Michael Chad Hoeppner

So I didn't really get interested in, let's call it, communications of any kind until middle school and high school, and that was when I was getting into theater a little bit. The pivot I'll hone in on is actually fast-forwarding all the way until about 2010 or so, which is I was a professional actor for about 10 years, Broadway, film, and TV.

But what I began to discover is that even more interesting than portraying characters on stage, I became totally fascinated by how people learn. to do that activity. And so I started becoming really obsessed about how can you help people be more effective and calmer and more themselves in front of audiences. So this was a somewhat natural evolution into that.

But what I began to discover is that even more interesting than portraying characters on stage, I became totally fascinated by how people learn. to do that activity. And so I started becoming really obsessed about how can you help people be more effective and calmer and more themselves in front of audiences. So this was a somewhat natural evolution into that.

The biggest thing is that we really developed a way in which to use embodied cognition. And by that, I mean getting people to use their bodies to build habits. So, you know, like the adage of learning to ride a bicycle and you never forget. And we developed a whole suite of kinesthetic tools to help people be more effective.

The biggest thing is that we really developed a way in which to use embodied cognition. And by that, I mean getting people to use their bodies to build habits. So, you know, like the adage of learning to ride a bicycle and you never forget. And we developed a whole suite of kinesthetic tools to help people be more effective.

So they're a little bit related to theatrical training, but not really, because I kept hiring actors to try to be coaches within our firm. And they looked at me a little bit baffled when I would teach them some of these exercises. I really discovered as an actor, half my time on stage was slightly equivalent to torture.

So they're a little bit related to theatrical training, but not really, because I kept hiring actors to try to be coaches within our firm. And they looked at me a little bit baffled when I would teach them some of these exercises. I really discovered as an actor, half my time on stage was slightly equivalent to torture.

Painful, agonizingly self-conscious, hyper aware of every little thing and relentlessly self-critical. Many, many artists out there and certainly most performing artists out there can relate to that. And what I discovered was that if I could put my focus on something very concrete, it was literally the only way I could navigate through those moments of really painful self-consciousness.

Painful, agonizingly self-conscious, hyper aware of every little thing and relentlessly self-critical. Many, many artists out there and certainly most performing artists out there can relate to that. And what I discovered was that if I could put my focus on something very concrete, it was literally the only way I could navigate through those moments of really painful self-consciousness.

What I discovered was that the more that I thought about it, the worse I felt. And the more I obsessed about my feelings and my pain and things like this, the worse I actually felt. And what I discovered was that simply doing, putting the focus on doing,

What I discovered was that the more that I thought about it, the worse I felt. And the more I obsessed about my feelings and my pain and things like this, the worse I actually felt. And what I discovered was that simply doing, putting the focus on doing,

And doing behaviors and just putting one foot in front of the other actually led to much greater healing and greater escape, deliverance, all those sorts of words. For many people, public speaking is equivalent to agony. If you give them very concrete things that they can do and succeed at, they can get past this agonizing moment and experience a little tiny brief moment of victory.

And doing behaviors and just putting one foot in front of the other actually led to much greater healing and greater escape, deliverance, all those sorts of words. For many people, public speaking is equivalent to agony. If you give them very concrete things that they can do and succeed at, they can get past this agonizing moment and experience a little tiny brief moment of victory.

And from that moment of victory, you can build and build and build. And pretty soon, they've established a completely different kind of muscle memory that can help them succeed. One of the first profound experiences I had individually coaching someone is when I dreamt up this Lego block idea because he was having a really difficult time memorizing anything.

And from that moment of victory, you can build and build and build. And pretty soon, they've established a completely different kind of muscle memory that can help them succeed. One of the first profound experiences I had individually coaching someone is when I dreamt up this Lego block idea because he was having a really difficult time memorizing anything.

And so what I was trying to get him to do was to give himself just a moment longer before all the terrible self-critical berating voices came alive in his brain. So I had him share one idea at a time and stack a Lego block at the end of each idea. It gave him something to do rather than, you're terrible, you can't memorize anything, what a terrible communicator you are.

And so what I was trying to get him to do was to give himself just a moment longer before all the terrible self-critical berating voices came alive in his brain. So I had him share one idea at a time and stack a Lego block at the end of each idea. It gave him something to do rather than, you're terrible, you can't memorize anything, what a terrible communicator you are.

He had a distraction, something he had to do. And then in that moment, this total miracle happened, which his brain had a moment to think and actually recall the information he was trying to remember. So it was this really powerful moment of kinesthetic learning.

He had a distraction, something he had to do. And then in that moment, this total miracle happened, which his brain had a moment to think and actually recall the information he was trying to remember. So it was this really powerful moment of kinesthetic learning.

From there, I've just developed these exercises working with real life communicators, both very high stakes communication situations like presidential candidates for debate prep, but also people much more, you know, junior, which would be like high school students trying to get better at speaking so they can give a good oral report.