Speakeasy Inc.

Speakeasy Inc. Great journeys require great guides. You need to work with someone who will lead you where you want to go and inspire you to go even further.

Speakeasy provides personal growth, communication development and communication consulting services to some of the most influential business leaders in the world. When you journey to become a great communicator, you need to explore with someone who understands the commitment, knows the course, and sees the possibilities. That's the kind of guide you'll find at Speakeasy. As full-time members of ou

r staff, our instructors and consultants are dedicated to teaching, learning, and doing. You'll benefit from their expertise and personal coaching. And you'll benefit from the insight they've gained as they continually advance through new thresholds on their own communication journeys. Get to know the people who can help you become a more powerful communicator ...

Trust isn’t just a cultural issue. It’s an operational one.When trust breaks down across differences, it can stall produ...
04/24/2026

Trust isn’t just a cultural issue. It’s an operational one.

When trust breaks down across differences, it can stall productivity and undermine innovation.

If people don’t trust each other’s motives or information, progress slows. Decisions stall. Ideas stay unspoken.

Communication is often where that friction first shows up.

Who do people trust most today?Scientists and teachers remain among the most trusted voices globally, even as trust in m...
04/21/2026

Who do people trust most today?

Scientists and teachers remain among the most trusted voices globally, even as trust in most other institutions continues to erode.

What do these professions have in common? People believe they're telling the truth.

We asked Speakeasy Distinguished Faculty Sandra Ashe what communication behavior most affects whether someone sounds credible when they speak.

"The most important communication behavior that affects whether someone sounds credible is honesty. Listeners can tell when someone is covering, obfuscating and avoiding a straight answer."

But there's a second factor just as important:

"Many business communicators use buzzwords, acronyms, and long-winded generalities that really don’t say anything useful. When this occurs, credibility is sacrificed."

And a third—perhaps the most underestimated:

"When our clients truly see and spend a moment of time with individual listeners, the perception of trustworthiness and care increases."

Honesty. Clarity. Human connection. Three things that no amount of polish can substitute for—and that show up, or don't, in every conversation.

Listening without judgment is one of the foundational skills of trust brokering.But what does that look like inside a le...
04/17/2026

Listening without judgment is one of the foundational skills of trust brokering.

But what does that look like inside a leadership conversation?

Speakeasy Senior Faculty Paula Hamilton puts it this way:

"A consistent theme I hear from leaders is that they struggle to listen without judgment because they are typically scanning for problems and formulating solutions — especially in today's fast-paced, ever-changing business conditions."

Paula explores this in depth on the Speakeasy blog, connecting her perspective to what research reveals about trust in the workplace right now.

https://www.speakeasyinc.com/listening-without-judgment-leadership/

The Edelman Trust Barometer describes a new leadership capability: trust brokering.Trust brokering means helping people ...
04/15/2026

The Edelman Trust Barometer describes a new leadership capability: trust brokering.

Trust brokering means helping people bridge differences in values, information, and perspectives.
One of the core skills behind it is listening without judgment.

Not listening to reply or correct.

Listening to understand what someone is actually saying.

When leaders listen this way, conversations change.

04/10/2026

Seven in ten people say they hesitate to trust someone who is different from them.

Organizations feel this tension every day. Teams bring together people with different backgrounds, perspectives and ways of thinking.

Whether those differences strengthen a team or weaken trust usually depends on one thing: how the conversation is handled.

When people feel heard and understood, differences become useful. When they feel dismissed, trust breaks down quickly.

What makes collaboration actually work?In DARE!, by Scott Weiss, chairman of Speakeasy, Ron Ricci answers that question ...
04/08/2026

What makes collaboration actually work?

In DARE!, by Scott Weiss, chairman of Speakeasy, Ron Ricci answers that question for his organization: “Trust is what makes Cisco’s culture of teamwork and collaboration work.”

It is a simple point, but an important one. Collaboration is not just about process. It depends on whether people feel safe speaking honestly, responding candidly and working through ambiguity without posturing.

That is one reason trust sits at the heart of Speakeasy’s work. Strong communication helps create the conditions for people to listen, speak plainly and work through disagreement together.

The strongest cultures do not just talk about collaboration. They build the trust that makes it possible.

One of the more interesting findings in this year’s Edelman Trust Barometer is where people place their trust.Across the...
04/06/2026

One of the more interesting findings in this year’s Edelman Trust Barometer is where people place their trust.

Across the countries surveyed, the institution people trust most is their employer.

That result says something important about leadership. Most people don’t form their opinion about trust from a company’s public messaging. They form it from what happens inside the organization.

Employees watch how leaders explain decisions. They notice whether questions receive clear answers. They remember how uncomfortable topics are handled.

Those interactions are where credibility is built or lost.

Communication inside organizations is critical right now. People are looking for signals about whether the leaders around them can be trusted.

04/03/2026

Every year, the Edelman Trust Barometer surveys more than 30,000 people across 28 countries about trust in leaders and institutions.

This year’s findings have a lot to say about leadership communication.

Several of the report’s themes—trust inside organizations, credibility and listening without judgment—show up regularly in our work with executives.

We’ll share a few observations from the research and connect them to what we see in leadership conversations every day.

"I'm deathly afraid of speaking to large groups of people."James Sandoval has launched businesses, managed major budgets...
04/01/2026

"I'm deathly afraid of speaking to large groups of people."

James Sandoval has launched businesses, managed major budgets, moved across the world to build something new. He's not someone who backs down from hard things.

But put him in front of a room? Different story. He dreaded every second—and left feeling like he'd let himself (and the audience) down.

A few days with Speakeasy faculty member Daniel Frysh didn't fix everything overnight. James is clear about that. But something shifted. He started leading AI coding hackathons — groups of 10, then 40 — and actually felt present. Like himself, but clearer.

He calls himself a late bloomer. We just think he finally had the right space to grow into what was already there.

If you've been putting off investing in your communication development, James's take is simple: "It's not easy, but it's so worth it."

03/30/2026

Gallup's five traits have one common denominator. Communication.

Motivation. Workstyle. Initiation. Collaboration. Analytical thinking.

All are enacted verbally. Leadership performance is visible in how you speak when it matters.

For over 50 years, developing that communication is what Speakeasy does. If you're ready to work on yours, let's talk.

Gallup says great managers take an analytical approach to strategy and problem solving.Communication brings thought proc...
03/23/2026

Gallup says great managers take an analytical approach to strategy and problem solving.

Communication brings thought process to life when complex thinking becomes something others can actually act on.

Strategic thinking that stays in your head — or gets buried in data — doesn't move teams forward. It creates confusion and hesitation.

The real skill isn't the thinking itself. It's translating it clearly enough that your team can run with it.

Gallup says great managers build committed teams with deep bonds.Communication brings collaboration to life when people ...
03/18/2026

Gallup says great managers build committed teams with deep bonds.

Communication brings collaboration to life when people feel safe enough to show up fully.

That means creating an environment where disagreement doesn't have consequences, where people know where they stand, and where listening is as important as speaking.

Collaboration isn't chemistry. It's what happens when a manager's communication makes trust possible.

Address

3438 Peachtree Road NE Ste 1000
Atlanta, GA
30326

Opening Hours

Monday 8:30am - 5:30pm
Tuesday 8:30am - 5:30pm
Wednesday 8:30am - 5:30pm
Thursday 8:30am - 5:30pm
Friday 8:30am - 5:30pm

Telephone

(404) 541-4800

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