Meet Michael Ashford | Speaking and Leadership Communication Coach

We had the good fortune of connecting with Michael Ashford and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Michael, we’d love to hear more about how you thought about starting your own business?
I gave my first TEDx Talk in 2021, and after that talk, I got asked to help coach the next group of speakers for the next event. It was through that experience that I realized I enjoyed coaching others to show up confidently on a stage more than I liked being on a stage myself — and I really like being on a stage! But seeing how I could help another person bring out their full story and shape it into a talk that inspires, teaches, and guides others gave me all the evidence I needed to turn it into a business. Everyone has a story to tell, and it’s a thrill to work with my clients to uncover the fullness of stories.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
One of the hallmarks of my speaking coaching is that I approach each speaker’s talk with the mindset of an investigative journalist. I am a former award-winning newspaper journalist, and one of the things I do best is ask questions. It’s also something that many of us are not used to experiencing — someone taking a deep, vested interest in your story and exploring that with you. So for every speaking coaching client of mine, I take them through a deep-dive interview. It’s just as it sounds — I sit down with my client and interview them, just as an investigative journalist would. From that deep-dive interview, my clients get insights into their idea or story that were previously unspoken. It is upon these realizations that my clients can then build a fuller, richer, more authentic and real talk that is free from jargon, clichés, and surface-level insights. Many of my clients will tell you the deep dive interview is their favorite part of my coaching — it’s my favorite, too!

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
I’m imagining that my friend is visiting in the summer, so our week would be filled with hiking (perhaps at Waterton Canyon or perhaps on some trails up around Evergreen). We would for sure eat at Hapa Sushi, Aloy Modern Thai, and Little Man Ice Cream.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I have to shoutout Mikki Gates, who not only gave me a shot to deliver my first TEDx Talk, but then later asked me to be the head speaker coach for the event to help others on their own journey. She believed in me and my abilities as a speaker and as a coach even though I was pretty unproven at first, and for that trust, I’m so grateful.

Website: https://michaelashford.com

Instagram: https://instagram.com/michaeldashford

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaeldashford/

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UChFBr-wah2oF2m_Kcs1u-Ug