Presentation Effectiveness Training & Vocal Coaching
your presentations are about to get so much better
I'm Jackie Gartner-Schmidt
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My passion is helping professionals transform how they sound and present - so they can be as dynamic and influential in front of an audience as they are in their field. I founded Voice Now, LLC in 2013 with that mission at heart: to help people communicate with clarity, confidence, and authenticity.
What sparked this passion?
In academia, I've spent decades attending and presenting at national and international conferences. I've watched some of the brightest minds—professors, surgeons, researchers, chairs, inventors — stand before audiences with great ideas, only to see those ideas fall flat. Their challenge wasn't a lack of expertise; it was the ability to command attention and connect. I realized something powerful:
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Expertise not powerfully communicated is expertise wasted.
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My own journey began at Queen’s University in Canada, where I earned my bachelors degree and first consdiered careers in advertising and management consulting. I joined Deloitte & Touche, but soon found my true calling in voice and communication. That path led me to pursue a master's degree in Speech-Language Pathology at Michigan State University, where I discovered the niche specialty of professional voice.
From there, I completed my clinical fellowship at the Vanderbilt Voice Center in Nashville and later earned my PhD in Communication Sciences and Disorders at the University of Maryland.
After two decades as Co-Director of the University of Pittsburgh Voice Center, I began what I call my "New Next". Today, I'm thrilled to serve as a Professor at Carlow University in Pittsburgh -- sharing my experience with the next generation of incredible Speech-Language Pathologists while helping professionals everywhere find their most powerful, authentic voice.
I regularly present to audiences across the United States and internationally, having delivered over 600 presentations throughout my career. For more than 30 years, my clinical and research work has focused on the assessment and treatment of voice and breathing disorders. I have contributed to numerous NIH-funded research studies and published extensively in the field. As the co-developer of Conversation Training Therapy, I have also adapted this approach specifically for public speakers. My expertise has led me to consult with organizations such as TEDx Talks and Microsoft.
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If you or your colleagues struggle with public speaking or want to learn best practices in presentation effectiveness, contact Voice Now LLC, which offers on-site/virtual group workshops. My approach centers on the three Ds: develop, design, and deliver. Excellence in all three is critical to powerful presentations.
Let’s work together... become the presenter audiences talk about and remember!
Voice Now: practical approaches to presentation effectiveness and public speaking
TEDx Talk 2018
Otolaryngology researcher and clinician Dr. Jackie Garnter-Schmidt shares research and findings that show not only the connection between our emotions and our voice, but between our voice and the way that others perceive us.
Eric McKenna Project
Dr. Jackie Gartner-Schmidt joins Eric for EMp Show #86. Dr. Jackie is a renowned Otolaryngology researcher and clinician, and on the show we discuss aspects of vocal function including how our emotional and physical 'state' greatly effect our voice output and thus our communication.
e103: Presenting with your Voice (with Jackie Gartner-Schmidt)
The human voice is a critical element in presenting. Yes, more important than the presentation slides - sometimes! This episode is an amazing discussion learning about the human voice and ways to protect it and use it as we talk with Jackie Gartner-Schmidt who is a PhD in the "Human Voice!"
World Voice Day Frzy Interview, Freestyle Rapper on the way into the Guinness Book of World Records!
World Voice Day 2020 Interview with Pittsburgh Rapper, Frzy and Dr. Jackie Gartner-Schmidt with Voice Over Talent, Sean Caldwell