Speak with Conviction and Write for Impact
Communicate with Mastery gives readers a rich treasure trove of frameworks and tools for leadership communication as developed and taught over the past decade at Stanford’s Graduate School of Business. Designed for the business leader on the go, it provides you WITH quick access to helpful approaches to vexing communication problems leaders face today in speaking and writing to various audiences.
Every time you write or speak, you need to make your words count. This book shows you how.
“Communicate with Mastery provides leaders at all levels of experience and confidence the tools they need to improve their speaking and writing.”
CEO, Duarte Inc.
Author, Slide:ology, Resonate, and Illuminate
To be a leader with influence in today’s world, you’ll need to share your ideas clearly, powerfully, and memorably.
Meet the Authors
JD SCHRAMM
A passionate coach and gifted communicator in his own right, JD Schramm treasures the opportunity to bring out the best in those he teaches, advises, or inspires through his speaking, coaching, and teaching. Thousands of students at Stanford, Columbia, NYU, USC, and UC-Davis have benefited from his hallmark teaching style and rigorous feedback, helping them speak with conviction and write with impact.
Beyond the classroom, JD works with individuals, teams, and entire organizations to communicate with greater Mastery. A sought-after speaker and trainer, he’s worked with firms and groups including the Aspen Institute, Qualtrics, YPO, Breakline, Jane Street Financial, Genentech, Ciena, AQR Capital, Adams Street Partners, Schmidt Science Fellows, NASA, Price Waterhouse Coopers, and Google. JD invests the same commitment to helping a client prepare for Davos or TED that he does to secure their next round of funding or win a pitch competition.
JD Schramm has spoken at TED and TEDx events and has coached scores of others to do the same. His proteges have spoken at Davos, the Aspen Ideas Festival, and even before congressional hearings. His writing has appeared in the Washington Post, the San Francisco Chronicle, the Huffington Post, and Harvard Business Review.
AN active member of the LGBTQ community, JD’s particularly focused his energy on inclusion efforts within higher education and communities of faith. He’s an advocate for suicide prevention, foster care services, and HIV/AIDS research. Schramm holds his Ed.D. in higher education leadership from the University of Pennsylvania, his MBA from NYU’s Stern School of Business, and his BFA in theater from Emporia State University in Kansas. He and his husband, Rev. Ken Daigle, make their home in San Francisco, raising three very active children.
An executive communication and leadership coach based in the San Francisco Bay Area. She began her coaching career at the Stanford Graduate School of Business, where she was an early member of the Mastery in Communication Initiative and spent nearly a decade in a variety of coaching roles, including the LOWKeynotes and India Innovation Growth programs. Since then, Kara’s coaching and training have offered thousands of leaders the tools to speak more confidently off the cuff; to become faster and better writers, more competent storytellers, and more empathetic and efficient problem-solvers; and to develop executive presence that feels authentic to them. Her collaborations in Silicon Valley range from household names like Facebook and Salesforce to unique startups just beginning to craft their company cultures.
Kara holds an MFA in fiction writing from Columbia University and lives in San Francisco with her daughter.
Buy JD’S Book Today!
Don’t wait to get the tools you need.
Grab your Copy Today.
Buy At The Stores Listed Below:
Learn how to get the results you desire as a leader and communicator, including:
Speak with conviction and write for impact.
Tailor your communication to any goal, setting, or audience.
Scale your leadership through effective coaching.
What They Have To Say
-
![Headshot of a woman with shoulder-length dark hair, smiling, wearing a white top.]()
For over a decade we have engaged JD to help prepare faculty leaders for presentations at our most strategic donor events. His ability to quickly establish trust with world-class physicians and scientists makes all the difference in the effectiveness of their message and delivery. He has played a huge part in the success of our event each year.
Eileen L. DiFranco
Director of Development Communications
Stanford Medicine -
![Portrait of an older man with gray hair wearing a blue collared shirt, smiling slightly against a dark background.]()
JD balances rigor and compassion when he works with speakers. He helped me prepare for several talks related to the Dalai Lama's visit to Stanford. His coaching helped me not just in those remarks, but also in numerous talks I've delivered since.
James R. Doty, M.D.,
Neurosurgeon, Founder CCARE at Stanford, Author of Mind Magic”
-
![Person with curly hair and glasses smiling, holding a sign that says 'GIVE', sitting on a brown leather couch.]()
For years we’ve benefitted from JD’s exceptional coaching for our grant recipients. He has an unparalleled ability to listen to a short pitch and help a nonprofit leader transform it into a clear, compelling story of value and impact. He balances rigor and relationship to bring out their best.
Jill Minkus
Director of Grants, Battery Powered
-
JD has taught thousands of Stanford students to be effective, and even masterful, communicators. His insights and guidance will benefit any leader who takes the time to put them into action.
Jonathan Levin,
President of Stanford
-
How can you effectively convey enthusiasm, excitement, motivation, and discovery? Academics are called upon all the time to give seminars, seemingly to do exactly that yet most fail to achieve these goals. I counted myself among them- until I had a set of master classes with JD Schramm. I now employ what I learned from JD when I teach Stanford undergraduates how to “become whatever they want to be” through effective communication. Suffice to say, this is a skill that can be learned, and JD will help you realize that potential.
Dr. Jill Helms,
Professor, Dept. of Surgery, Stanford University
-
JD Schramm is a master teacher and thoughtful listener who engages people of all ages to find the story within them and share it with the world. JD Schramm brings decades of experience as well as frameworks, exercises, and the tools of play to help people find the story within them and share it with the world. He offers both the knowledge of storytelling and the gift of listening to ensure everyone is heard and seen.
Denise Brosseau,
CEO, Thought Leadership Lab
-
JD Schramm has been an indispensable partner to our cybersecurity organization, elevating the way we communicate, influence, and lead. His coaching in public speaking, executive presence, and storytelling has transformed not only the confidence of our team members but also the clarity and impact of the messages we deliver to stakeholders across the company. JD brings a remarkable combination of expertise, empathy, and structure to every session. He meets people exactly where they are—whether they’re preparing for high-stakes executive briefings, shaping technical narratives for broader audiences, or simply striving to become more compelling communicators. His guidance has helped our team articulate complex cybersecurity topics in a way that is accessible, persuasive, and memorable.
Lauren Sholley White,
Director, Head of Office of the CISO, PayPal
-
![Zachary Gidwitz Testimony]()
JD is an alchemist. I've never seen anyone like him. The ability to take one’s painful past, understand it, analyze it, and transform it into the gold that powers your personal story is the stuff of which successful careers are made. I've worked with JD, during which time he has helped me transition from a job that was just a job to leading a company that is fully aligned with my life mission.
Zachary Gidwitz,
Co-Founder and CEO at OpenRecovery
Let’s Get Started
