Gary Ross Speaking Topics

• Command the Moment: The Announcer Method for Leaders Who Can’t Afford to Waste Time

  Every organization has “mic-on” moments: kickoffs, strategy resets, change updates, tough performance conversations, and live Q&A. In those moments, leaders don’t get judged on what they meant. They get judged on what people heard, felt, and did next. Drawing on 31 years behind the mic as Northwestern University’s sports Public Address Announcer plus a career leading and coaching corporate communications, this talk gives leaders a practical method to deliver clarity under pressure, without sounding scripted, vague, or overly “corporate.”

  Thought-provoking questions (what the audience is already wrestling with):

  • Why do smart leaders lose credibility the moment the stakes rise?
  • Why do “good meetings” still produce confused follow-ups and message drift?
  • What do leaders unintentionally communicate through tone, pace, and what they leave unsaid?
  • If your message can’t be repeated accurately by someone who wasn’t in the room… did you really communicate?

  How the session provides the answers:

  Participants learn a repeatable system built around the Three No. 1 Rules of Communication:

  • Know Your Audience: truly understand people so you can communicate in a way that is relevant, compelling them to follow you
  • Everything Communicates: manage the signals leaders send under pressure (tone, omissions, tradeoffs)
  • Tell ’Em a Story: turn information into meaning so the message travels accurately

  Attendee results:

  • Deliver high-stakes messages with confidence without reading slides or sounding rehearsed
  • Reduce message drift and confused follow-ups by building “repeatable” communication
  • Increase trust in the moment by managing unintentional signals (tone, pacing, omissions)
  • Close any update with a clear, motivating next step that drives action
  • Leave with a simple checklist to use before the next kickoff, meeting, or tough conversation

• Communication That Moves Work: More Execution, Fewer Meetings

  Most organizations don’t have an information problem. They have an execution problem caused by unclear communication. Work slows down when priorities are muddy, decisions aren’t explained, accountability is vague, and teams leave meetings with “So… what does this mean for me?” This talk shows leaders how to use everyday communication—staff meetings, updates, 1:1s, feedback, decision explanations—to create momentum and accountability without adding process, meetings, or performative messaging.

  Thought-provoking questions:

  • How much “work about work” is your communication creating: rewrites, rework, and re-litigation of decisions?
  • Why do priorities get distorted as they cascade through the organization?
  • Are your leaders being clear… or clouding the message with unnecessary detail?
  • What if the fastest way to improve performance isn’t another initiative, but cleaner communication that removes friction?

  How the session provides the answers:

  • Clarity over completeness: how to stop over-explaining and start mobilizing
  • Decision messaging: how to communicate tradeoffs so people align instead of second-guess
  • Accountability language: how to make ownership and deadlines explicit without sounding harsh
  • Feedback that lands: how to address performance issues without defensiveness or ambiguity
  • Message hygiene: fewer words, cleaner structure, stronger closes—so teams act

  This isn’t “be a better communicator” advice—it’s a method leaders can apply the next day.

  Attendee results:

  • Create alignment without more meetings, longer decks, or endless follow-up emails
  • Reduce rework by making decisions, priorities, and tradeoffs easier to understand and repeat
  • Increase accountability by communicating ownership and next steps clearly and consistently
  • Improve the quality of 1:1s and feedback conversations without making them awkward or overly formal
  • Leave with a Communications Map leaders can immediately use in real moments

• The Three Number One Rules of Communication

  Poor communication at work can cost businesses more than USD $12,000 per year, per employee. Increased stress, reduced productivity and lost business eat away at our well-being and our bottom line as ineffective communication continues to gum up our lives at work. Everyone seems to want better communication, but few can make it happen.

  Gary Ross shares his Three Number One Rules of Communication they are all tied for Number One because they are equally important to help executives, managers and front-line employees crack the code of better communication. Learn how you may be communicating without realizing it. Discover how to communicate the right thing to the right people at the right time in the right way. And uncover the secret to driving buy-in and advocacy for even the most mundane and dry topics.

  The Three Number One Rules of Communication can help get you and your teams unstuck, perform at their best and lead more enjoyable and rewarding lives at work.

  (*Data from 'The State of Business Communication 2023', Grammarly Business and The Harris Poll)

• "Getting Your Ideas Approved: A Simple Framework

  Ever have a great idea bottled up in your head but struggle to articulate it and get it approved? It's happened to us all at one point, affecting our confidence and possibly even limiting our career potential.

  In this session, Gary Ross provides a step-by-step framework to size up the boss or those you want to persuade. Then he helps you organize your ideas in a way that takes advantage of the human brain's innate wiring to drive acceptance and buy-in. This method increases the chance that others will agree with your ideas and follow your plan.

  'Getting Your Ideas Approved: A Simple Framework' can help you overcome obstacles and lead and inspire others with your unique vision.

• We Need to Talk: Leading Difficult Conversations

  Difficult conversations are a fact of life at work. Delivering tough feedback to an employee, engaging with unhappy clients or telling the boss something you know they won't like to hear, we all have versions of conversations we'd like to avoid, but can't. Unfortunately, many times these conversations don't go well, and an unpleasant situation only gets worse.

  This session offers a roadmap for having a difficult conversation so you can prepare and get the job done. It's a repeatable process that simultaneously takes emotion out of the equation but ensures empathy is front-and-center at all times.

  'We Need to Talk: Leading Difficult Conversations' helps you get through these necessary but unpleasant moments with everyone's dignity and respect intact. Indeed, when done well, difficult conversations can make you and your organization stronger, more respected and sought-after in the process.

• Like, Um, Filler Words and Stuff

  We all do it. Filler words like 'um', 'ah', and 'like', creep into everyone's speech at one time or another. If it's occasional, it's really no big deal. If it happens too much, it can be distracting and cost you precious credibility in the workplace.

  Gary Ross approaches the topic of filler words in a supportive way. He won't count the number of times you say 'um' in a presentation and embarrass you in front of others. Instead, Gary gets to the root cause of why we use filler words so you can understand why it happens in the first place. Having identified this, he then covers some tips and tricks to address those root causes and reduce filler words in formal presentations and everyday speech.

  With 'ums' and 'ahs' lessened to an acceptable minimum, people can feel more confident in their own communication. Armed with clearer speech and increased confidence, people can go on to become more effective in the workplace.

Read More +