About the Author
Bob Montesclaros
CAROL KINSEY GOMAN, PHD, IS AN international keynote speaker, specializing in leadership and nonverbal communication. She coaches executives, women leaders, salespeople, and managers to build strong and productive business relationships by projecting confidence, credibility, caring, and charisma. A frequent presenter for The Conference Board, The Executive Forum, and the International Association of Business Communicators, Carol presents keynote addresses and seminars on leadership, collaboration, body language in the workplace, and change communication to corporations, government agencies, and major trade associations.
Her clients include more than 100 organizations in 24 countries—corporate giants such as Consolidated Edison, 3M, and PepsiCo; major nonprofit organizations such as the American Institute of Banking, the Healthcare Forum, and the American Society of Training and Development; high-tech firms such as Hewlett-Packard and Texas Instruments; agencies such as the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, US Army Tank-Automotive and Armaments Command, and the Library of Congress; and international firms such as Petróleos de Venezuela, Dairy Farm in Hong Kong, SCA Hygiene in Germany, and Wärtsilä Diesel in Finland.
Carol has been cited as an authority in such media as Industry Week, Investor’s Business Daily, CNN’s Business Unusual, American Public Media’s Marketplace, MarketWatch Radio, and NBC Nightly News. She is a leadership blogger for Forbes.com and an expert contributor to the Washington Post’s “On Leadership” column. She has published more than 300 articles in the fields of organizational change, leadership, innovation, communication, the multigenerational workforce, collaboration, employee engagement, and body language in the workplace. She’s the author of 12 business books, including The Nonverbal Advantage: Secrets and Science of Body Language at Work and The Silent Language of Leaders: How Body Language Can Help—or Hurt—How You Lead.
Carol has served as adjunct faculty at John F. Kennedy University in the international MBA program, at the University of California in the Executive Education Department, and for the Chamber of Commerce of the United States at its Institutes for Organization Management. She’s a faculty member for the Institute of Management Studies, presenting training seminars internationally.
To contact Carol about speaking engagements, consulting, or leadership coaching or to register for her newsletter, please e-mail [email protected]; call (510) 526-1727; or visit her online at www.ckg.com, www.nonverbaladvantage.com, and www.liarsatwork.com.
Current Speaking Topics
The Silent Language of Leaders: How Body Language Can Help—or Hurt—How You Lead
Body language is the management of time, space, appearance, posture, gesture, touch, facial expression, eye contact, and voice. When your verbal and nonverbal messages are out of alignment, communication suffers and your messages are weakened. Using body language that supports your business goals is the key to leadership effectiveness—to your ability to project confidence, build relationships of trust, inspire your team, and present content convincingly.
The two sets of nonverbal signals people look for in leaders—and the circumstances that make one more effective than the other
Five mistakes your team will make when they read your body language
How to tell what others really feel about what you just said
The all-time greatest speaker I have ever worked with. I’ve worked with Carol numerous times over a 12-year period. She has an incredible rapport and ability to connect with the audience. I’ve seen her present to an audience of CEOs and totally blow them away. Her material is always original and fresh, and she knows it like a book.
— Conference Coordinator, The Conference Board
Body Language for Women Leaders: Traps and Tips for Making an Impact
When first introduced to a leader, people immediately and unconsciously assess her for warmth (empathy, likeability, caring) and authority (power, credibility, status). “Warm” leaders connect with staff in a way that makes people want to do a great job because of that personal connection, affection, and respect. But people also look for leaders who project status and authority, who make them feel secure, and who they believe can follow through and achieve results. Women are champions in the warmth and empathy arena but lose out with power and authority cues—most often because they fall prey to 10 common body language traps.
Ten body language traps that rob women leaders of their power and authority
Tips to project instant confidence, credibility, caring, and charisma
Sharpening your skill at reading body language from head to toes
Carol spoke at our Global Executive Women’s Summit to an appreciative group. Some of their comments: “Really, really informative, applicable, and fun! Thank you.” “What a dynamic speaker! And such a useful topic.” “She was funny and relevant, and this was an ideal topic for business.”
— Senior Director, Global Learning and Development, Expedia
The Power of Collaborative Leadership: None of Us Is Smarter Than All of Us
Creating collaborative teams that are networked to span organizational boundaries requires a new leadership model—one that replaces command and control with trust and inclusion. The leader’s new role is to encourage employees to see themselves as empowered and valued contributors and to help them build their knowledge base, expand their personal networks, and offer their ideas and perspectives in service of a common goal. This program will give you the insight and the skills to build collaborative relationships and to create an environment in which people choose to participate and contribute.
Why people don’t tell what they know—and how to overcome those barriers
How to build the five levels of trust needed for collaboration
Body language tips for collaborative leaders
Carol opened our governing board’s two-day strategic-planning session with an interactive program on collaboration. Informative and entertaining, her body language tips for collaborative leaders were referred to throughout the rest of the meeting. She was great!
— Executive Director, Northern Rural Training
Employment Consortium
Body Language for Sales and Negotiation: Building Relationships and Closing the Deal
We make major decisions about one another—assessing credibility, trustworthiness, confidence, power, status, and competence—within the first few seconds of meeting. Once someone mentally labels you as “likeable” or “unlikeable,” “candid” or “deceptive,” everything else you do is viewed through that filter. How convincing you are in sales and negotiation is strongly influenced by unconscious factors such as the way your body postures match the other person, the level of physical activity as you talk, the amount of eye contact you use, and the degree to which you set the tone—literally—of the conversation.
How to make a positive impression in the first seven seconds—and maintain it throughout the entire meeting
How to spot the body language signals of uncertainty, resistance, deception, and “ready to buy”
What to do when faced with nonverbal resistance
Carol was far and away the best keynote speaker we have ever had at our conventions. She was engaging, interactive, and very practical. Our directors are very excited to begin using her insights right away to improve their sales efforts.
— President, LearningRx
Communicating Change: Verbal and Nonverbal Messages That Inspire People to Action!
After all the meetings and memos, feedback and focus groups, up to 75 percent of all large-scale change efforts fail. There’s a reason why this scenario is so common: people. Human beings are complex entities, and all of the strategy sessions in the world won’t make a dent in their attitudes and behaviors unless you learn to transform their concerns and fears into confidence and commitment. In most cases, the manner in which change is communicated is more important than the nature of that change.
The 10 biggest verbal and nonverbal mistakes leaders make when communicating change
The difference between incremental and discontinuous change, and the emotional literacy needed to lead people through both
How to help people in your organization (or team or department) go from “surviving change” to “thriving on change”
Damn! You’re good! I spent all day Sunday basking in the reflected glory of your keynote talk opening the night before for our Training Editors Conference. You were witty and inspiring and you suggested remedies that were doable.
— Program Director, The Freedom Forum Pacific Coast Center
The Truth about Lies in the Workplace: How to Spot Liars, Why We Believe Them, and How to Deal with Them
The Association of Certified Fraud Examiners’ business fraud report estimates annual losses in the United States at $3.5 trillion! If you knew how to spot deception, you could reduce those costs by hiring the right personnel, choosing the right partners, and believing the right people. When lying in the workplace becomes pervasive, it damages trust, collaboration, and productivity. By creating a high-trust environment, you can decrease destructive lies while liberating employee energy, creativity, and engagement.
The five most surprising facts about lies in the workplace
Verbal and nonverbal tips for spotting liars at work—and strategies for dealing with them when you do
How to decrease destructive lies by creating a high-trust work environment
Carol’s high-energy presentation to MBA students at Stanford was a great hit with our students. I’d strongly encourage others to work with Carol. She’s a pro and a joy!
— Director, Mastery in Communication Initiative, Stanford Graduate School of Business