Meet Christopher Peck

We were lucky to catch up with Christopher Peck recently and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Christopher , we’re so appreciative of you taking the time to share your nuggets of wisdom with our community. One of the topics we think is most important for folks looking to level up their lives is building up their self-confidence and self-esteem. Can you share how you developed your confidence?

I like to say that confidence equals courage plus consistency. When I was in the fifth grade, I humiliated myself in front of the entire school during the annual spelling bee. The competition began with a practice word so participants could see how the process works and gain a little confidence. I was so nervous I misspelled my practice word— “JOB.”

I feel like a lot of people have stories like this one. Some public speaking event or moment of heightened visibility and the person bombed. For many, those moments are internalized and used as justification to never do the thing they bombed at ever again. I have met so many people who are grateful their professional work keeps them out of the limelight and far away from public speaking.

I made a very different choice. That same year I was the Master of Ceremonies for our elementary school play. And it was exhilarating. I wrote my opening speech and memorized it and wore a suit and tie. I loved the feeling of being on stage and commanding attention. So, I continued to perform and eventually direct and show up courageously in other intimidating environments. I crafted outstanding performances both as an actor and director, and I made a lot more mistakes in front of audiences of dozens and sometimes hundreds and even thousands.

So, it’s important to recognize the confidence I’ve gained to present and perform for audiences didn’t come naturally. I don’t believe it was something I was “born” to do. It required determination to consistently step into uncomfortable places and situations and to practice sharing my voice boldly in those environments. That’s where confidence comes from. Doing the hard thing so many times that you’re no longer afraid to do the hard thing. It doesn’t mean the thing is no longer hard. It means you have a system for consistently and successfully completing the hard thing. For me, that hard thing was public speaking. It was communicating intentionally and influentially to craft a deliberate and effective experience for my audience. And that confidence permeates into different areas of my life. All because I chose to do the thing that I was afraid to do and do it consistently.

Let’s take a small detour – maybe you can share a bit about yourself before we dive back into some of the other questions we had for you?

As a Communication Coach and professional stage director, I help you repair the performance of your communication to align intention with impact. If you’re afraid of being misunderstood, you need a stage director. If you can’t afford to be misunderstood, you need a stage director. If you’re tired of being misunderstood, you need a stage director. You need someone objective and capable of solving the challenge of misunderstanding—which is almost always a result of a poorly executed performance of your intentions. In other words, you didn’t “act” the part. That’s how I help. I don’t shy away from the performative nature of public and interpersonal speaking. While some will encourage you to be yourself, I dig deeper asking, “which part of yourself do you need to be?” How do you need to show up and perform to be appropriately seen, felt, heard, and experienced by your ideal audience? That’s what sets me apart. A lot of people have mastered public speaking or interpersonal communication for themselves—and they teach, and mentor based on what works for them. But with each new production, a stage director is responsible for telling a different story with different actors for a different audience. There’s nuance which can’t be captured in a one-size-fits-all approach to communication. I work with businesses and individuals as something or someone wholly unique. Different goals. Different skill sets. Different audiences. It’s a collaborative process utilizing strong performance techniques to create and execute effective communication that aligns intentions with audience impact.

I’m most excited right now for the release of my first book, “ACTive Communication: How to Command Any Audience in Your Business and Your Life!” It’s a simple yet profound resource designed to equip readers with insights, motivations, and skills to show up intentionally, consistently, and influentially in their business and their life. I purposely wrote it to be short and accessible. A pocket guide for better communication which can be explored quickly and on the go. Look for it on Amazon later this month and for more information, follow me on Instagram @chrisspeaksup or head over to my website, www.speakintoactioncomm.com.

If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?

There is no doubt what sets me apart is my creative and performative background in theatre. My coaching business was built on the question, “Why don’t actors and stage directors teach public speaking?” Who could possibly be more equipped to help individuals navigate the vulnerability and insecurity which comes in crafting your character of self? As a performer, I know what it feels like to be in the lion’s den—to be alone on stage. But as someone who has studied extensively, I also know how to show up and perform in that space with my intentions driving my communication, not my fear. I have a system. As a stage director, I know what good storytelling looks like. I know how to help performers drastically modify their presentations or sometimes just fine-tune what’s already working. And as a stage director, I’ve learned how to translate a story into a successful, cohesive audience experience. When you work with me, you’re benefiting from each of those skills I’ve cultivated as an actor and director.

What didn’t come easily for me was bridging the gap between the theatre skills I possess and the businesses which would most benefit. The need for exceptional performances and communication in theatre is so obvious. A theatre often can’t afford anything less than a well-executed crowd pleaser. I assumed the need for extraordinary communication and public speaking in personal and professional situations would be just as obvious. I was wrong. We only know what we know. I spent most of my career surrounded by talented artists who understand communication is the most important aspect of what they do, and anything less than exceptional isn’t going to result in the lasting success they want for themselves. When I started coaching, I met so many individuals who gave lip service to effective communication—in the same way you’ll never see a job description without some of iteration of, “Must possess strong communication skills.” What I learned is those same people who acknowledge the value of effective communication often believe that skill is fixed and are therefore skeptical it can be improved, or they don’t see the need or value in their own improvement. There’s a misconception that being comfortable speaking in front of others is the same as being an effective communicator. And that misconception is emboldened when there are so many people afraid of sharing their ideas publicly, that those who can present onstage don’t see the value of improvement because they’re already ahead of the curve.

So, the most important thing I had to learn as a business owner is understanding the specific problem for the specific person that you fix. I’m all about scripts. My best advice for new business owners is to script the language of your solution. Make your ideal client a character in the world of your business. What problem do you solve for that character? What is the value of the solution? What makes the need of that person (or organization) so great? At what point is their pain great enough that living without your solution can’t be an option? Take time early in your business to craft a foundation of language so you can easily recognize that character as you network, build strategic partnerships, and pitch your product or services.

I do believe everyone can benefit from your offering, just as I believe that everyone can benefit from being a more impactful communicator. What I had to learn is business cultures and individual biases will not commit to communication training when the “need” isn’t—I hate to say this—painful enough. So, I had to go deeper. I had to identify organizations hemorrhaging money, talent, or time because the internal or external communication of their organization was misaligned. I had to single out professionals who couldn’t afford to be misunderstood in their public speaking, or they were afraid of being misunderstood in their next job interview, or they’re just tired of being misunderstood on first dates and they couldn’t waste another day trying to fix the problem alone. These are specific solutions to specific problems I had to learn to communicate to attract clients who would benefit most from my work. Maybe others will come around. Maybe they won’t. Target that ideal client character first with a script for your business which clearly articulates your specific solution for their specific problem.

How can folks who want to work with you connect?

I love coaching. It takes all my cultivated passion and creativity from a career as an actor, stage director, and educator, and harnesses it toward individuals who are desperately struggling to develop and communicate the character of their organization and their character of self. I have a huge heart for my clients and their needs.

Now I want to do it on a larger scale. I have had success coaching 1-2-1 and with small sized companies, sales teams, and call centers. I’m ready to go bigger and lack some of the tools to identify and engage opportunities for larger companies, larger stages, and larger audiences.

If you’re reading this right now and you’re also hoping to scale your business through speaking from stage and working with fortune 500 and fortune 100 companies, I would love to connect. Let’s share experiences, resources, successes and failures and grow together. As a solopreneur, it can be a little lonely out here. I love networking with like-minded creatives who experience similar challenges.

I would be remiss not to add if you’re an individual or organization who partners with speakers to get them into paid speaking engagements, I want to meet you. Agencies who partner with coaches, event planners, and human resource representatives; I want to meet the people who are looking to add incredible value to their organization, leadership and development resources, event venues, and high school and college students. Contact me at [email protected].

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