The Strategy Skills Podcast: Management Consulting | Strategy, Operations & Implementation | Critical Thinking

Michael Chad Hoeppner, CEO of GK Training and adjunct professor at Columbia Business School, brings a deeply practical lens to one of the most undervalued professional skills: spoken communication. With roots in professional acting and over two decades coaching executives, Hoeppner challenges conventional wisdom, arguing that most communication advice is either vague (“slow down”) or abstract (“just be confident”), and fails to address the real issue: communication is physical.   In this episode, he shares specific, kinesthetic methods that help clients speak more clearly under pressure. From using Lego blocks to build well-structured thoughts, to timing answers with a wiffle ball in political debate prep, Hoeppner demonstrates that improving communication is not about talent, it’s about training behavior.   “Speaking is movement. We put air into action—that’s what talking is. And you can learn to do it a lot, lot better.”   Key Insights: Delivery is Undervalued, but Often Drives Perception “Most coaching hy