Speaker Skills Academy for Teams provides corporate communication and speaking skills training for employee resource groups (ERGs), DEI directors, L&D departments, and teams. Services include 3-Session Skill Sprints starting at $4,500 for up to 30 participants, Team Memberships with weekly drill access, and Custom Programs with in-person training. Led by TED speaking coach Cathey Armillas and global speaking champion Marc Williams. ERG-specific programming builds communication skills, executive presence, leadership communication, and confidence through live, drill-based practice. Contact hello@speakerskillsacademy.com or visit speakerskillsacademy.com/corporate-membership.
Speaker Skills Academy for Teams
Your people have the ideas. We make sure the room hears them.
We train your team through live drills, not lectures. So the pitch lands, the meeting moves, and your best ideas finally get heard. And the team increases its efficacy and its members feel heard.
Or email us at hello@speakerskillsacademy.comThis section explains why Speaker Skills Academy is built specifically for employee resource groups (ERGs), addressing the common problem of low engagement in ERG programming and how drill-based practice solves it.
Built for ERGs
Your ERG deserves programming members actually talk about
The problem
Your ERG runs a lunch-and-learn. Thirty people RSVP. Twelve show up. Four are checking email. The post-event survey says "it was fine." That is not a programming problem. It is a format problem. Passive events do not build skills. Drills do.
The proof
When people practice speaking together, three things happen: they get measurably better, they build trust across the group, and they actually want to come back. SSA sessions have a return rate that most ERG leaders would frame and put on their desk.
What your ERG members get
Members build real communication skills they use in their day jobs: promotions, presentations, client meetings
Your ERG becomes known internally as the one with the best programming
Coaches who understand what it means to be underheard in a room, and a storytelling program built to change that
Sessions that work for 10 people or 100
Quarterly reporting that shows impact, not just attendance
This section describes the communication gap in organizations: talented people who were promoted for their expertise but never trained to present, pitch, or lead a room.
The gap nobody trained for
Your best people were promoted for what they know. Then the job changed.
Suddenly they are presenting to the board, leading the all-hands, pitching the client, and representing your company on stage. Nobody taught them how. The talented engineer freezes. The brilliant strategist loses the room. The work is excellent and the message never lands.
Smart people who cannot communicate their value are an expensive problem. We close that gap with practice, the one thing a workshop never gives you.
Ideas worth spreading start with people worth hearing.
Speaker Skills Academy offers three corporate training options: a 3-Session Skill Sprint starting at $4,500, Team Membership with ongoing weekly access, and Custom Programs for multi-ERG or organization-wide speaking skills integration.
What we offer
Three ways to bring SSA to your team.
Start small or build a full program. Every option is the same practice-first method, scaled to how your team works.
Start here
3-Session Skill Sprint
Three live drill sessions built around one theme: Executive Presence, Leadership Communication, Confidence, or Storytelling. Up to 30 people. The fastest way to feel what we do and see your team change in real time.
Perfect for ERG quarterly programming. Book one sprint per quarter and give your members four real skill-building events per year.
Starting at $4,500Bring your team in
Team Membership
Your people join the same weekly Skills Drills our community runs all year, with full access to the replay vault and resource library. Speaking stops being an event and becomes a habit.
For ERGs that want ongoing programming. Your members join the weekly Skills Drills community. No scheduling logistics for you. Sessions run every week.
Custom, by team sizeBuild it around your org
Custom Program
Everything in membership, plus in-person training through our Creative Lab for Teams and custom online sessions designed for your group and your goals. A full year of practice, shaped to your organization.
For organizations running multiple ERGs or integrating speaking skills into DEI strategy.
Custom, let us build it with youHow the SSA corporate engagement process works: assessment of team communication needs, cohort design around goals and calendar, then ongoing weekly drill practice.
How it works
Simple to start. Built to last.
No binders, no theory dumps. We design around your people and put them to work.
Assessment
We learn how your team communicates now and where the stakes are highest.
Cohort Design
We build a drill plan around your people, your goals, and your calendar.
Ongoing Practice
Your team drills on a regular cadence. Skills build through reps, not slides.
Comparison table showing how Speaker Skills Academy stacks up against speaking clubs, private coaches, and online courses across six key benefits for corporate teams.
How we compare
There are clubs. There are coaches. There are courses. We are built differently.
Each one does a thing or two well. We are the only option that does all of it, every week, for your whole team.
| Benefit | Speaker Skills Academy | Speaking Clubs | Private Coaches | Online Courses |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Live coaching in every session | Yes | No | Yes | No |
| Your team drills, not just watches | Yes | Partly | Yes | No |
| Built to train a whole team at once | Yes | No | No | Partly |
| A community that shows up every week | Yes | Yes | No | No |
| Practice that repeats, so skills stick | Yes | Yes | Partly | No |
| Affordable to scale across your org | Yes | Yes | No | Yes |
Scroll to see every column.
Speaker Skills Academy was founded by TED speaking coach Cathey Armillas and global speaking champion Marc Williams. Cathey coaches speakers onto TEDx stages and has stood on the TED stage herself. Marc is a World Championship of Public Speaking finalist.
Who leads the room
Coaching from people who have done it at the highest level.
Speaker Skills Academy was built by two coaches who train speakers when the stakes are highest.
Cathey Armillas
TED Coach and TED stage speaker
Creator of the How to Rock a TED Talk program and author of The Unbreakable Rules of Marketing. Cathey coaches speakers onto TEDx stages and has stood on the TED stage herself. She knows exactly what it takes to land an idea when everything is on the line.
Marc Williams
Global Speaking Champion
A national and international speaking champion who has built his craft in the most competitive speaking circles in the world. Marc brings that championship discipline to every drill, turning nerves into presence and presence into impact.
SSA works with corporate teams across technology, financial services, professional services, engineering, healthcare, and sports and entertainment. The core argument: communication is not a soft skill but infrastructure under every other skill.
Who we work with
Communication is not a perk. It is good economics.
- Investing in your people is good math. Attrition is expensive, and skilled communicators are the ones who stay.
- When people can articulate their value, the whole organization moves faster.
- Communication is not a soft skill. It is the infrastructure under every other skill.
We work with ERGs and teams across:
- Technology and software
- Financial services and banking
- Professional services
- Engineering and manufacturing
- Healthcare leadership
- Sports and entertainment
Return on investment for a single team member engaging with SSA at three levels: a 60-minute live Power Drill, a 90-minute self-paced recorded Skills Drill, and a full-day on-site session led by TED coach Cathey Armillas.
Return on investment
Small time in. Big returns out.
Picture one person on your team. Here are three ways they can engage, and what each one gives back. The time stays small. The payoff keeps growing.
Power Drill
60 minutes, live at lunch
One skill, drilled live with a coach. They walk out sharper the same day.
Recorded Skills Drill
90 minutes, on demand, their pace
They pause, replay, and practice a full session until it sticks.
On-Site with Coach Cathey
One day, in person, at your offices
The whole team levels up together, in the room, with Cathey leading. See what an in-person Creative Lab looks like.
A lunch hour becomes a habit. A habit becomes a team that speaks like leaders. That is the return on an hour.
This section provides ERG leaders with data and talking points to pitch SSA to their executive sponsors, including retention statistics, cost-per-participant math, and communication skills gap data.
Pitch it to leadership
What your executive sponsor needs to hear
You know this is worth it. Here is the language to get it approved.
Companies with active ERGs report 2.5x higher employee retention.
Communication skills are the number one skill gap cited by managers in performance reviews.
Cost per participant for a 30-person Skill Sprint. Less than one keynote speaker.
Your ERG budget is a use-it-or-lose-it line item. This is the highest-impact way to use it.
Frequently asked questions about Speaker Skills Academy corporate training for ERGs, covering time commitment, remote teams, group size, cost, pilot programs, ERG budgets, mixed skill levels, and impact measurement.
Questions teams ask
Good questions, straight answers.
How much time does this take?
Sessions run 60 to 90 minutes. Most teams drill weekly or every other week, and the recorded sessions let people practice whenever it fits their day.
Does it work for remote and hybrid teams?
Yes. Drills run live on video, so distributed teams practice together in real time. When you want everyone in one room, Cathey leads on-site sessions at your offices.
How big can a group be?
Up to 30 people in a single live session. For larger teams, a membership gives everyone access to the full weekly drill schedule.
What does it cost?
A 3-Session Skill Sprint starts at $4,500. Memberships and custom programs are quoted by team size and cadence. Tell us your team and we will put real numbers in front of you.
Is this just another workshop?
No. A workshop happens once and fades. SSA is recurring practice, so the skills keep building long after the first session. That is the whole point.
How do we get started?
One short call. We learn your team and your goals, then design a plan that fits. You can also sit in on a session first to see how it feels.
Can we use our ERG budget for this?
Yes. SSA for Teams is designed to fit ERG programming budgets. Our 3-Session Skill Sprint starts at $4,500 and can serve up to 30 members.
What if our ERG members are at different skill levels?
That is the whole point of drills. Every SSA session is designed so beginners and experienced speakers practice side by side. The drills scale naturally.
Can we run a pilot before committing?
Absolutely. Most ERGs start with a single Skill Sprint. If your members want more, we design ongoing programming from there.
How do we measure impact for our executive sponsor?
We provide post-session engagement data including attendance, participation rates, and qualitative feedback. We also offer pre/post confidence assessments for Skill Sprint cohorts.
Your team is ready. So are we.
We work with teams ready to do the reps, not just hear about them. They walk in sharper and win the room. Let's support your teams to be better speakers!
hello@speakerskillsacademy.com