Center News

Danielle (Herron) Davis

BA Communication Studies, 2005. Minor in Business
Founder and CEO/Chief Casbah Rocker of Ladykiller, a full service transmedia marketing, PR and events company serving the video game, comic and pop culture industries based in Seattle.

My Speaking Center experience plays an integral role in my business and personal life on a day to day basis. I currently serve as the face of my company as I handle all client interactions. The way I speak and represent myself is the way in which clients and potential clients judge my company. My philosophy and prioritization on professional business communication is also passed down in who I choose to hire and the way I train my staff – as they are also representatives of Ladykiller.

Surprisingly, one of the most commonly referenced workshops from my Speaking Center days was one on the subject of nonverbal communication. I find myself reiterating, both to myself and to my staff, lessons I learned about the importance of staying aware of nonverbals during an interaction – and they outweighs the words themselves. I believe my focus on what my hands, eyes, body, cadence, tone, emphasis and volume are communicating allows for me to control my messaging in a much different way. This has proven itself imperative as my first goal as a business owner is to earn the trust of new clients.

I believe one of the most invaluable personal skills I learned while working at the Speaking Center is the ability to slow down when delivering messages. It has always been a bit difficult for me and something of which I’m still self-conscious. But those years in college have taught me to be aware of my weaknesses so I may constantly strive for improvement.

Training to work in the Speaking Center provides useful competencies and experience. However, it’s amazing how the act of teaching those competencies to others helps you to learn those lessons in an entirely different, and in my opinion a longer lasting, way. It’s wonderful feeling this all over again as I train my own employees with lessons yielded from my days in the Speaking Center. I’m truly thankful for my years in the Speaking Center community.