larry schuster
Just so you know, Larry was NOT a natural born speaker! The journey forward was full of bumps along the way, stretching over more than 30 years of communication experience. EVERYthing he will share, each bit of guidance, each lesson he will share with you was learned and tested the hard way, by trying, failing and reworking, and studying. The journey started in a lazy period 35 years ago, Larry was a taxi driver with advanced education (biology degree). He says he just needed more time after college to decide which direction to go in his life, with no speaking experience and no professional writing experience, and shy.
But then a taxi passenger threatened him with a knife. He took a risk (to escape) and made a move to jump out of that taxi at a key moment. And he never went back to his dead-end taxi life. That moment woke him up like a cold shower.
He pulled himself together and took a risk in something he never did before. Suddenly he was able to make a quick decision: He entered journalism graduate school led him to a 20-year career as an interviewer, writer, editor, storyteller for science and technology, for general and professional readers for a global US news agency.
Painful lesson
But when he left journalism, and moved to China 13 years ago the one time he spoke to investors on behalf of a startup pharmaceutical company, the boss said “that was miserable.” He lacked charisma, confidence, conviction. It was a painful lesson at the time, but it proved a key point: Writing and speaking are two very different skills! And at the time, he had no training about how to speak!
And suddenly, just like in the taxi cab, Larry was faced with an urgent threat, another sort of cold shower poured into his mind, “How would I pay the bills if i couldn’t speak, if I couldn’t meet the requirements of the job.” After miserable failures in public speaking, Larry found his way. He got his footing, as they say in professional boxing, which he learned from one of his first speaking clients: a 7-time world champion women’s boxer, who was preparing to speak for Nike for 500 store employees and store leaders. The previous speaker had been Tiger Woods.
Fast forward 9 years later...
Since then, his clients have included top executives and senior managers from global companies, to prepare them for TEDx talks, industry or internal presentations, and successful investment pitches for startup CEOs.
From the head of Asia communications for one of the world’s largest architect companies, Aedas, Larry “made the Impossible possible,” regarding my coaching for one of their most senior executives for his TEDx speech.
From client Adam Place, startup CEO of Nusic, a DJ music app company at Shanghai-based Chinaccelerator. His six-minute pitch to investors led to USD 500,000 investment and standout recognition by a top global investor. “Your support of Nusic is massively appreciated.”
How did that happen?
In those nine years, Larry learned how to apply his 20 years of journalism experience to help his clients give speeches that go way beyond their expectations, speeches that are concise and energizing, with impact.
That translates to…
- Sharper speaking that ensures the key points standout
- Stories powered with emotion to support your purpose
- Thoughtful energy so that your audiences get the meaning beyond the words
- Memorable and motivational so your listeners take that one next step as a result of your speech
A package of lessons from a
30-years journey
In essence, Larry apply his expensive, often awkward 30-years journey to learn what it takes to speak with energy and impact, so we can dramatically accelerate your learning curve on the way to clear, demonstrated impact on your audiences. Look forward to attracting repeat requests, powerful world-of mouth and social medial marketing.