Rock-and-roller turned business author/coach/professional speaker. Topics: Focus, Communication, Accountability. Crazy about tech, my kids, and all things "inner game." [ Hours available: 8:30-4 CT, Mon-Thu ]
If you’ve got a big initiative coming up, an important issue to address, or any other urgent messaging need, I’ll work with you to make sure the message hits the mark and moves people to action.
The key to a great presentation is a combination of clarity and connection. What’s the take-home message? What three points do you want people to understand? What stories will you use to support those? Get the structure right and everything else falls into place.
If you have a big presentation coming up, I’ll work with you to make sure it’s a home run.
P.S. Presentation coaching is what started me on the path to co-writing a million-selling business book and having my own successful speaking business, and I still love it. I've worked with managers, executives, and professional speakers, and written a book on the lessons learned in that work. I've also given over 300 presentations myself.
Everyone dreads “difficult conversations,” but the truth is, they can make the relationship stronger and improve performance – IF you do them right. The trick is to get the framing and emotions right, and have the right strategy and mindset going in. I’ll help you think it through and plan what you’re going to say to get the best possible outcome.
If the pressure, stress, and distractions of work are making it hard to feel good about yourself and what you’re doing, I'll help you get back on track and take it to the next level.
The Focus Framework™ teaches you how to better understand and manage your thoughts and emotions so you can be more focused, productive and fully alive, every single day.
"I can't thank you enough for the course. I thought it was great. I got exactly what I was looking for, and would absolutely recommend it to others. It’s an exceptional value." – Michael Webb, M.D. (neurosurgeon)
Bottom line: If your life looks better on the outside than it feels on the inside, this is perfect for you. It'll be one of the best things you ever do for yourself.
ABOUT ME: 20+ years ago my music career and life were a mess. But one day I had a strange, "Wizard of Oz"-like experience that showed me how things really work in our "inner game" and completely changed the arc of my life. In fact, everything I’m proud of in my life has happened since then. (Written/co-written 4 books, over a million copies sold. Released 4 CDs as a recording artist. Married over 25 years.)
If you have a difficult question or problem you’re struggling with, I’ll help you think it through, pick the best path, and feel good about your decision.
Sometimes you just can’t tell which way to go. An objective, creative outside perspective can make all the difference, especially with navigating the emotional/people aspects, which are frequently the trickiest parts.
As a bonus, I can also help you come up with what to say, as communication is most always part of the solution.
Many great suggestions here already. As a life-long creative/solo-preneur (musician, author), I can relate. Focus is the single biggest factor for me, too.
The one suggestion I would add, which is also the highest leverage thing you can do, is work to develop better cognitive and impulse control.
It's great to remove distractions and get your priorities straight, as others have suggested. But it's much better to make yourself distraction- and stress-resistant, which is what cognitive control training gives you.
As a bonus, it also solves the other inner game problem entrepreneurs tend to have, namely that their life looks better on the outside than it feels on the inside.
Best of luck! Let me know if I can help in any way.
Before we started working together, I had a mixed back of insomnia, stress, anxiety, low energy, low motivation, and lack of focus. Through focus coaching, David helped me regain intellectual control and increase my awareness and reaction to triggers that used to get the better of me on ays when I didn't feel rested. His progressive yet practical approach, intellectual exploration, conversational style, and supportive understanding were just the right mix for me!
I've known David for over 15 years and I've consulted with him on numerous occasions to get me through important career decisions, challenging conversations with managers and touchy situations with colleagues or customers. David has the unique ability to see things from my perspective but, more importantly than that, he gets me to see my situation from a different vantage point -- it's there where I find clarity, ideas and solutions. David asks the insightful questions. The difficult questions. The ones that force you to act and do the right thing.
As a business and organizational leader, you are sometimes faced with very difficult decisions that go beyond your immediate team. When you really need to weigh out all the possible outcomes, pitfalls and benefits of a very large decision - such as a product pivot, a staff change, mergers, buyouts, difficult clients and the like, David Levin will become the best asset you have.
I can't tell you how refreshing it is to share the issue with a knowledgeable, experienced person like David to look at it from a really fresh angle and help yo find the clarity and focus you need to move forward in everyone's best possible interest.
If you're thinking about contacting David for a consult - don't hesitate. It's well worth it.
We hired David to speak at a lunch and learn with our organization. David TRULY DELIVERED to our group - even those with QBQ exposure learned how to apply QBQ more effectively. Everyone walked away inspired to put the QBQ to work and gave great feedback about the session. Great job David!!!
We had the pleasure of having David Levin present at our company’s fall conference on October 20, 2010. His “Don’t Just Talk, Be Heard!: The 10 Biggest Communication Mistakes…and How to Avoid Them!” program was spirited and packed with useful, valuable information for our 80 associates and Partners.
David was able to keep the participants engaged and interested for the entire session. His delivery style is upbeat and personable; he had everyone in the room laughing…and thinking about their communication styles and strategies and what better approaches they could take.
As a coordinator, finding an effective speaker typically seems like a challenge. Working with David was anything but a challenge. He really knows this topic and is able to share his knowledge in a way that allows people to really understand the importance of effective communication and, perhaps even more important, the detrimental impact of ineffective communication. I have heard nothing but glowing, positive remarks from our associates and Partners about the interactive workshop by David. And, we’ve had numerous people make changes as a result of this session. We are seeing positive impacts already!
We are looking forward to having our associates and Partners read David’s book and we look forward to a continued business relationship with David.
I worked with David back in 2006 when implementing QBQ. He is the co-author of QBQ with John Miller. David was extremely helpful to me. I was able to bounce ideas off him and get input on what worked and didn't work so I could better prepare for and facilitate the QBQ training. Between David and John, I had the support I needed to make this training program very successful for our organization.
I also utilized David's talents and support in a coaching capacity the latter part of 2009 to help me prepare for a big presentation I had to give at our annual Sales Conference in January of 2010. I worked with David again when preparing for my presentation at the 2011 Sales Conference. Both times David was able to help me pinpoint and focus on the key elements in my material so I could deliver a motivational and inspiring message. David's style is direct and candid. He was able to ask me questions that forced me to really think about what I wanted to leave the audience with in the short 20 minutes I was given. With his help, I was able to get the result I wanted and with good success.
I think David is very knowledgeable and experienced. He is very intuitive and creative. He helped me look at different ways to keep the audience engaged. He gave me the feedback I needed that really helped me prepare and, based on the feedback I received, successfully reach my goal with very effective communications.
Due to this successful partnership, we are going to team up with David again to bring the "Don't Just Talk, Be Heard" message to the rest of our organization. We firmly believe that focus on this is a key ingredient, effective communications, will "Elevate our Game" in 2011 and continue towards our goal of becoming a truly "Outstanding" organization
