Executive communication coach · speaker · author
You already know how to communicate. The stakes are what changed.
Dale Dixon helps senior leaders stay clear, credible, and useful when the room gets hard: board presentations, difficult questions, media interviews, cameras, keynote stages, and crises.
Looking on behalf of a CEO or senior leader? Start here.
Researching for a CEO or leadership team?
Make the shortlist easy to defend.
Dale works with capable senior leaders who need focused preparation for consequential communication. He comes prepared, builds around the real situation, and pressure-tests the message against what could actually happen.
- Executive-level communication coaching built around the actual moment, not a generic curriculum.
- 15 years inside broadcast news plus ongoing live media and crisis communication work.
- Experience with board presentations, keynotes, interviews, difficult questions, cameras, and leadership teams.
- A public body of work you can evaluate before you ever make an introduction.
Selected organizations Dale has worked with
Something important is coming
Good is not the goal when the consequences matter.
The people Dale works with are usually already good communicators. They call because one particular room, audience, question, or deadline matters enough to prepare for deliberately.
Board presentation
Make the decision clear, anticipate challenge, and stay connected when the room pushes back.
Keynote or major presentation
Build the message, rehearse the pressure, and know what to do when the plan changes.
Media interview
Know the message, anticipate the questions, and answer without retreating into canned lines.
Difficult questions
Listen for the real question, think before speed takes over, and respond without becoming rigid.
On-camera communication
Make the camera less foreign so the leader on screen sounds like the capable person people know off camera.
Crisis communication
Prepare leaders and messages before pressure peaks, then stay useful while information keeps moving.
The skill underneath the skill
Pressure changes the communication problem.
Most communication training starts with the words, the slides, or the delivery. Those things matter. They are simply harder to use when pressure has already changed your pace, attention, flexibility, or access to what you know.
Dale starts with what already works, then makes it easier to reach when the stakes rise.
Start with what already works.
Sharpen the leader's strengths instead of replacing their personality with somebody else's speaking style.
Build guardrails, not scripts.
Know the structure deeply enough to stay clear without sounding memorized when the conversation moves.
Practice the pressure.
Rehearse the questions, interruptions, and conditions that can change how communication works when the moment is real.
Dale’s work with us inspired confidence and won over leaders on both ends of the spectrum. When our conference arrived, our leaders were relaxed, confident and they gave the best presentations of their careers up to that point.
RON PRICE · FOUNDER AND FORMER CEO, THE COMPLETE LEADER
Start where the need is
Learn on your own. Practice with the community. Bring Dale in when the moment warrants it.
Not every communication problem needs a coach. Use the free work when it is enough. Bring Dale into the room when the stakes, audience, or deadline justify deeper preparation.
Start on your own
Practice before you need the rescue.
Use Dale's public work to recognize the pattern, build a rep, and get better before the next room gets hard.
The Presence Lab community
A free practice space with Field Guides, monthly live Q&A, early episodes, and ongoing conversation.
Join The Presence Lab free →The Presence Lab Podcast
One high-pressure communication problem each week, broken down through story, research, and practical tools.
Browse the episode library →
Sweating Bullets
A story about overcoming the fear of public speaking and finding something useful to reach for when pressure shows up.
See the book on Amazon →Bring Dale in
Prepare the people who have to carry the message.
For organizations and senior leaders who need the work built around a real audience, real deadline, or real communication challenge.
Group training and keynote speaking
Interactive training and speaking for leadership teams, associations, conferences, and organizations. Built around practical communication people can use in the next real room.
Ask about group training or speaking →1:1 executive communication coaching
Focused preparation for board conversations, presentations, interviews, difficult questions, cameras, crises, and other consequential communication.
Ask about 1:1 coaching →Not sure which fits?
Describe what is coming, who is in the room, and what needs to go right. Dale will tell you whether coaching, training, or a lighter-touch resource makes sense.
Tell Dale what is coming →Not coaching from memory
The work still happens in real rooms.
Dale's experience is not a collection of old stage stories. He still works in the conditions he helps leaders prepare for.
- Live news media interviews multiple times each month.
- Executive coaching and communication preparation.
- Crisis communication counsel and readiness work.
- Dozens of presentations each year.
- A new Presence Lab podcast episode every week.
Before you make the introduction
Questions about executive communication coaching and working with Dale
What should I look for in an executive communication coach for a CEO?
Look for someone who can work at the level of the actual stakes. The coach should understand senior-leader communication, adapt to the situation rather than force a generic curriculum, pressure-test difficult questions, and have enough public work or client evidence that you can evaluate the fit before making the introduction.
Does Dale work with executives who are already strong communicators?
Yes. That is the point. Dale's work is built for experienced leaders who already communicate well and want more reliable access to those skills when the stakes, audience, or pressure changes.
Can Dale help with one important presentation or interview instead of ongoing coaching?
Yes. Some engagements build skill over time. Others begin because a board meeting, keynote, media interview, difficult Q&A, or crisis is days away. The work is built around what the specific moment requires.
Does Dale provide group training and keynote speaking?
Yes. Dale works with leadership teams, associations, conferences, and organizations through interactive communication training and keynote speaking. The emphasis is practical preparation people can use in real communication situations.
Can Dale prepare a leader for media interviews or crisis communication?
Yes. Dale spent 15 years in broadcast news and continues to work in live media and crisis communication. Preparation can include message clarity, likely questions, interview practice, on-camera performance, and staying useful while information or conditions change.
How can I evaluate Dale before recommending him to an executive?
Start with the About page, selected client work, and The Presence Lab podcast. Together they show Dale's background, point of view, communication style, and how he thinks about high-pressure executive communication before you make an introduction.
Prepare for the room
Something important coming up?
A board presentation. A keynote. A camera. A difficult question. A media interview. A crisis. If getting the message right matters, prepare for it.