Lauri truly acknowledges the person in front of her and, because of this, she is unusually sensitive and perceptive. She will see you even when you do not.

Ara Glenn-Johanson

Actor & Educator

Lauri leads with graceful power and in magical ways.

Before taking the Compelling Speaker program, I was trying to connect with the audience and be naturally me when speaking. My goal was to free my soul and be the Andrea I never dared to be.

The transformation that I went through in just a couple of months during Compelling Speaker stays with me for life. My soul was released. I’m able to consciously connect with my body and my voice so that I feel I am fully ME in the now and at peace.

Andrea Petrut

Intuitive Relationship Coach, Speaker, and advocate for love.

Lauri, what a program you’ve created! In every way, you make this a standout experience. 

Thank you for your generosity, your grace, and for offering such a transformational experience. 

I overcame my patterns of people pleasing and needing to be liked as a facilitator and you helped me find my breath as a speaker. I’ve consulted countless mentors, therapists and coaches and none of them were able to help me the way you did. 

You certainly have found your “life work”. 

Victoria de Onis

Executive leadership and team coach specializing in interpersonal communication and leadership development.

Before working with Lauri I dreaded speaking in public. And when I had to do it, I was not my real self. I put on armor and pretended to be what I thought great speakers were: outgoing, charismatic, confident, having it all together, bullet proof, in control.

By taking the program, I was able to drop the armor and just be myself. I also learned more about speaking from my whole self: my mind, body, spirit and emotions all engaged. Most importantly I’m enjoying speaking in front of people. I never thought that would happen.

Dana Baugh

Executive Coach & Organization Development Consultant

It has been an incredibly eye-opening, vulnerable, and powerful experience. Lauri has helped me completely transform my leadership style through identifying my core values and truly living by them. I will forever be grateful.

Angeline Simonovich

Consultant at Stop Meeting Like This

I reached out to Lauri to help prepare me for reading my book into an Audible format. I’m so glad I did! In one very impactful session, Lauri took me from 40 – 95 in my ability to speak the words I wrote with more confidence, energy, and authenticity. Her work is exacting and multi-faceted. I highly recommend her!

Joy Taylor

Author of Inspired

Lauri is extremely charismatic. She has a very powerful appearance, and it feels like a warm blanket is put around you when you are in her presence.

I had the pleasure of having an online session with Lauri. She very quickly facilitated a comfortable and safe room. She asked just the right questions, leading me to the essence of what my story was about. For me, this was a groundbreaking moment! Telling my story with my guard down! In doing that, I told a story that was also new to me. It was so true, but somehow unclear before I met her. In the same session, I learned about my Soul Suckers and what is holding me back from telling my story without freezing up. For me, this was a mind-blowing experience. After just one meeting with Lauri, I have been able to spot old patterns and work with what is preventing me from telling my story. Lauri gets my highest and warmest recommendations.

Lauri, thank you for bringing me out and making me feel so safe. I’m so glad I found you for this journey.

Mette Meltinis

Owner and Founder, I Belong

As a Gestalt Therapist I was trained to get to the [psychological/core] fire of an issue rather than trying to deal with the [mental] smoke of a client’s issues.  Lauri is incredibly gifted at unleashing the speaker’s natural fire and passion for speaking their authentic message.  If she charged $1000 for a day I would still think it was a steal of a deal.

Dr. Tina Thomas

Your session this weekend changed my experience of myself while speaking so dramatically that I know I really want to work with you.

Julie Meissner

COO – CCO at San Francisco Sentry

Lauri holds a very safe space for everyone to express their authentic, flawed, and perfect selves. She models what she teaches beautifully, standing in herself confidently and effortlessly. In her workshop, I was able to access a vulnerable speaking issue that I’ve struggled with my whole life but never had the courage to look at with anyone. I walked away from it with a greater understanding of myself and of how to create what I want in the realm of speaking. I would recommend her work to anyone with a message that they want to get out to the world.

Lani Klaphaak

Relationship and Dating Coach, Social Studio Coaching, Berkeley, CA

With her ‘Vocal Presence – Find Your Voice’ workshop, Lauri displayed world class professionalism, polish and focus. Our participants were blown away.  She capitalized on every moment for each participant to have a powerful experience and to come away with a unique set of tools.  By the end of the workshop the participants expressed themselves in heightened situations using their individual, authentic Leadership voices. To this date, many of the participants are still talking about the workshop as it has made a difference in their professional and personal lives.

Jack Jia

Founder, Trusper / Baynote / Interwoven

Lauri’s experience and mastery of the vocal arts comes out during her teaching. Her teaching touched my heart and empowered me to stand up and claim my voice.

Corey Vanderwouw

Owner, Somatic Life Coach and Intuitive Bodyworker, Body Healing Arts

When I think of Lauri, the words “Leadership  presence” come to mind. Her posture, her voice, and even her silence convey a strong presence that any leader would dream of.

She is creative, inventive, and has an original approach to addressing important psychological and physical realities. Her workshop “Vocal Presence – Find Your Voice” has helped many women in our organization improve their self-confidence at the negotiation table and choose to be vocal about what is important, coming from a space of contribution and commitment rather than self-doubt or insecurity.

Lauri is very professional, understands and adapts to the needs of her clients, and I strongly recommend her services.

Nolwenn Goddard

Head of Education, eBay Women in Technology, Senior Manager, North American Markets, PayPal

I highly recommend it. It was exhilarating and challenging, calling me out to be me – without the armour that I use to hide. It was about embodying my message, breathing life into what I was saying – it made me realise that my message is so important, the vision I have of Electric Woman, I need to feel in my body and in my bones. We did breath work exercises and Lauri asked me to hold the space of the room with my voice. It was less about what are others thinking of me and more about this is me. This is my message and standing powerfully in it. This is a course for Leaders who want to complete alignment with their message, I am in awe of your work Lauri, you are so perfect for it.

Nikki Armytage-Foy

Founder of Electric Woman and CEO of TheLifestylist

Can 1 hour make a huge improvement in your speaking?  It certainly did with mine!

Lauri taught me how to put my arms around my audience with my voice.  I’ve experienced her skill twice – once in an NSANC Salon and the second time as a coach.  In the salon, I saw the difference she made in her coaching of audience members.  In a few minutes, their vocal resonance – and the way the audience felt about what they were saying – changed dramatically.  In fact, that’s what made me sign up to have her coach me.  And I wasn’t sorry.

Lauri attacks the skill of speaking from a unique perspective – the voice as an instrument of connection.

You still need to create good content and become skilled at delivery.  But what Lauri teaches is often – I believe – overlooked.

Don’t miss an opportunity to hear her present, if the chance becomes available.  And if you want to see what a great difference an hour of coaching can make, pack up your content with your current delivery skills, and hire her for an hour’s coaching.  You definitely won’t be sorry!

Claudette Good-O'Neill

CC and CL, 2014 Semi-finalist in Toastmaster's International Speaking Contest, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Lauri Smith is an engaging, dynamic leader and coach.  I was a participant in Lauri’s Vocal Presence workshop and I cannot express the impact with enough words.  The benefits extend from my one-on-one conversations to larger group work too.  She has a warm and creative way of training you to comfortably express your passion, purpose and message.  The workshop is so much fun, that I didn’t even realize the ‘work’ I was doing until the end of the workshop and I stood in front of the group and impactfully spoke like time was standing still.  Thank you Lauri!

Kristen Bentley - CPCC, PCC

Owner & Founder of Whole-Life Leadership, Faculty with CTI – The Co-Active Training Institute

Lauri, I want to say you have a great gift, but actually, what I mean is that you ARE a great gift. The way you ran that class last night was absolutely inspiring, and I cannot stress enough how lucky I feel to have been a part of it! You have a talent, knowledge, and way of delivering things that could add so much to the world. Please continue to allow others to learn from you….

Alexandra Cowell

Opera Singer, San Jose, Ca

My work with Lauri helped me to access my authentic self. Through our coaching sessions, I created my life purpose statement and strings of values, then practiced living those in my daily life. Lauri’s intuitive and creative abilities led me to a deeper awareness of who I am and what I want in my life. I continue to touch back on conversations we had that help me in current situations as well as using the practical, physical body cues to speak my truth. Lauri has an amazing gift and I am so grateful I had the chance to work with her. 

Kim Lottes

Integrative Healer at Kim Grace Healing

I’m so grateful to Lauri and the Vocal Presence – Find Your Voice workshop. When we began, I had a sense of what mattered to me and how much I wanted to tell others about it. But I was incredibly nervous about speaking—how people might receive the message. As Dawna Markova says, “Fear is passion without breath.” By the end of the day, I had literally breathed life into my passion. It came alive in a way I hadn’t known before, and I’m excited about how my voice in the world matters.

Lynn Coye

Workshop Participant, January 26th 2013

Right out of the gate I was encouraged to step out of my comfort zone by investigating and sharing my ultimate truth. Lauri’s workshop invited me to recognize, articulate and own what I bring as a unique individual into the world. Finding my voice allowed me to become clear about how to effectively communicate my message in an all inclusive, confident and authentic way. I am touched and inspired by Lauri’s work and I highly recommend this day of transformational awareness and courageous action!

Ivy Petersen, CPCC

Workshop Participant, January 26th 2013

Lauri’s vocal presence coaching has been inspiring, demanding and rewarding. I especially appreciate how the 7 Step Vocal Presence Path gives me a scaffold which I can use whenever and wherever I speak. The feeling of connecting with others and then sharing what matters to me is liberating and exhilarating!

Jean Kathryn Carlson

Vibrant Living Alchemist

At the end of our one-day workshop each participant was asked to speak briefly to the group about something they were passionate about. I was amazed and moved at how powerfully, movingly, and eloquently all these people–mostly without prior public speaking experience–spoke, after just a few hours of simple exercises.

Tom Bennigson

Workshop Participant, January 26th 2013

Lauri is a fun, creative, dynamic coach. By the end of a day-long workshop, she had everyone enthusiastically standing in the front of the room delivering eloquent, passionate speeches. I had strongly connected to my authentic self and I imagine that was true for the class. I left excited and confident about my vocal presence, and I had a simple bunch of tools to use for the next time I gave a talk or an elevator pitch. I highly recommend Lauri!

Laura Paradise

Workshop Participant, January 26th 2013

Dear Lauri,

My interest in your class was to connect my speaking words and voice with the intention of my business.  The route you provided, connection with passion; opening my heart was a great experience!  Shifting from my the energy of my analytical mind, I reconnected with  a skill I thought I had lost, speaking with a group.  And it was fun.

In gratitude,

Linda Balestrieri

I had the pleasure of attending Lauri Smith’s wonderful workshop “Speaking From Your Authentic Voice”.  I, like many, am basically terrified of speaking in front of a group of people.  Lauri helped to demystify the process for us by sharing tools and techniques to gain confidence in our speaking.  She addressed the inner game, the physical characteristics, and all with a light and supportive touch.  I came away form the workshop with more confidence to face my fear.

Ellen Forrest

Lauri is clearly an expert at what she does. My expectations were met almost immediately – an understanding of why my voice doesn’t seem to project. Where Lauri stands out from the crowd is her ability to see each person uniquely – she draws out their individual expression of true vocal presence.

Shannon Ratay, CPCC

Professional Business & Life Coach

Lauri Smith is a master at Vocal Presence! Through her workshop, I’ve gained invaluable skills which have increased my effectiveness in the front of the room. In the past, speaking to a group felt awkward and disconnected. Through Lauri’s workshop, I’ve gained a newfound confidence as a speaker. I’ve learned how to connect with myself and my message, along with more fully engaging the audience. Lauri brought valuable tools and practices which has shifted my perspective about speaking; from fear, to a newfound ease and flow. Her approach is so simple, yet so effective, that speaking is now energizing and fun. I recommend Lauri’s workshop for anyone who is seeking to become a better speaker, or even improve their everyday connection with teams. Bravo to Lauri for bringing her powerful stuff to help us create a powerful impact with audiences!

Dana Kadue, Coach

Lauri is an extraordinary trainer and leader. I attended her Vocal presence coaching in May 2012 and it helped me realise how I hold myself back when speaking in-front of groups because of the self-doubt I sometimes have about my presence on stage and in front of others. However, after just a few hours, I released these worries and felt so much more powerful and confident to speak. Lauri gave us some brilliant techniques which I use today and since the workshop I have spoken in front of groups of 100’s and I now have such confidence in my natural speaking ability after this voice training. Thank you Lauri.

Nikki Armytage

CPCC, Leadership Coach & Director, The Life Stylist

I’ve always admired people who can stand in front of a group and speak with powerful presence and authority. It’s a skill set I’ve wanted to work on, for a long time. Lauri’s Vocal Presence program leverages her extensive theater background to help you get out of your head and really grow your on stage skills. I came out of her class with a powerful new set of tools to help me feel more confident and speak with more strength and conviction. Lauri has a soft and gentle, while strong and powerful style and she creates a really fun, safe environment to learn in. I loved this class and I will definitely go back for more.

Dan Lawless

Cupertino, Ca

…as a speaker, spending just a short time with Lauri greatly improved my ability to communicate with clarity and authenticity

Paul Larsen

Pro-track (National Speakers Association/NC)

Lauri’s Vocal Presence Coaching provides the missing link in presentation coaching in how she helps clients “put it all together.” She demonstrated her amazing coaching ability by helping me better integrate the critical physical and emotional elements required in giving a presentation. Lauri works in a very elegant way, and has facilitated growth in everyone I know who has worked with her, myself included. Her extensive background in theater plus excellent social skills makes her unique and a real find.

Lynn Fraley

Board Member, National Speakers Association

Lauri creates a safe space for aspiring speakers. I appreciated her coaching and showing me directly how my breathing was holding me back.

Manuela Paurer

Pro-track (National Speakers Association/NC)

Lauri, I was excited about having you come speak to the Silicon Valley Coach Federation. As a speaker, I’m always seeking to learn more. But your presentation so far exceeded my expectations I just had to write and tell you! In our brief time together, you taught me things that will radically improve my speaking, and I am very grateful. Everyone who attended was likewise blown away! Please invite anyone who is curious to contact me to hear me gush about you! 🙂

Warmly,

Dr. Joel Orr

Program Chair and Board Member, Silicon Valley Coach Federation

Lauri’s work has been incredibly impactful. Before working with her, I had alot of ideas that I could put on paper or express when I was alone and yet when in front of another, I would have trouble putting them to voice. As a result of her techniques and training, I have made great strides in getting past my limiting beliefs and old stories. I have found new, easy and authentic ways to connect to the message I am so passionate about and express it in verbally – whether I am speaking to one person or a group. I have engaged in new, exciting working relationships and I attribute these to my new ability to express and articulate myself. Lauri is an inspiration and what is particularly inspiring is how she creatively and magically connects me to what inspires me and helps me make that link to get that out to the world with the impact and passion that I have longed to achieve. I would recommend Lauri’s work to ANYONE that wants to sharpen their number one marketing tool – you and how you say what you believe in.

Kristen Bentley

CPCC, PCC, Owner & Founder of Whole-Life Leadership, Faculty with CTI – The Co-Active Training Institute

Lauri’s beautiful utilization of childlike play and cultivation of your natural sense of wonder makes for a truly unique experience that transforms the horror of a nervous audition into a fun and personable experience in imagination.

Krystal Seli

Actor, New York, NY

Lauri Smith is one of the most personally motivating and inspirational instructors I’ve had.  Her ability to see and draw out her students potential is empowering.

Rachael Hammer

Student, Mountain View, Ca

Lauri’s Vocal Presence workshop was very interactive and transformative. Though it was a group setting, I received plenty of feedback specific to my case. I learned more from Lauri than I did working one-on-one with a speech therapist for 6 sessions and I left the workshop with more hope that my vocal presence will grow stronger and more impactful.  Thank you Lauri!

Jenn Hall, MC

Co-Active Life Coach, Vancouver BC