If any of these sound familiar, you’re in the right place:

You lead people and know your communication could be sharper — in team meetings, boardrooms, one-on-ones, or moments where every eye is on you. You want to show up differently than you have been.

You feel the pull toward the stage and you’re ready to answer it. Maybe it’s a conference keynote, a TEDx-style talk, or your own platform. You don’t need someone to tell you that you have a message — you need the framework and coaching to deliver it.

You’ve been avoiding speaking opportunities, rambling through slides, or finishing a presentation unsure if your message landed. That’s not a talent problem. It’s a training problem — and it’s fixable in three days.

Still unsure? Reach out to Lindsey at lindsey@impacteightyeight.com and she’ll help you figure out if this is the right fit.

Ryan Taft, founder of Impact Eighty-Eight and a Certified Speaking Professional™ (CSP®) — a designation earned by fewer than 20% of speakers worldwide and the highest earned designation conferred by the National Speakers Association. With over two decades of experience as a keynote speaker, leadership coach, and sales trainer, Ryan has coached leaders across North America and delivered workshops and keynotes to audiences of over 30,000 people—from Fortune 100 executives to high-growth entrepreneurs. He brings a rare combination of inspiration and tactical precision to every room he leads, and his style is energizing, direct, and always grounded in real-world application.

Not at all. Speak to Lead is built to meet you where you are. The program includes people who have never spoken in front of a group and people who present regularly and want to get significantly better. What they all have in common is the decision to stop letting their communication hold them back. You'll walk away sharper, more confident, and ready to lead with your voice—regardless of where you're starting.

Good—that means you care, and you're exactly who this experience is designed for. Nerves are not a weakness, they're energy that hasn't been directed yet. Speak to Lead gives you the frameworks, the real-time coaching, and the safe environment to work through that anxiety and turn it into presence. You will not be thrown into the deep end without support. This is a room where people show up honest about where they are and leave having surprised themselves.

Both—and that's intentional. The program includes two tailored paths so each participant gets what they actually need:

One for internal leaders focused on team communication, executive presence, high-stakes conversations, and boardroom influence.

One for external communicators preparing for keynotes, conference stages, TEDx-style talks, and public platforms.

No matter which path fits you, the core skills—clarity, presence, storytelling, and the ability to move a room— ransfer everywhere. If your voice is part of how you lead or grow, this will move you forward.

Three full days of coaching-focused, hands-on training, Nothing passive, nothing generic. This is not a seminar where you sit and take notes. It is a leadership lab where you practice in real time, receive direct feedback from Ryan, and work alongside a small group of leaders who are all there to grow.

Day 1: You identify your personal stories, learn the storytelling framework, and deliver your first talk in a small pod before the day ends.

Day 2: You build a full presentation structure using the STAT framework and spend the afternoon on stage, working on movement, voice, and audience connection with real-time coaching.

Day 3: Full-length presentations to the group, standing ovations, individual coaching, and a practical session on slides, tech, and what to do when things go sideways.

You leave with a complete talk ready to deliver, a personal communication toolkit, and a peer group you’ll still be in contact with months from now.

November 3–5, 2026 at Loft Lucia in Chicago, Illinois. Additional travel and accommodation details will be released as the event approaches. If you have specific questions about logistics before registering, reach out to lindsey@impacteightyeight.com and she'll help you plan accordingly.

Speak to Lead is $3,604, taxes included. A credit card processing fee of $104 applies at checkout.

For context: a single session with an executive communication consultant typically runs $400–$600 per hour. Three days at Speak to Lead gives you 24 hours of coaching, structured frameworks, and real practice reps, in a 20-person room where Ryan knows your name and your specific challenge by the end of Day 1.

Most attendees describe it as one of the highest-return investments they made in themselves that year, based on how they showed up at work in the days and weeks after returning.

All purchases are final once registered. If a serious circumstance arises before November 3rd, reach out to Lindsey at lindsey@impacteightyeight.com. We will find a fair path forward.

Interested in bringing multiple leaders or exploring a private team experience? Contact Lindsey directly for group pricing.

Click any “Secure My Seat” or “Claim My Spot” button on this page to go directly to checkout. Registration takes about two minutes.

If you have questions before committing, reach out to Lindsey at lindsey@impacteightyeight.com. She will get back to you personally, usually within one business day.

Spots are capped at 20 by design. As of today, 15 remain.

Yes, and reach out to Lindsey directly at lindsey@impacteightyeight.com for group options.

All purchases are final once registered. Here is why: we commit to our participants in advance — locking in the venue, building a group that counts on every seat being filled, and preparing coaching that is specific to the people in the room. We cannot backfill seats once the event is set.

That said, we are not inflexible. If a serious medical emergency or significant life circumstance arises before November 3rd, reach out to Lindsey at lindsey@impacteightyeight.com. We will consider a full or partial refund, or defer your registration to a future event at no additional cost. If life deals you something genuinely unexpected before the event, we will find a fair path forward.

If you have any hesitation about committing, we would rather you talk to Lindsey first than register and regret it.

Registrations are non-transferable without our agreement. However, we are reasonable about this. If your situation changes before the event — a job change, a role shift, or another significant circumstance — reach out to Lindsey at lindsey@impacteightyeight.com as soon as possible.

Transfer requests must be submitted before October 15th to allow enough time for the incoming participant to receive all pre-event communications and be properly prepared before day one. 

All transfer requests go to Lindsey directly.

Most professional development and training budgets cover exactly this kind of investment. Here’s how to make the case:

Connect communication directly to performance. Better speakers close more deals, lead more effective meetings, and move faster through organizations. That’s a direct ROI your manager can understand.

Use specific language. Instead of “I want to get better at speaking,” say: “I want to build executive presence and improve how I lead meetings and presentations. This program is specifically designed for that.”

We can provide a formal invoice and documentation for reimbursement. Many attendees have had this fully covered by their employer.

If you need help writing the email to your manager, reach out to Lindsey at lindsey@impacteightyeight.com — she will give you the exact language that works.

Yes, and often the people who walk in with the most experience get the most out of it.

Speak to Lead is not remedial training. It’s a coaching and refinement experience. If you already speak regularly, Ryan will work with you on the specific habits and patterns that are limiting your ceiling — the things that are hard to see from the inside.

Several past attendees were already experienced presenters when they arrived. What they left with was a sharper framework, real-time feedback on their specific delivery challenges, and a clear path to the next level.

The 20-person format means coaching is individual, not generic. Ryan works with where you actually are, not a beginner baseline.

Past attendees have included VPs of Sales, Directors of Operations, Senior Engineers, entrepreneurs, and people making their first move into leadership. The room is intentionally diverse in role and industry.

What they all have in common is the decision that their communication is worth investing in. Past attendees have consistently described the room as warm, open, and free of competitive energy. Everyone is there to grow, not to impress.

If you’re worried about being out of place: you won’t be. The format is designed so the room itself becomes a safe place to fail, practice, and improve together.

You leave with a complete workbook, your story framework, your talk structure, and the frameworks you built over three days. These are yours to use immediately.

Ryan reviews recordings for participants who want post-event feedback. Details on that process will be shared during the event.

The peer group you build during three days tends to stay connected. Past groups have kept in regular contact months after the event.

Impact Eighty-Eight also runs ongoing programming, training, and events. Attending Speak to Lead connects you to that broader community.

You don’t need to come in with a prepared talk or a polished story. The entire point of Day 1 is to help you find and build that from scratch, in the room, with coaching. 

What does help: showing up with an open mind about which stories from your life might be worth telling, and a genuine willingness to get on your feet and try things.

If you want to think ahead: consider one or two moments from your career or life that changed how you see the world, and be ready to talk about them. But this is optional — Ryan will guide you through the story-finding process on Day 1 regardless.

Probably a little — and that’s exactly why it’s worth doing.

Several past attendees described themselves as strongly introverted when they arrived. What they found was a room where the discomfort was managed carefully — you build up to bigger moments, practice in small pods first, and Ryan creates an environment where failure is the point, not something to be ashamed of.

Being introverted doesn’t mean you can’t communicate powerfully. It often means you have more depth to draw from. This program teaches you how to channel that into presence and delivery, not how to perform like an extrovert.

If you’re nervous: that’s a good sign. It means you care about getting better.

A few things that are genuinely different:

The room is capped at 20 people by design. Most programs of this type run 50 to 100+ participants. At 20, Ryan knows your name, your challenge, and your delivery by the end of Day 1. The feedback is individual, not generic.

You practice in the room, not just listen. Speak to Lead is not a seminar. You are on your feet multiple times per day, delivering real content to real people and getting coached in real time.

Ryan Taft holds a Certified Speaking Professional designation earned by fewer than 20% of speakers worldwide and has trained over 35,000 professionals across North America. The frameworks you’ll use are the same ones he has tested and refined over two decades.

Past attendees have consistently described it as unlike any other training they’ve attended — specifically because of the human connection in the room and the emphasis on you as a person, not just as a presenter.