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Since 1989, Sims Wyeth has been coaching senior leaders, executives, scientists and other subject matter experts on how to sell themselves and their ideas.
He has helped to get a client elected to the position of chairman at a global consulting firm, shaped the complex data-based arguments to win approval for new drugs at the FDA, and coached thousands of professionals so they can speak like leaders, get promoted, make more money, reduce their stress and anxiety, save time preparing, and look good in the eyes of other.
Sims' work is based on actor training, classical rhetoric, and the findings of social and behavioral science. His writing has appeared in Business Week, Inc. Magazine, Business 2.0 and Consulting to Management. His first Read more
Setting goals
Acknowledging strengths
Diagnosing problems
Offering a process for preparation
Scripting and structuring client's content
Helping the client find powerful personal stories to illustrate her points
Teaching clients how to use PowerPoint effectively
Video taped rehearsals
Coaching on style and executive presence
Honest, supportive feedback
• White House Communications Agency
• McKinsey
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Deloitte Consulting
• KPMG
• Bristol-Myers Squibb
• Johnson & Johnson
• Deutsche Bank
• AIG Capital
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Cisco Systems
• Genentech
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Jump Associates
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Roche
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Celgene
• Franklin Templeton
• Federal Aviation Authority
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Patent and Trademark Office
A Harvard professor called me to say that he had been criticized by his Dean for his lackluster performance at an important symposium. He asks me to give him some help. I flew to Boston to find him in the midst of a crisis of confidence. I asked him to describe the entire event, and learned that he had never had any instruction in how to develop or deliver presentations, despite the fact that he w... Read more
A young, up-and-coming partner at KPMG wants to run for the position of Chairman and asks me to help him get elected. He has been highly successful at building a team in his own area of the firm, and he wants to do the same for the entire organization.
It won't be easy. The firm is a patchwork of partner fiefdoms. Every partner guards his clients, and his territory, and will not allow the exp... Read more
A growing consulting firm providing research to the pharmaceutical industry contacted me to train its researchers to be better presenters.
Unlike some of their competitors, they had a policy that only those who did the research could present it to clients. Other firms chose a different business model: they hired researchers to do research, and sales people to present it.
Insisting that resea... Read more
Creativity and innovative thinking are synonymous with problem solving, and of course the better you are at solving problems, the better leader you can be.
Your role is a problem solving role because you are working out complex deals that everyone can stay committed to. It would seem to me you're well suited for promotion given your experience, which is partially operational in the sense tha... Read more
I have been a presentation coach since 1980, so here’s my advice based on research and my own experience.
First of all, the more you avoid speaking the worse your aversion will become. To minimize the anxiety of speaking (glossophobia) rehearse under performance-like pressure and give yourself one-word instruction. According to Scientific American there are only two proven techniques to conqu... Read more
I'm a speech coach, a presentation coach. I develop messages and performances. I get hired all the time without there being any clear ROI. Mitigating a client's risk of looking bad when giving a speech at a big conference or a high stakes board meeting is usually return enough.
It seems to me that people will support a project if it stands to thwart a potential threat to their security o... Read more
I have been a public speaker for more than 15 years-and Sims Wyeth still taught me how to do a better presentation!
You've made a tremendous contribution to our organization. Each individual is a better communicator and a more effective professional.
Your model for giving story-like presentations has completely transformed my ability to communicate with an audience.
Scott is highly intelligent, extremely well-informed, organized, thoughtful, and a brilliant problem solver.
I put him to work on a task that was tangling my synapses and he untied the knot rather quickly and sent the data marching off like a disciplined squad of crack troops.
He is also fun to work with and easy to get along with. I would recommend him to anyone who needs a seasoned pro to take charge and drive an IT or web project forward. He sees the big picture and lines up the small stuff. He does it all.
I first met Sims in 1997. Because I was to give a presentation at a national industry conference, my manager arranged for Sims to coach me. As a "newbie" public presenter, I was clueless about how to grab and hold the audience's attention--much less how to calm the butterflies in my stomach. Sims's structured and calming approach allowed me to let the butterflies loose and walk on stage confidently. Three years later, I became a Gartner analyst, which required me to give multiple presentations each year. I kept Sims's "bag of tricks" nearby so as to chase away any butterflies that were bold enough to revisit me.
Sims helped us greatly in preparing for a critical presentation. We couldn't have made nearly as good an impression without his training and guidance.
