Terri Sjodin

Terri Sjodin is one of America’s most respected experts on persuasive communication, a New York Times and Wall Street Journal bestselling author, and a Certified Speaking Professional who has trained thousands of professionals worldwide on the art of making more compelling presentations. She is the founder of Sjodin Communications and has spent over 20 years advancing the presentation skills of professionals across every industry.

The Art of Persuasive Presentation

Sjodin is the author of the national bestseller Small Message, Big Impact, which hit the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and USA Today bestseller lists. She is also the author of Scrappy: A Little Book About Choosing to Play Big and New Sales Speak: The 9 Biggest Sales Presentation Mistakes and How to Avoid Them. Her unique combination of academic communication theory from San Diego State University and practical street sales experience collected during thousands of business presentations has made her the go-to advisor for professionals seeking to become more polished and persuasive.

Helping Professionals Win Through Better Communication

Before forming her own company, Sjodin was a top sales producer with The Achievement Group and Resource Dynamics. She received the prestigious CSP designation, held by fewer than 12 percent of professional speakers worldwide. Her keynotes and workshops teach audiences how to craft compelling messages, deliver persuasive presentations, embrace a scrappy mindset, and communicate with the confidence and clarity that wins business and advances careers.

 Presentation Ready: Exploring the Art of Presenting Persuasively

(This program can be delivered in a keynote, breakout session, half-day or full-day format.)

Most people want to improve their presentations but don’t know where to start — and that can be costly.  That is where this program can help.

In this session, Terri shares the results from her multiyear research project on the state of sales presentations, which identified 12 common mistakes that may cost an individual the win, the deal, or the opportunity, and shows how to avoid them. Why focus on mistakes? Because you can’t improve what you don’t recognize as a problem. The solutions will ultimately help you course-correct faster and gain greater confidence for future presentations.

The audience will gain an understanding of:

• The 12 most common mistakes people make when presenting
• The 3 benchmarks for crafting an effective presentation: Case, Creativity and Delivery
• How to make your messaging persuasive rather than just informative
• How to communicate more effectively, whether in person, virtual or hybrid
• How to avoid “strange” body language and gesturing
• How to channel fear and anxiety to work for you vs. against you when you’re speaking one-on-one or one-on-one hundred

The focus will be on developing verbal communication skills for greater impact with listeners.

Building Your Persuasive Case

(This is a breakout session to follow the Presentation Ready keynote.)

Has your sales presentation become far too informative versus persuasive? You are not alone.

In this session, Terri will address one of the highest ranked mistakes participants self-identified in The State of Sales Presentations research study: Being Overly Informative Versus Persuasive. She will show you specific method for developing logical persuasive arguments in the body of your presentations, including how-tos for identifying your most compelling talking points. This is a roll-up-your-shirt-sleeves interactive session.

The Scrappy Advantage… It’s About Choosing to Play Big!

(This is a popular breakout session to follow the “Presentation Ready” material)

In today’s competitive market, it takes more than just showing up, more than persistence, more than just having a dream to reach your goals. Sometimes you have to get a little scrappy and creative to earn the right to be heard!

In this special session, attendees will get a sneak peek into Terri Sjodin’s book, Scrappy: A Little Book About Choosing to Play Big (Penguin Random House August 2016). The American Heritage Dictionary defines “scrappy” as “…full of fighting-spirit.” The impetus of a scrappy mindset might begin when a person (insert you) has a specific goal with a specific challenge to circumvent, most likely within a certain time frame. Terri will share research, interview material and incredible stories from a variety of people from different industries who have pulled off seemingly impossible wins or achieved crazy, fun goals. This session will give you tactical ideas to help you execute on your vision of what you can accomplish…once you decide to get scrappy.