Case Studies
Communications Consultant
Case Study 1
A company executive had a public speaking opportunity, but there were concerns that the audience wouldn’t be able to connect to the executive’s message. There were too many industry-specific terms and complicated data points.

Discovery:
Many attempts to get the exec to change their presentation failed and the company was worried the presentation wouldn’t be successful. I thought I was being hired to help edit the presentation, but found out the presenter wasn’t on board with these changes so I needed a different approach.
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How my individualization skill helped in this situation:
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After realizing the presenter/exec was a female minority speaking to a mostly white male audience, I wondered if this situation was affecting their stance.
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The presenter confided that they had worked very hard to achieve their position, so they were afraid if they didn’t use big words and share the complex data that they wouldn’t be taken seriously.
My proposed solution:
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A blended presentation of visual aids and a rewritten speech.
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The visual presentation (slides) would show industry terms and data, but the presenter will explain the slides in laymen’s terms showing they know their content so well they can explain it in different ways.
Outcome:
The presentation went great and the executive was very happy with their performance. I explained that only when you truly know what you’re talking about, can you explain it to anyone.
Employee Experience
Case Study 2
Management was having difficulty getting an employee to communicate and follow procedures. According to the employee manual, there had been enough occurrences for this employee to be written up. This employee does great work and is loved by the team so further investigation was more beneficial to the company than just delivering consequences.

Discovery:
It was found that this employee, in an attempt to show the company that she is willing to take on new projects and challenges, found herself overwhelmed. The company wanted to offer a new service that they did not have any operational information on such as how long certain parts would take or what resources the team would need. They were learning as they progressed through the project.
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How my individualization skill helped in this situation:
During the investigative process, I learned two things that aided in my proposed solution:
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This employee’s career thus far was freelancing.
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This was the first full-time agency position they had held.
My proposed solution:
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Bring management and this employee together in a mediation meeting facilitated by me to bring these points to light:
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The next new service or product they want to offer should come with a developmental period before placing expectations on any team member.
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An open line of communication needs to be felt in order for employees to feel comfortable admitting hard things like being overwhelmed.
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Employee was educated on the company’s expectations on communication and how they will have to take future action if communication on the employee’s part doesn’t improve.
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Suggested a modified work schedule for this employee. They thrived as a freelancer which told me they liked working when it best fit their personal life. The employee’s job requires a lot of inspiration and creative types will tell you that inspiration doesn’t always fit between 9-5. Due to this employee working at an agency that still operated during business hours, they work normal business hours Mon, Wed, and Fri, but they have an open schedule on Tuesdays and Thursdays. This solution was possible due to the type of work needed from the employee and the fact that the employee was great at meeting deadlines.
Outcome:
Communications vastly improved resulting in a much happier and more productive employee. All deadlines have been met to date and no further issues have been brought to management.
Business Operations
Case Study 3
I owned an in-person facility during the Covid-19 pandemic shutdown. In order to keep my business open, I needed to figure out how to still provide the services my members paid for before they started asking to cancel their memberships.

Discovery:
I sent out polls and surveys to gauge what my clients would still pay for, and what they could do without, to control my overhead at such an unknown time.
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How my individualization skill helped in this situation:
After 25+ years of experience in customer service and people management, I know that even if someone fills out a survey they usually aren’t 100% honest due to varying factors. Having individualization as a major skill, I am able to “read between the lines”. What people choose to say means just as much as what they leave out when being asked certain questions. I created a list of services I felt matched all of the information offered and not offered by clients.
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My proposed solution:
Turn my in-person facility into a rental facility. After reviewing the state’s shutdown ordinances, I created an entirely new business operation to work with what we had at our disposal.
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Created new safety and liability procedures
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Transformed physical space to ensure separation of clients for their safety
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Invested in new software integrations to handle increased online needs for services to be virtual
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Transformed all intellectual property to a virtual system so it could reach the clients that wanted to remain home
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Administrative changes like updated insurance, policy manuals, lawyer-revised liability waivers, etc.
Outcome:
The business made it through the pandemic and is thriving under new ownership! This transition showed me just how much I love operations and improving the flow of business through people so I decided I wanted to help other businesses thrive in this way.
Operational Change Management
Case Study 4
A TEDx event needed a new speaker intake procedure to ensure a smoother experience for TEDx volunteers, mentors, and the speakers themselves. Creating a TED Talk is a long and unique process that needs to be understood by the speakers before they are too far along in creating their talks.

Discovery:
I decided to interview past speakers and speaker mentors to see what past procedures were helpful and what they found difficult to learn in the moment.
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How my individualization skill helped in this situation:
Most people don’t know what kind of procedure would have been helpful, so individualization helps me take their complaints and translates those into possible solutions. For example, if someone complains about not being able to memorize their talk one month before their talk, then that tells me we need to either change the writing process or schedule memorization workshops and check-in practices way earlier.
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My proposed solution:
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The main reason people have a hard time memorizing a talk is that they first write it like a book report - not a speech. The second reason was that during rehearsals, their talk kept getting changed way too late in the process so they kept having to memorize new material with not enough time.
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I proposed a new breakdown in the talk creation process. Step one, start with an outline of their idea to catch any thoughts or concepts that won’t work for their talk before they spend time writing it out.
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Created a series of workshops that gave training on how to memorize speeches
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Created a “how to practice memorization at home and with friends” program
Outcome:
The TEDx Dayton still uses these steps and workshops to this day. The breakdown proved so successful, they invested in an additional step of having table reads to further prepare the speaker before they get too far along in the writing process!