About iSpeak
iSpeak was incorporated in the State of Texas on December 6, 1999, by Kevin Karschnik and Russ Peterson Jr. This was only 4 short months after they had sold their previous company, and they were anxious to get started on their next venture. Both Kevin and Russ participated in training workshops as students with their Fortune 500 jobs, and they both experienced less-than-stellar workshops with lackluster performance improvements. They both knew that “telling ain’t training” and they knew that it could be done much better.
Both founders shared a love for public speaking and had witnessed the profound effects great speakers had on them personally. So, they set out to first create a workshop on presentation skills. Other topics were added to the portfolio to round out a set of communication workshops, but it was the public speaking topic that changed the game.
It took over 5 years to research, write, and create both the curriculum and workshops for 4 key topics. In the fall of 2005, they received a phone call that would provide the seed money for launching iSpeak to the next level. Thompson Reuters wanted to license 4 workshop titles and publish the workbooks. The sale was for $100,000.
With that seed money, both Kevin and Russ were able to leave their Fortune 500 jobs to work full time on iSpeak. Over the years the content and workshops have changed, the delivery formats have changed, and the types of services have changed. What has not changed is our commitment to the learners--helping them improve their communication so they can achieve more.
Over 20 years later iSpeak had delivered communication training for over 50,000 learners around the globe. Our instructors have traveled to places like Brazil, Mexico, Portugal, Romania, China, UAE, Ireland, The Netherlands, South Korea, Taiwan, Malaysia, and Singapore. We look forward to reaching our next 50,000 with you.
Our Leadership
iSpeak is powered by a very simple mission, “Help others achieve more through better communication.” That mission is the “why” behind what we do and how we do it.
Today iSpeak is led by one of our founders, Russ Peterson Jr. serving as our President. Together with his wife Cheree, serving as the Chief Accounting Officer, they keep us focused on the purpose behind every class we teach. Our focus remains on each student we have the privilege to assist.
Both Russ and Cheree work hard to embody the core values of our organization and model them for the team every day. Their example reminds us all that what we do here at iSpeak has lasting impacts on people’s careers, their families, and their lives.
Our Mission – WHY we do it
We have a very simple mission at iSpeak…to help others achieve more through better communication. It is our firm belief that when people communicate better, relationships are strengthened, and teams achieve more.
“We help others achieve more through better communication.”
Our Approach
We don’t teach acting and we don’t follow rules… and neither should you. Rules only work well when exceptions are few. Communication is wonderfully complex and full of exceptions. While rules can help with situations that fall into the normal range, people who just learn a rule and implement it will fail sometimes and blame the rule.
Mastering communication is not about memorizing rules and implementing them. Instead, it’s about learning how to read the room and adjust to an audience. It’s about planning for the audience by tailoring the message. Memorizing does not lead to skill enhancement.
Advanced analysis skills and selective tool application leads to a more confident speaker who can handle any situation.
Advanced analysis skills and selective tool application leads to a more confident speaker who can handle any situation.
At iSpeak we don’t teach:
Acting… we prefer authenticity.
Rules… we prefer tools and knowing both when and how to use them.