Speaking With Impact, a certified Woman and Minority-owned business that specializes in training on how to be “mainstage ready,” presentation skills, speaker coaching, executive coaching, and crisis communication announces a successful mother-daughter business duo that’s 30 years in the making. Denise Harrington, founder and CEO of Speaking With Impact, and daughter Nia Harrington, COO, are working to further elevate the company to a global leadership position in the communication skills training industry.
It was 1992 when Denise, then six months pregnant with Nia, gave her first presentation on-stage, a training session for Fortune 500 companies that included high-profile sports industry leader Nike. Today, the two help leaders and managers at major companies worldwide to improve their public speaking.
“Who would have thought that a small, black, women-owned business would become a major player in the industry … and that my daughter would play a leading role?” said Denise Harrington.
Speaking With Impact’s clientele has included CEOs and C-Suite executives from Autodesk, Siemens, Intel, Kaiser Permanente, Microsoft, McDonald’s, Ubisoft, CommScope, and Cisco. Tiger Woods, Nike founder Phil Knight, nine-time Olympic track-and-field medalist Carl Lewis, Dawn Staley, and the Portland Trail Blazers also have been clients.
The mother-daughter team found that running a presentation skills training business during a pandemic is challenging, but they pivoted and found success. Nia Harrington quickly developed the virtual presentations on-demand training platform and is keen on working with large corporations to help them avoid Zoom fatigue and learn how to present virtually. Together, they champion virtual presentations and hybrid communications and coach firms on how to leverage digital platforms like Zoom to their full potential.
“One of the best things about working with my mom is that she is a changemaker. She’s innovative and passionate about her work and her clients. I have watched her transform so many lives, and many of our clients tell us this every day.” said Nia. “She’s taught me how to build a business, and I have taken her brilliant ideas and talent to construct a new expanded way to sell and share our message.”
“Both the vibrancy of the future and the foundation of the past are important,” added Denise. “This is what Nia and I do together to create an amazing program for our clients.”
The result has impacted many lives, and their clients praise the training they receive. “I was a deep introvert who had a massive phobia of public speaking,” said Duke Stamp. “[Denise] unlocked for me a level of confidence and curiosity around public speaking that allowed me to flourish for 15+ years at Nike and then other interesting adventures, including EVP of Brand at Lululemon. Today I am Chief Brand Officer at a magical innovation lab in Brooklyn called Newlab (recently cited by Fast Company as Design Company of the Year).“
You are invited to register for Speaking with Impact’s Virtual Open Enrollment program offered on June 21-22, 28th, 2022, and October 4-5, 11th, 2022.
About Speaking With Impact
Speaking With Impact is a certified Woman and Minority-owned business that offers presentation training on how to be “mainstage ready.” The firm’s expert-level offerings include presentation skills training, media-ready coaching, and speaker-ready coaching. Denise is a sought-after keynote speaker and host of the podcast Women Express, which focuses on women finding and using their voices. Denise believes that there is power in women’s voices, and her women’s leadership programs are designed to unleash that power.
Nia earned a degree from George Mason University in sports management and is also a keynote speaker. She has worked with the Washington Football Team (now the Washington Generals), Under Armour, the University of Maryland Athletics, and the Washington Wizards.
