THE DIPLOMAT • SPEAKING
Every room has an elephant.
I speak to mission-driven leaders and their teams about holding a room when the stakes are high. What to say when a funder pushes back. How to keep a message together when conditions change under you. Why the thing everyone's avoiding is usually the fastest way through.
People leave with language they can use the next morning. Not a framework. Language.
Tell me about your event and your audience. I'll tell you honestly whether I'm right for that room.
What your audience walks away with.
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A way to stay steady when a room turns. What to do in the ten seconds after a question lands badly.
02
Words for the conversation they've been avoiding. The email, the board moment, the announcement they can't get wrong.
03
Why good messages fall apart under pressure, and how to build one that doesn't.
04
One decision they'll make differently that week. I'd rather send people out with one thing they'll use than ten they'll write down and forget.
THE TOPICS
What I speak about
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The signature talk. What actually happens when a room goes tense, and how to hold it without flattening the conflict or letting it run.
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Why leadership teams end up telling three versions of the same mission, what it costs in funding and staff, and how to get everyone working from one.
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Transitions, layoffs, funding shifts, political pressure. The news isn't ready, but the silence is already doing damage.
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Why smart, under-resourced nonprofits decide comms "doesn't work" — and how to tell a broken tactic from a broken function, so you stop writing off communications and start doing the version that actually lands.
Formats
Keynote
45 to 60 minutes.
One idea carried the whole way, with real examples, so the room leaves with a shared reference point for the rest of your event.
Leadership session.
90 minutes to a half day for an executive or comms team.
Less talk, more work. We take a situation you're actually in and work it in the room.
Panel and moderation.
I’m a great panelist and an even better moderator.
Moderating is the day job: keep it honest, make space for what's happening, get somewhere meaningful before time runs out.
Fireside and Q&A.
Conversational, unscripted, best with a strong interviewer.
Works well for member organizations and leadership networks.
Rooms I've been in
I’ve spent 20 years advising organizations like Harvard University, AARP, the CDC, Planned Parenthood, and Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. On stage it's the same work, in front of more people.
This is a partial list. A lot of this work happens in rooms that don't publish an attendee list.
MEDIA & BROADCAST
Altitude Summit
PayPal (brand event)
Prevent Child Abuse America
Massachusetts Conference for Women
GSK plc
Mom 2.0 Summit
Dad 2.0 Summit
Blissdom
Pivot Boston
Type A Parent
SPARK Kindness
Parenting in Place
Responsibility.org
Wellesley Mothers Forum
Manic Mommies retreat
BlogHer
DSM Nutritional Products (brand event)
Altitude Summit PayPal (brand event) Prevent Child Abuse America Massachusetts Conference for Women GSK plc Mom 2.0 Summit Dad 2.0 Summit Blissdom Pivot Boston Type A Parent SPARK Kindness Parenting in Place Responsibility.org Wellesley Mothers Forum Manic Mommies retreat BlogHer DSM Nutritional Products (brand event)
STAGES & CONFERENCES • WHERE I’VE SPOKEN
Netflix
Minimalism: A Documentary About the Important Things · 2015, featured appearance
NPR
All Things Considered / Code Switch · 2021
BBC World News
2020, live broadcast
WGBH
2021
ORGANIZATION I’VE WORKED WITH
AARP · CDC · Harvard University · American Cancer Society · Planned Parenthood · Obama for America · Children's Hospital of Philadelphia · WBUR · Prevent Child Abuse America · GSK
Why organizers call me.
Twenty years advising mission-driven organizations, and before that a Ph.D. in music and brain science: how people process information, and how a story holds together under tension.
Colleagues started calling me The Diplomat before I had a name for what I was doing. Not because I smooth things over. Because I can walk into the hardest room, make space for what's actually happening, and build what comes after.
That's the day job. On stage it's the same thing, in front of more people.
WHAT AUDIENCES SAY
"Our entire staff agreed that working with [Christine] was the best thing to come out of a major initiative.”
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Questions organizers ask
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Executives, boards, and communications teams at nonprofits, foundations, and purpose-led firms. Also leadership networks, associations, and conferences where the audience carries real institutional weight.
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Yes. I'll want a short call first about what your audience is actually dealing with, and I'll build the examples around that. A talk that ignores what's happening in the room isn't worth giving.
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Often, yes. A keynote plus a working session the same day tends to be the best use of an event budget, because the ideas get applied while they're still fresh.
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Yes. I travel for the right engagements, with travel and lodging covered by the host.
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Fees depend on format, travel, and whether we add a leadership session. Tell me about your event and I'll send a straight answer.
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Two to three months out is ideal. My speaking calendar tends to fill, and the more lead time I have, the more I can tailor the talk to your audience and your moment. That said, if it's the right room, reach out anyway. I've made time for the right opportunity on shorter notice.
Let's Talk
If you're planning something where the stakes are high and you want the room to leave with more than a nice hour, I'd like to hear about it.
Tell me about your event, your audience, and what you want them walking out with. I'll tell you honestly whether I'm the right fit.
Or email me: christine@christinekoh.com
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Holding the Room
A monthly thought letter on communications under pressure.