Lori Silverman

Lori Silverman is a keynote speaker, business strategist, and author who strives in her work to connect people to possibilities and to each other. Her savvy yet down-to-earth style have helped dozens of professionals and companies to realize their true potential and professional success.

Lori’s highly energized and enthusiastic approach and magical stories inspire her audiences to take action. A member of the National Speakers Association, she has mesmerized 1000’s of people with a variety of topics ranging from the humorously edu-taining “Schmoozing: How to Work a Room” to weighty business topics such as “More Than a Quick Fix: Organizational Change that Sticks.”

Lori owns Partners for Progress, a management consulting firm dedicated to helping organizations thank and act differently so they can achieve a higher level of performance. She’s authored myriad books, articles and workbooks including Critical SHIFT and Stories Trainers Tell. Her latest book, a bestseller, is Wake Me Up When the Data Is Over: How Organizations Use Stories to Drive Results. Having earned two Master’s, in business and in counseling, and a B.S. in psychology, Lori shares a fascinating perspective with her audiences.

Topics for Your Event

These are just a few of Lori’s presentation topics. She customizes her speaking engagements and training workshops based on your organization's specific needs and the background of the audience as well as her extensive experience as a management consultant.

“Wake Me Up When the Data Is Over”
What challenges does your organization face? How to retain employees and keep them engaged? Getting everyone’s behavior aligned around the organization’s core values and long-term strategy? Finding sure-fire ways to brand and position the organization? Figuring out how to quickly gain commitment to needed changes? Learn key insights and practices from 171 business leaders representing 81 organizations around the world that are using stories to address these critical business issues and strengthen their overall performance. Get double-digit growth, double digit reductions in turnover, significant increases in employee engagement—and more!

“I recently attended Lori Silverman’s ‘storytelling’ workshop—it was excellent! Lori is a well-read and upbeat presenter, and the interactive format made for a memorable day. The real-world examples in the workshop gave me ideas that I’ve already started implementing at my association.”
- - Larry Commons, Director of Internal Marketing, National Athletic Trainers’ Association, Dallas, TX

“Schmoozing: Meet, Greet, and Speak with Ease”
Social events. Business gatherings. Association meetings. They all call for us to introduce ourselves and engage in multiple conversations, typically in a short period of time, often with folks whom we do not know. Discover what you can do to fell more comfortable in these settings and how you can make the most out of these situations.

“Lori Silverman was a joy to work with from the first introductory phone call through the conference event. I appreciate her professional style, sense of humor, and gift for connecting with people. She used these traits to teach the art of ‘schoomzing’ to delegates at the 2004 Kentucky League of Cities annual convention. Lori’s workshop was not the run-of-the-mill, ‘sit and listen to the speaker ramble’, style of meeting. Instead, Lori used stories to bring her lessons to life. Those stories combined with learning activities stirred up a positive atmosphere that engaged every delegate. I would hire Lori Silverman again.”
- - Karen Butcher, Leadership and Training Manager, Kentucky League of Cities

“The Art of Influence: What Works, What Doesn't Work and Why”
How often do you need to get others in your organization to take a particular action or change their minds on an issue? Ever wonder why some individuals are more successful at achieving these outcomes? Anyone can be influenced; the challenge is learning what really works, what doesn’t work and why. Discover how to enhance your credibility and what techniques to use to positively alter the behaviors, attitudes and beliefs of others to enable you to achieve the results you need at work.

“From Vision to Action: Strategic Planning in Unpredictable Times”
Few organizations effectively plan for the long term. Often, what are thought to be innovative strategic plans are really short-term operational plans or a repeat of past initiatives. Because leaders of organizations are regularly drawn to the demands of the present, they frequently do not have the chance to address the requirements of the future. Some might even contend that in a world where uncertainty and instability are predominant, that it is impossible to plan for the future in longer than one to two year increments. This presentation covers a practical approach to strategic planning that takes into account future trends and uncertainties and their implications on the organization’s long-term success. You will learn how to develop a vision based on these factors and how to translate it into breakthrough strategies and actionable steps that help the organization to clearly focus and achieve its targets.

“You gave the audience exactly what they were looking for at the MGE-sponsored Chamber Network program. Your captivating presentation provided new perspectives and essential guidelines for conducting a successful strategic planning process. I received phone calls and e-mails expressing appreciation and commenting about how valuable chamber of commerce executives and leaders of nonprofit organizations found the information. You are a wonderful inspiration.”
- - Phyllis E. Wilhelm, Director, Economic Development, Madison Gas and Electric Company (MGE)

“More Than a Quick Fix: Organizational Change that Sticks”
When sweeping changes in strategies, technology, work methods and equipment are introduced throughout an organization, they typically impact far more than anyone initially anticipated. As a result, implementation deadlines get pushed out, actual project costs are greater and frustration mounts. Learn how to be successful initiating, facilitating, and sustaining changes that impact large groups of people.

“Lori Silverman received rave reviews from the Marquette University Center for Family Business members who attended her presentation on ‘How to Successfully Implement Organizational Change.’
* Her style . . . . Enthusiastic and informative
* Her stories . . . . Real life
* Her advice . . . . Practical and applicable to businesses of all sizes
Lori Silverman is a ‘must have’ on your future list of speakers.”
- - Sandra Shirk, Director, Marquette University Center for Family Business

“Achieving Business Excellence Through Value Creation”
Given the state of our economy, improving organizational performance is more important than ever. We can no longer ignore the call to create value. It is the foundation for building long-term, sustainable competitive advantage. However this implies a significant shift in our thinking and in how we work. Unfortunately, many of the performance improvement approaches we use today primarily address the cost side of the business enterprise. Learn what you can do to enhance your organization’s competitive position through value creation.

“The Best-Kept Secret in Business Today”
Nike does it. So do 3M and Armstrong Industries. Even NASA, The World Bank, and Van Kampen Investments have embraced it. Imagine being able to capture the attention of even the most distracted employees or customers and have them accurately recall what you told them. Imagine being able to quickly and successfully communicate complex ideas. Imagine being able to inspire people to change—to try a new behavior, to let go of an old attitude, to embrace the future, and to take action. What are these organizations doing, you ask? It’s storytelling. Storytelling is considered by some to be the most powerful currency in that exists today in human communications. Learn how using stories can benefit you, your communications with others, and your organization. Also gain a wealth of ideas on where you can find and use them and what you need to do to make any story a great story for use at work.

“Customer or Consumer? Focus or Obsession?”
Organizations everywhere talk about the need to focus on customers. To sustain competitive advantage in a rapidly changing marketplace, this sort of thinking is not enough. Not only is it important to distinguish between customers and consumers, the time has come to also be concerned about their unknown needs and those of future consumers who don’t have a relationship with your enterprise. Discover what is driving this change, how your enterprise can benefit from expanding its thinking, and how to implement this enhancement in your organization.

“Is there Room for Spirituality in the Workplace?”
Most of us have been brought up believing in the need to separate our spiritual selves from our business beings. “Soft” human gifts such as intuition, life purpose, and creative energy are now acknowledged as having a critical role in our career success. To take advantage of these gifts, we must connect our physical, mental, emotional and spiritual aspects. Discover how to make this connection happen in your life and organization.

“Me, Myself & I”
We each experience many roles in life that help shape our personal identity. However, these roles can also mask the essence of who we really are. Only when we are able to break through the persona we’ve created and connect with our true authenticity, will we be able to enjoy our true potential-at work, at home, in life. Through stories, thought-provoking questions and conversations with others, this presentation provides the tools for you to connect with your inner self.

“Relationships in this Wired, Wired World”
In the not-so-distant past, communications occurred in person or through the use of mail and faxes. Today, with advancements in technology, we are often bombarded with email, voicemail and pages. While these new methods speed up the process of communication and make it easier to transmit information to multiple parties, they bring numerous challenges to each of us. Learn how to better manage these communications and minimize the frustrations and disasters associated with them.

“Tapping Into the Power of Serendipity”
We all have an appreciation for the importance of short- and long-term planning in our lives. This planning makes itself apparent in our daily schedules, how we strategize about our work and our careers, and how the organizations we belong to operate over time. While schedules and plans are extremely beneficial, we also need to recognize and make room for unexpected meaningful coincidences. Learn how attending to serendipity (a.k.a. synchronicity) experiences can lead to insights and potential opportunities that can take your life and your work in new, rewarding directions.

“Using Your COMPASS® to Lead”
Classes on leadership teach the critical behaviors necessary to effectively lead others and ourself. However, they often fail to notice that we all have an internal compass that guides us each and every day. To be truly effective, it is at this level that we need to address what it means to lead. Discover the seven internal compass positions that will help you to become a better leader in all facets of your life

“Workplace Trends in Times of CHAOS”
We are already living in the workplace of the future. Issues like multiple generations working together and ethical considerations driving consumer purchase decisions are the “new” being born within our current ways of working. Our challenge is to figure out how to anticipate and respond to them. Learn about the five trends and forces that are currently in progress, ways in which you can begin to integrate them into your work, and methods for anticipating their future impact on your organization.

Past Clients

Keynotes. Dinner and luncheon meetings. Conference break-out sessions. Workshops. All of the speaking engagements at these organizations have been customized to meet the unique needs of the audience.

What Clients are Saying

“Lori’s Storytelling Workshop taught me how to forge new connections with my staff and other audiences. Her engaging style and sense of humor opened my mind to new possibilities for communicating ideas through stories that capture your attention, then provide moments of insight. I learned that stories can enhance relationships among team members, linking them to a common purpose.”
Michele Rinn
Corporate Services Director & Corporate Secretary
American Petroleum Institute

“Thank you for the excellent presentation you made to our Chicago Chapter of ASTD. The program was one of our highest attended programs this year with 80+ members listening and learning from you. I especially appreciated how you tailored your presentation to our chapter. When we spoke a few months back and I told you that we wanted a business focus to our programs in 2004 I had no idea that you could satisfy our needs so well. You gave example after example of how organizations have used stories to make training stick and impact their bottom line. Everyone wants ROI data now and you showed how crafting appropriate targeted stories could drive ROI of training. I have received thank you emails from my members about your program. Thank you for making us look good and our members happy. We look forward to hearing you again soon.”
Donna Steffey
CCASTD President
Vital Signs Training

“I recently attended Lori Silverman’s ‘storytelling’ workshop—it was excellent! Lori is a well-read and upbeat presenter, and the interactive format made for a memorable day. The real-world examples in the workshop gave me ideas that I’ve already started implementing at my association.”
Larry Commons
Director of Internal Marketing
National Athletic Trainers’ Association, Dallas, TX

“Lori Silverman’s presentation to The Business Forum about storytelling in the corporate world led me to think about my own presentations at work. For example, our staff gets together quarterly and managers reward staffers who’ve contributed above and beyond the norm. Now, instead of simply recognizing their work and giving out a certificate, I tell a story about what the person did, how they achieved their goal, and the obstacles they may have overcome in so doing—in short, I incorporate storytelling into the presentation. The staff loves it and I see people connect better because of the presentation. It humanizes the effort of the staff person. If it weren’t for the example Lori set and the exercises she led us in, I doubt I would have changed my presentations. She showed the power of a good story.”
Kathy Bailey
President-Elect, The Business Forum
Administrative Director, Isthmus Publishing Co., Inc.

“Lori Silverman was a true professional through every aspect of her speaking engagement with the Madison Business & Professional Women. She partnered together with us to pick a topic that fit our group and the amount of time we had available. Working out the logistics was accomplished in a straightforward manner. And the presentation—WOW! She used many examples from her own life and her friends’ lives to illustrate the points she was making. And because these examples were all stories, it gave us something to relate to, kept things interesting and made an impact. We were very happy to have her speak to our organization—she provided a very high-quality presentation to our members. And they took away a lot of value.”
Debra Morrill
Madison Business & Professional Women
Vice President, Program Chair

“Lori can really capture a room. In October 2003, she opened our annual Chapter Leadership Conference and shared stories of teamwork and leadership that tied in with our conference theme. Lori’s enthusiasm and energy captured our audience and her stories left a lasting impression. She also presented ‘Schmoozing: How To Work a Room’ with professionalism and humor. As one participant said, ‘Lori was very interesting and entertaining. She offered some key insights on how to approach people.’ Lori came through for us and did an excellent job.”
Linda Price-Coyer
Chapter Manager/Training Consultant
California Credit Union League

“Lori is the highest-rated meeting speaker that our PMI chapter has had. Her stories are engaging, memorable and meaningful. I highly recommend Lori for keynote speeches as well as training and educational programs. She is a crowd-pleaser that is sure to make your meeting a success.”
Kay Wais, PMP
President
La Crosse PMI Chapter

“Wow! Our special meeting on Stories Trainers Tell with Lori Silverman was a hit! Lori not only shared with us some of her lesson-infused stories, but shared the recipe for crafting stories to enhance learning. Thank you, Lori, for volunteering your time to educate the Trainers’ Network on the power of storytelling.”
Paul Plamondon
Owner, Custom Training Design and Consulting
Coordinator, Trainers’ Network

“You gave the audience exactly what they were looking for at the MGE-sponsored Chamber Network program. Your captivating presentation provided new perspectives and essential guidelines for conducting a successful strategic planning process. I received phone calls and e-mails expressing appreciation and commenting about how valuable chamber of commerce executives and leaders of nonprofit organizations found the information. You are a wonderful inspiration.”
Phyllis E. Wilhelm
Director, Economic Development
Madison Gas and Electric Company (MGE)

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