in a way that is both ethical and value-rich. As a thought leader in her industry, she is already using AI to guide executives and emerging leaders as they build their communication skills and overcome their fear of speaking. During this pivotal keynote, she will discuss current trends in AI that guide audiences to gain a better understanding of both its implications and limitations on the future of human connection.

Key Take-Aways: