Each week on “On a Mission” we talk to community leaders who are out to make a positive impact in the area. Today, our host Wendy Norfleet talks to Madeline Schwarz from Madeline Schwarz Coaching.

Madeline is a communication coach who has spent years on the sidelines being talked over. Now, she runs her own firm teaching others how communicate without fear.

To learn more, visit https://www.madelineschwarzcoaching.com

Short company description: I help quiet leaders and organizations share their story, lead their teams and shift cultural conversations.

What makes your company unique?: I’m on a mission to make communication more fun. I start every training with a quiz where people identify their speaking personality and it’s a vegetable. It gets people laughing about a topic that brings up a lot of anxiety.

How do you define success?: I love Walt Whitman’s definition: You have achieved success when you have lived well, laughed often and loved much; you have gained the respect of intelligent people and the love of little children (modified to be gender neutral)

Who in the industry inspires you and why?: Susan Cain because she started the Quiet Revolution

What is a tip for success that you would provide someone in your same industry?: There’s a missing ingredient in communication training. I can give you all the tools and strategies in the world but unless you change how you’re thinking about communication, you’re still going to dread it and it’s going to show up in every presentation, every meeting and every conversation

What excites you most about your industry?: I love seeing the confidence people gain when they give the presentation they never thought was possible. It completely changes how they show up in life.