If You’re Here, You’re Likely Confronting One Of Two Realities.
Your communication isn’t creating the clarity you need, or you know it could be doing more.
Teams feel it every day… conversations that miss the mark, updates that raise more questions than they answer, and messages meant to align that land unevenly. In workplaces full of urgency, information, and competing priorities, communication can easily lose its power to guide.
For more than two decades, JD Schramm has helped teams and organizations communicate with greater intention and mastery. His work focuses on helping groups slow down, get clear on what matters, and shape messages that create shared understanding so that communication becomes a source of alignment and cohesion, not friction.
Communicate to Inspire Action
Communicate to Inspire Action
Highlights Reel 2025
The Difference Mastery Makes
When JD redefines how leaders communicate:
Teams feel understood.
Messages land in ways that engage people and turn confusion into alignment.
Decisions move faster.
Leaders learn to communicate with intention, reducing back-and-forth and accelerating action.
Meetings shrink.
By focusing messages on what matters, updates are shorter, repetition is minimized, and discussions are more productive.
Priorities snap into focus.
Leaders help teams see what matters most, why it matters, and where to focus their energy.
People feel connected to their work and one another.
Mastery transforms communication into shared understanding that builds trust, engagement, and momentum.
“If communication has felt more exhausting than energizing lately, you’re not alone. But you can shift it, and I’d love to help.”
What They Have To Say
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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 -
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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”
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
Keynote Topics
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Communicate with Mastery
Move beyond competent communication to mastery, so messages create alignment, engagement, and confident action
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Compelling Data Stories
Turn metrics into meaningful stories that create understanding and drive decisions
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Storytelling that Drives Results
Craft stories to create shared understanding so ideas move people instead of getting lost
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Simplifying Complexity
Transform technical or complex concepts into clear, compelling to engage and create shared action
