Lynda Katz Wilner, CEO of Successfully Speaking, an Owings Mills-based communications skills consulting company, is driven by her passion for helping people, especially those who fear public speaking. Jmore recently spoke with Katz Wilner about her work, the best advice she ever received, being a transplant to Baltimore and more.
What inspires you about your job?
What inspires me is to help people get to be the best they can be, and that’s by helping them communicate with confidence. That passion to help people – whether they had a head injury or a stroke – is still there. People are nervous about public speaking, so I help them polish their professional skills to help them build their careers.
What do you love about your job?
I love the people I meet and what I hear from them. These are people from all over the world whom I meet remotely. I get to help them build their confidence without even leaving my office. I talk with them about “The Three V’s” – the Visuals, how they look; the Vocal, how they sound; and the Verbal, what they say.
What’s the best advice you ever received?
Do what you love doing. You should always love what you do. My father was a clinical psychologist and I saw how he did things. I always tell my adult children to follow their passions.
You’re a Long Island native. What’s your favorite thing about Baltimore?
Well, I would have to say its location. It’s close to Washington, Philadelphia and New York. … Baltimore has a different kind of community here. I came here in 1983, but I still feel like an outsider. I didn’t go to grade school or high school here, so I’ll always feel like an outsider. I don’t think I’ll ever feel fully part of it. My children are from here, but I’m not. That’s just how it is.
What’s on your bucket list?
There’s so much I haven’t done. I would love to take an African safari because I love giraffes. I just want to travel. I’d love to see all of the different cultures that I’ve worked with remotely.
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