- Discover the six principles of influence and connect each concept to real upcoming messages and leadership conversations
- Enhance storytelling skills, including specific recommendations to enrich presentation delivery and executive presence
- Reflect on current communication practices and apply new techniques to amplify personal leadership effectiveness
- Establish a stronger community of like-minded individuals and rising thought-leaders
- Develop an action plan to implement storytelling and influence principles into everyday leadership communication
Commanding the Room
Six Principles to Present Messages
with Influence and Impact
The most compelling communicators are not necessarily the loudest or most naturally charismatic people in the room. They are the ones who know how to connect, how to build a story that sticks, and how to move people to action. That is a learnable skill, and it is exactly what this leadership communication and presentation skills workshop is designed to build.
Through six research-backed principles of influence and ample opportunity to practice and apply them, participants develop the tools to communicate with persuasive poise and style in any setting. Whether the goal is to communicate a tough decision, lead a high-stakes meeting, present to senior leadership, or inspire a team around a new direction, Commanding the Room gives participants the storytelling frameworks, executive presence techniques, and influence strategies to deliver every message with clarity, confidence, and genuine impact. Participants leave with a concrete action plan and the felt experience of communicating more effectively.
What You'll Learn
During this presentation skills and leadership influence workshop, participants will:
Leadership Behaviors You'll Develop
As a result of this session, participants will be able to enhance their leadership capabilities through the following behaviors:
- Speaking assertively and with confidence to colleagues, customers, and supervisors at every level
- Crafting personalized communications designed to accomplish specific persuasive objectives
- Influencing and inspiring others to take action via enhanced storytelling techniques
Who Is This Workshop For?
This workshop is a strong fit for any professional who presents, persuades, or leads conversations, whether in boardrooms, client meetings, team settings, or one-on-one conversations. It is especially valuable for leaders ready to grow their executive presence, sharpen their storytelling, and communicate with the kind of clarity and confidence that moves people to act.
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- Explore the three types of motivation and engagement, taking a pulse on current organization-wide strategies and opportunities for the future
- Experiment with three unique theories to immediately increase intrinsic motivation
- Develop an action + implementation plan for positive, long-term behavior change
Key Themes & Leadership Behaviors:
- Engagement + Motivation
- Talent Strategy + Development
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- Active Listening
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- Determine personal approach to conflict conversations, and discover the five differing conflict styles
- Identify benefits and potential obstacles for each style to clarify effective conflict communication strategies
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- Adaptability + Assertiveness
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- Explore the three types of motivation and engagement, taking a pulse on current organization-wide strategies and opportunities for the future
- Experiment with three unique theories to immediately increase intrinsic motivation
- Develop an action + implementation plan for positive, long-term behavior change
Key Themes & Leadership Behaviors:
- Engagement + Motivation
- Talent Strategy + Development
- Leading with Values
- Active Listening
Learning Objectives:
- Determine personal approach to conflict conversations, and discover the five differing conflict styles
- Identify benefits and potential obstacles for each style to clarify effective conflict communication strategies
- Develop an action + implementation plan for positive, long-term behavior change
Key Themes & Leadership Behaviors:
- Effective Communication
- Adaptability + Assertiveness
- Consensus Building + Alignment
Learning Objectives:
- Discover the theories and trends associated with highly effective negotiation
- Select the methodologies that best align with our personal leadership and communication style
- Experiment with effective negotiation strategies via hands-on, interactive exercises
- Develop an action + implementation plan, fit with details of specific steps to support others during times of ambiguity
Key Themes & Leadership Behaviors:
- Persuasion + Influence
- Storytelling + Communication
- Increasing Assertiveness + Confidence
Learning Objectives:
- Clarify leadership and communication preferences, and develop a “user’s manual” to articulate our findings
- Discover the attributes, behaviors and common blind-spots of natural preferences, and explore and understand the same attributes and behaviors of opposing types
- Highlight specific actions we can take when working with someone who leverages opposing preferences, and develop a plan to adjust our styles with at least one current colleague
Key Themes & Leadership Behaviors:
- Effective Communication
- Collaboration + Trust
- Openness + Awareness
Learning Objectives:
- Discover the theories and trends associated with highly effective negotiation
- Select the methodologies that best align with our personal leadership and communication style
- Experiment with effective negotiation strategies via hands-on, interactive exercises
- Develop an action + implementation plan, fit with details of specific steps to support others during times of ambiguity
Key Themes & Leadership Behaviors:
- Persuasion + Influence
- Storytelling + Communication
- Increasing Assertiveness + Confidence
Learning Objectives:
- Clarify leadership and communication preferences, and develop a “user’s manual” to articulate our findings
- Discover the attributes, behaviors and common blind-spots of natural preferences, and explore and understand the same attributes and behaviors of opposing types
- Highlight specific actions we can take when working with someone who leverages opposing preferences, and develop a plan to adjust our styles with at least one current colleague
Key Themes & Leadership Behaviors:
- Effective Communication
- Collaboration + Trust
- Openness + Awareness
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Frequently Asked Questions
What are the six principles of influence covered in this presentation skills workshop?
The workshop draws on foundational influence research to explore six core principles: reciprocity, social proof, authority, liking, scarcity, and commitment and consistency. Each principle is connected directly to real leadership communication scenarios so participants know not just what the principles are, but exactly how to apply them in presentations, meetings, and everyday conversations.
How does storytelling make leaders more effective and persuasive communicators?
Stories are how humans process information, build trust, and make decisions together. Leaders who communicate through narrative rather than data and directives alone are consistently more persuasive, more memorable, and more emotionally connected to their teams. This workshop gives participants the frameworks to build and deliver stories that stick and inspire genuine action.
Will participants have hands-on opportunities to practice their communication and presentation skills?
Yes. Practice and real-time application are central to the session design. Participants experiment with the six principles of influence in action, receive feedback, and refine their approach throughout. The emphasis is on doing rather than just learning, so every participant leaves with both the knowledge and the felt confidence of communicating more effectively.
Is this workshop focused on formal presentations or everyday leadership communication?
Both. While formal presentation skills are addressed directly, the principles of influence and storytelling apply equally to emails, team meetings, one-on-one conversations, and any moment where a leader needs to move people to act. The skills built in this session are transferable across every communication context a leader navigates.
How does Commanding the Room connect to other leadership communication workshops?
This workshop pairs powerfully with JUMPSTART Negotiation, Mission Possible: Strategic & Creative Thinking Design Sprint and We Can Work It Out to form a comprehensive leadership communication toolkit. Together, the three sessions cover influence and storytelling, negotiation strategy, and conflict navigation, giving leaders the full range of communication skills to show up confidently in any situation.
Jacob Goldstein
Jacob Goldstein is the founder of The Leadership Laboratory, and leverages his experiences in education, the performing arts, and corporate learning & leadership development to his work. As a performer, Jacob has sung as a backup vocalist for musical artists such as Josh Groban, Idina Menzel, and Patti LuPone, as a recording artist for Netflix series Sense8, and at venues including The United Center, The Chicago Theater, and Chicago Symphony Center. In the education space, Jacob has served as an educator for high school, undergraduate and graduate students, and has been a Guest Lecturer at Northwestern University since 2016. As a Learning & Leadership Development Consultant, Jacob has worked as a one-on-one coach and group workshop facilitator to organizations ranging from startups to Fortune 500 companies in diverse industries, including technology, healthcare, non-profit, and fashion/apparel. Jacob holds a Bachelor’s degree from The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and a Master’s of Science in Communication from Northwestern University.
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