“I am thrilled to share my experience with Karen Schadow and her services at "The Voice of Success." As the Manager of Influencer and Creator Partnerships at kate spade new york, I recently had the privilege of engaging in 1:1 sessions with Karen to enhance my voice, speech, and presentation skills.

“Karen's coaching was truly transformative and played a pivotal role in my success leading up to a crucial panel discussion. Her expertise and guidance were invaluable, making me feel exceptionally well-prepared and confident for the event. Karen helped me refine my articulation, intonation, and pacing, resulting in a more polished and professional speaking style.”

Emma Burke, Manager of Influencer & Creative Partnerships
Kate Spade, New York

“Karen is simply the GOAT (greatest of all time). There is nothing that can replicate her decades of experience, combined with the hands-on training she provides.

  “I showed up wanting to improve my ability to deliver presentations to larger audiences, and I left with an immense level of self-awareness, appreciation for what “excellent” looks like, and a plethora of strategies, drills and reminder systems to ensure I am staying sharp. Not only did I improve my presentation, but the way I speak each and every day.

  “I truly think most folks in corporate America can benefit from working with Karen. I will share an APB of my own (you’ll get this inside joke if you work with Karen!). Don’t just go through the motions on your back-to-back Zoom things, strive to be an excellent communicator and speaker all the time!”

         Jack Freeman, Partner
Peakspan Capital, New York City

“I reached out to Professor Karen Schadow for help in writing a speech of personal significance to be delivered at Harvard University's commencement. She had a strong intuition for the gist of what I was trying to say, even when I could not express my ideas in words clearly. She helped simplify my speech and improve the language such that it was interesting to listen to but understandable to a general audience. She has a vast general knowledge, which made it possible for her to edit sections of my speech pertaining to cell biology and technical terms in science.

“Karen also has an extremely refined sense of humor and can predict which jokes will ‘land’ or fall flat in an audience. All in all, she simply has excellent taste, is an incredibly effective editor, has a strong intuition for audience reactions, and is able to guide not only the content, but also the delivery of a speech.

“ With respect to delivery, Professor Schadow coached me on several aspects of effective speech-making. She made me aware of which words I was emphasizing, which made me think more closely about the meaning and value of every single word in my speech. She also taught me how to breathe effectively and keep the tone of my sentences upbeat through the end.

“I transformed from a stern speaker to a warm and engaging speaker. Most importantly, she taught me how to smile, be natural, and be confident while speaking. I couldn't imagine a better coach for anyone wanting to write or deliver a speech. Karen Schadow is an excellent mentor, and I would recommend her to anyone who wants help with effective speaking.”

Sana Raoof, MD / PhD
Harvard University

“I do a lot of public speaking, lectures and keynotes; so I am often on stage speaking to a large audience. I also doing a lot of press and interviews and more often, I am finding myself in front of the camera on production shoots. 

“While I am quite comfortable in front of an audience, I did notice that I was often out of breath speaking, or even suffering from a sore throat after a speaking engagement! This even occurred if I was on a phone call while taking a walk! I wanted to take voice lessons to help with this; and also help my stage presence to make my talks that much more engaging. 

”Karen came to the rescue! In just 4 lessons, she was able to get to the root of the problem, isolate it, and give me the tools necessary to improve on everything. We even did this all during the pandemic remotely on Skype video calls. Her lessons even help me in everyday life situations of just having conversations with people one on one.

”Don’t get me wrong, I had to put in the effort in doing the exercises and home work assignments; but Karen is an amazing instructor who guided me to improve my overall voice! Thank you so much Karen!”
Jeff Staple, Founder
Staple Design / RAD

“I am a professional in the communication field who is a stutterer. I have tried numerous voice coaches and therapists to help me improve my voice and speech for public speaking to no avail. They lacked the warmth, the interest, and support I needed as a client.

“ I finally found a voice specialist, Karen Schadow, who genuinely listened to my concerns and truly has focused on improving my voice and speech for public speaking. She is extremely professional, knowledgeable in her field, but most importantly is caring and supportive of her clients.

“I highly recommend Karen Schadow to anyone who is seeking to improve their public speaking skills. I am confident you will not be disappointed.”           

                                                                                                                             I. Lopez
Dept. of Education, New York City

"I first took a course taught by Karen Schadow, offered by NYU, and I found it incredibly useful.  Karen is an exceptional coach and teacher: very clear and effective.  I therefore decided to have private training from her. This experience was even better, as it was tailored to my needs. 

"Karen can identify immediately what to work on, and she helps in improving tremendously your public presentations and how to communicate in the best and most effective way.  She works on your voice, accent, breathing, posture, projection and style. Learning from her can truly transform the way you communicate. I highly recommend Karen's training to anyone.  She is also wonderful and so enjoyable to work with. Top-notch."

Cristina Albertini, PhD, LP
Professor, Center for Neural Science, New York University

”Karen is a straightforward woman who transmits clear, realistic and precise teachings. I wanted private coaching to improve my voice techniques, and Karen showed me what personal empowerment and grace look like. She taught me an attitude and a mindset of success (in just a few sessions), as well as forward and elegant positive thinking while keeping feet on ground and really caring to look at any blockages that may be interfering.

 “Karen was respectful, tough on and caring about my insecurities and uplifting in showing me how to get through and past them, bravely and effectively. She guided me through exercises that already set a change in motion within my brain and body right then and there, not just theories to read and go home with to ‘apply later’.

"I learned just as much from Karen’s personality as I learned from the lessons she so clearly explains. She is experienced and trustworthy. I feel extremely grateful to have had the opportunity to visit New York and meet her in person for these sessions. Needless to say she is a top-notch professional, and her lessons will now remain a part of me in all my future achievements.”

Mary C., Singer / Performer
Ottawa, Canada

“Dear Karen,
Thank you so much for the coaching you gave me to prepare me for my presentation on ‘Understanding Van Gogh’. It was a full house at the NYJL event. Thanks to your coaching, my talk was so much more successful, using powerful opening words and sticking to the focus of my talk. Your help with the content and with concretely removing certain texts within the talk helped shorten it by 15 minutes and it really made a difference. I do not feel that I have the breathing mastered yet, but, at least, I know what to do and know that it will come with practice. I hope I will be able to have more training help from you. It could only get better and better with your coaching.
Gratefully Yours, Jill”

Jill Steenhuis Ruffato
Artist & Teacher, Art in Provence
Provence, France

"My encounter with Karen was revelational. Karen uses simple but effective techniques in her coaching sessions. I have learned to stay 'in the moment.' Now I have to always remind myself, even in casual conversations, to breathe before speaking, speak slowly, and open my mouth.

"The program exceeded my expectations,and I have no regrets for traveling all the way from Ghana to New York City for the program. I'm extremely grateful to Karen for this life-long experience."

Isaac Kodom
Group Deputy Managing Director
Safebond Africa, Ltd. - Ghana

"I was impressed from the minute I walked into Karen's classroom: her professionalism, passion, knowledge, and experience were very apparent. I did not know what to expect from the course "Ten Steps to a More Dynamic Voice." Such courses are usually out of my comfort zone and invoke a sizeable amount of anxiety, but all of that disappeared before the end of the first session. Karen was a master at putting everyone at ease by creating an environment of trust and openness . She had a unique way of building relationships between students and a keen ability to relate to everyone and meet their unique needs. Personally and professionally, I believe everyone walked away with a specially tailored message.

"As a teacher myself, I found the course to be a great learning experience and Karen to be truly inspirational. The class sessions were entertaining, informative, and most importantly relevant. I was able to use the techniques immediately, and continue to do so, in my classes and at meetings.  I highly recommend Karen to any individual or organization that is seeking more effective and persuasive communication."

R. B. Sehl
Associate Professor
New York University College of Dentistry

"Working with Karen was transformational for my self-confidence when it comes to public speaking. She worked with me in a very supportive one-on-one setting which allowed me to focus on the challenges in front of me. She armed me with the basics of vocal production as well as good speech formation, and that was just what I needed to get over my fears. I have no doubt I will call on Karen through time, as I desire to grow as a confident public speaker."

Kate Gellert
President, A Major University Alumni Organization

"Karen Schadow's 'Ten Steps to a More Dynamic Voice' course at New York University is one of the most influential and highest impact learning experiences I have had. The course has done wonders for me across the whole spectrum of my life, both personal and professional.

"Karen is a fantastic teacher. I was very conscious and nervous about speaking in front of groups of people. Even in social situations with people I know, I always experienced a twinge of anxiety. Since completing this course this no longer happens and I actively look forward to chances to speak publicly. I felt comfortable speaking in front of the class within five minutes of the first lesson beginning. Karen has a great skill for making the class feel at ease and I was completely comfortable and unashamed to be making funny noises whilst holding my ribs almost immediately. Karen cultivated a great sense of camaraderie in the class with everyone being positive and supportive to others. Aside from the learning I really enjoyed going for the wonderful social aspect too. I felt I could ask any question without fear of embarrassment or it being silly. Every question I did ask was answered in depth, understandably and with great real life examples.

"Karen has a wealth of life experience which relates to this course and it really adds another dimension to the learning. I have been on too many courses before where people are telling you things they themselves have read in a book but not actually experienced: this is not the case with Karen. She very effectively used examples from her own life and took examples from us to explain exactly what is meant and how techniques can be used in the real world.

"The structure of the course was very well put together, with each week building on the one before. It was very good to get the fundamentals of effective speaking technique down the first lesson as these were the things that the rest of the course developed and used. Spending time each week to practice these and encouraging us to practice at home ensured that the fundamentals were becoming second nature and allowed me to concentrate on the other course content with full attention whilst still maintaining proper APB (articulation, Projection and breathing).

"Karen spent a good amount of time teaching us about the structure and content of good speeches. This goes hand in hand with the physical practice we did and I am already putting it to good use in my job giving presentations at our weekly all staff meetings. I prepared and delivered a speech in class which I am going to give at work in the coming weeks. Karen’s honest and effective feedback has helped me streamline this into a highly tuned persuasive speech which is sure to have a significant impact. The feedback was also very useful as it identified which areas of both the Practical speaking and content areas each student was strong or weak and how we can work on them specifically to improve.

"As I stated at the beginning, this course has done wonders for me. Karen’s wonderful teaching and personality has really helped me to change from a person who dreaded reading things out in front of others to someone who relishes it."

Edward Mattacola
Secure Technical Services Officer, UK Mission to UN - New York
Foreign & Commonwealth Office Services

"Karen Schadow is a coach extraordinaire! I am a litigator who has suffered for many years trying to find 'the zone' of confidence for presentations in and out of the courtroom. Karen has helped me immensely. Beyond her recognized expertise as a voice coach, Karen has helped me uncover the several phobias that have inhibited me from reaching my potential with public speaking. She has guided me along a path towards fearless public speaking. Through our sessions together, Karen demonstrated keen insight into understanding me as an individual. Far from recommending pedantic, cookie cutter gimmicks for curing my personal inhibitions to public speaking, she targeted my weaknesses and developed a program suited to my personal needs. For anyone who agonizes over a public presentation, or anyone who wants to enhance their presentation skills, I couldn't imagine a better coach. She has my unqualified recommendation."

Michael, an Appreciative Attorney
New York City

"I’ve been working with Karen for the past year and I’ve seen such a tremendous improvement in my public speaking skills. Her knowledge and techniques have taken my speaking skills to the next level. I’m often in the public eye, at press conferences and public speaking events. After completing lessons with Karen, I have a higher level of confidence and a more powerful speaking voice. Karen is the best in the business. If you are looking to improve your speaking skills she is the person who can help."

Peter Baldini
CEO / Managing Director, World Lung Foundation

"Just a brief note of thanks to express my sincere appreciation for all that you have done in helping me to improve my voice and communication style. It is truly amazing what you are able to achieve in a few short sessions. Your experience, knowledge of the subject matter and wonderful teaching style made the whole experience enjoyable as well as beneficial.

"I still remember many of the cues you taught me and continue to practice my proper breathing and the use of shorter sentences. I am also working on introducing more vocal variety into everyday speech patterns. Again, sincere thanks for all your help, for your patience with a novice, and for your concern for my success as a communicator. I wish you and all those fortunate enough to be your clients, continued success!"

William De Vizio, D.M.D.
Vice President, Clinical Dental Research
Colgate-Palmolive Company

"As a representative of an elected official, I am assigned occasionally to speak on behalf of the official before both small and large audiences. When I began this work, I was quite nervous about whether I would be able to speak calmly and in a manner that could be understood clearly by everyone.

"Facing a particularly challenging assignment, I sought advice from Karen Schadow, President of Voice of Success, about how to remain calm and to be understood clearly. Ms. Schadow's suggestions were right on target and easy for me to follow, although they required, like anything, practice, practice, practice.

"I can testify that her techniques were extremely helpful and got me through my assignment successfully and with confidence. Today I continue to draw on her advice whenever I must speak publicly and always receive good reviews."

Gracey Stoddard
 District Rep. for U.S. Congresswoman,  Board President - African Dream Academy

"I worked with Karen over the course of several months. While I had always excelled at public speaking, I wanted to enhance my vocal technique overall and thought individual coaching sessions with a trained professional would be useful. The individual coaching sessions with Karen were extremely educational and productive, providing me with a variety of exercises and techniques that I can use to enhance my overall vocal technique. All of the time spent working with Karen provided me with the ability to have greater vocal range in presentations and also with simple-to-use exercises which can be used at any time on one's own.

"Karen is a true professional who provides clear guidance and expertise to make anyone a more effective public speaker. My coaching experience with her was exceptional."

Paul Jelinek
Senior Vice President, Digital Media
A&E Television Networks

"Karen was great. She fast-tracked my presentation skills in less than a month and prepared me to confidently take the stage!"

Joseph Tatta
Physical Therapist

"I've always gotten comments on my voice. That it's high and soft which would inevitably lead to questions about my age and credibility. As someone who owns their own business and has a dream of making speaking a more prominent aspect of her business, I wanted to learn to use my voice to stop these questions and sound more confident. I found Karen and from the first moment we spoke, she instantly knew what I needed and she could help me. In working with Karen, I've become much more aware of the pitch, breath and inflection of my voice. Stuff I never had thought about before. Even though I worked with her mainly over the phone, she has such a trained ear to hear where you can make improvements that you don't even need to be right in front of her. Not only that, but she's given me ways to make my speeches more interesting and captivating. After my speeches, instead of being questioned, I now get many, many compliments."

Jessica Procini
Holistic Health & Weight Loss Coach
Founder, Your Path to Health

"Some people are born to teach. Karen Schadow is one of them. After only a few lessons, I began to find a public speaking voice I never knew I had. Karen's devotion to her craft, her love of words spoken, and her ability to paint meaning with the sounds of human voice, put her in a league with the great masters of communication. The energy, the enthusiasm and the excitement she exudes when she teaches, is positively contagious. She takes all the drudge out of learning and replaces it with joy. Karen's confidence in me - long before I had any in myself - has taken hold. I've actually begun to look forward to those opportunities that will allow me to test my newly acquired skills at public speaking. I wish I had met her years ago.

"Whether teaching one-on-one, or a classroom of 50 executives, Karen continues to be one of the most sought after voice coaches in the New York metropolitan area and beyond."

Terry Park Hyde
Hyde Park Public Relations, Washington, D.C.

"It has been my pleasure to work with Karen Schadow for more than 10 years. As a conference producer and speaker placement specialist, I have called on Karen a number of times. She has expertly guided my clients to develop and deliver top level presentations. Karen has a remarkable skill set with which she is able to achieve immediate and lasting results. She's a master at building confidence, encouraging creativity and creating clarity. Your time with her will be well spent."

Beth-Ellen Keyes
Events Producer,
New York Women in Communications, Inc. & New York Women's Agenda

"When you talk to Karen Schadow about how your voice sounds and how you come across, she tells it to you straight. Yet she maintains a warmth, sensitivity, and sense of excitement that make working with her fun and constructive. She helps dispel your fears that speaking with volume and confidence means being aggressive or fake. And she has accumulated a battery of excellent exercises for tuning the voice and strengthening the spirit. I highly recommend both her classes and her private lessons."

Ed, Architect, New York City

"Karen Schadow is a consummate professional with background both behind and in front of the camera. Her experience in the theater and her own love of speaking to an audience give her the ability to get inside her clients' heads. She creatively works to develop the breath, the voice and the enunciation of words so that in combination, the presenter is able to deliver thoughts, ideas, plans, etc. and have the message be absorbed by the audience. I became aware through our work that the delivery to a large group of people is profoundly different than is a one-on-one conversation. The timbre of the voice, the enunciation of the full word and the timing of the word-flow are critical to letting the audience actually hear what you have to say. Karen helped me tremendously in taming my anxiety about public speaking by arming me with the tools that then gave me the confidence and presence so necessary for success...And what a success I had !!!"

Paulette McLeod
General Manager & Editor-in-Chief, 
Arts & Entertainment Television Network - Biography Magazine

"For years I delivered speeches and found the audience yawning, and I didn't know why. In only one session, Karen diagnosed the problem and came up with a game plan. After briefly working with her, when I delivered my last speech, I was met with thunderous applause. Karen is the Voice Doctor who can truly change your life........that is priceless."

Ken, Financial Services Executive

"Karen's focus on breathing starts during the first session. I started out trying to say too much in one breath, and generally let my voice trail off at the end resulting in what is called "glottal fry." However, with Karen's patient guidance and encouragement, I have shed my old ways and now breathe more often, more deeply and say less with each breath. This enables me to focus on projecting and enunciating rather than getting my entire thought out through one fading gasp.

"I would recommend Karen's sessions to anyone who tends to focus more on the distraction of audience perception than on content. In addition to improving my delivery through technical guidance, Karen coached me into realizing how much I have to share. Between the improved breathing and escalated confidence level, I feel more relaxed in all participatory settings."

Lisa Tomlinson
Practice Development Manager,
A Pre-eminent Global Law Firm

"Standing in front of an audience frightens me: At least it used to. After a few coaching sessions with Karen Schadow, I was ready to stand up and present to anyone. I gained the confidence with Karen to speak publicly - and to do it in a powerful way. "As soon as I realized the benefits of working with Karen, I had her meet with everyone on my design staff. Although they don’t do a lot of presenting before groups, they do have to present their creative ideas to clients. And they need to do it in a confident and compelling way, even if it is one-on-one. "Karen’s style is professional and warm. No one was intimidated or felt embarrassed during the training. In fact, we had a lot of fun! We are grateful to Karen to what she’s done for everyone here at Suka & Friends Design. I highly recommend her."

Susan Karlin
President,
Suka & Friends Design, Inc.

"It seemed to me that every time I was faced with the prospect of a public speaking engagement, the butterflies started and would not go away. Of course, in the past, I presented effectively, but I was so nervous that I often ‘missed‘ my speech. After working with Karen several times, I was able to get in touch with the power of my voice and actually be present to what I was doing. She helped me with practical concerns and techniques that had the overall effect of building my confidence--something I have never been able to do regarding public speaking in over 30 years! Thank you!"

Steven Shapiro
New York Assistant Principal,
Stuyvesant High School

"It was not only the sessions with Karen that were thoroughly instructive and enjoyable, but even her 'homework' was fun. I couldn.t wait to practice my new 'TH's' and 'L's' every day. I saw Karen for public speaking skills, but after a few sessions I was interested in acting classes as well! Unfortunately, given the demands of my current business it was not an endeavor I could pursue, but that was the kind of enthusiasm she created during our sessions. Karen will listen to you intently, recognize what needs to be improved and then be even more diligent than you are in implementing whatever is necessary to produce a great voice."

Dilek Caner
Founder, Tasting World - Wine-Tasting Seminars

"Hi Karen!

"I took private lessons with you a few months ago, and I wanted to thank you and relate a little story. I was with some people that I hadn't seen in several years, and after a while they commented on how much better I seemed than before. I was curious, so I took one of them aside and started digging a little deeper. At first he couldn't put his finger on it, but soon he started to comment on how I was speaking! He said that my pace and enunciation were different, and he found it much more engaging now! I have further to go, but this was a real testimonial to the power of voice training and really helped underscore the value of the investment I made in our lessons. Thank you so much again, and I look forward to your future coaching!"

Guy Ardito
MS, LMT, SPT

"What a great experience it was to take Karen Schadow's Dynamic Voice class at New York University. I took her class because I wanted to sound more confident when speaking with clients. Under Karen's guidance I definitely improved. And I took away fun and effective exercises I can do on my own to get even better.

"Karen is one of those people you can tell is totally devoted to her craft. She also impressed me with her sincerity -- I always felt like she was genuinely interested in helping me with my specific goals.

"It was a joy to be coached by Karen and I would love to work with her again."

Mary Wright
Project Director, The Wright Marketing

"Eight sessions later I feel more confident in regard to something as simple as breathing to something as important as speaking and expressing myself in any given situation. Confidence -- it is a beautiful thing and Karen sure knows how to nurture it! A heartfelt thank you! P.S. If you're thinking about it, do it!"

Susan M. Dutzer
Freelance Editor

"Karen helped me a great deal with my voice, articulation and projection issues. I learnt things about speaking and breathing from Karen that I’d never heard of before. The adjustments have been difficult for me, but I’m on the way now to a much better speaking voice – both for private conversations and public speaking. I have Karen to thank for a lot of new insight, some great vocal training exercises and a lot of patient support."

David Holloway, Consultant
Sangira LLC, New York City

"Karen is a master at her craft. She can, with almost magical powers, energize and imbue the most mundane voice with a powerful, persuasive resonance. She can quickly and incisively diagnose your needs and train you to be a gifted public speaker."

Michael, New York City Attorney

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I reached out to Professor Karen Schadow for help in writing a speech of personal significance to be delivered at Harvard University's commencement. She had a strong intuition for the gist of what I was trying to say even when I could not express my ideas in words clearly. She helped simplify my speech and improve the language such that it was interesting to listen to but understandable to a general audience. She has a vast general knowledge, which made it possible for her to edit sections of my speech pertaining to cell biology and technical terms in science. She also has an extremely refined sense of humor and can predict which jokes will "land" or fall flat in an audience. All in all, she simply has excellent taste, is an incredibly effective editor, has a strong intuition for audience reactions, and is able to guide not only the content, but also the delivery of a speech. I couldn't imagine a better coach for anyone wanting to write or practice a speech. 

"Karen Schadow has helped me immensely in only a couple of sessions. After the first lesson, I immediately felt more confident that I was learning the proper techniques for lowering my natural pitch and breaking a poor speech habit of "swallowing" the Ts in some words. I have been working with Karen for a few months now and have formed new speaking habits that are important not only for broadcasting but in everyday, effective communication. Karen's kind, warm demeanor will put you at ease so you can really get down to business and correct whatever issue you feel may be holding you back. Everyday I report the news, I feel grateful that I have someone with such a wealth of knowledge, professionalism and credentials in my corner. Karen has helped me continue to set the bar high for myself. She's made a world of difference already and I always look forward to our sessions together."

Jessica Layton
Anchor/Reporter, WNYT NewsChannel 13, Albany, NY

"Karen Schadow helped me tremendously with my radio and TV interviews.  You only have a short time to make your point, and Karen showed me how to make the most of that time.  She doesn't waste a minute and gets right to the heart of the matter!  Karen has developed and shares with her clients some great exercises to help with breathing and enunciation.  They really work!"

Ann A. Fishman
President, Generational-Targeted Marketing LLC

 "Signing up for 'The Voice of Success' was one of the best decisions I have made to jump-start my career in Television. Karen Schadow taught me the proper way to breathe and enunciate my words. As an aspiring broadcaster, this was invaluable to me. She taught me skills that I will use both in the newsroom and in everyday life. As I progressed through our lessons, Karen gave me confidence to start pitching stories to report on at work.

"I highly recommend signing up for 'The Voice of Success' if you are somebody who is interested in broadcasting, acting, singing, or in just perfecting your communication skills. Karen will show you certain techniques that will allow your body to have the most effective speech. It wasn't until I met with Karen that I realized how my breathing could be improved -- leaving me with a strong voice, improving my delivery, and helping to remove my accent.

"Thank you, Karen, for coaching me through my vocal habits! As I advance in my career, I will have you to thank for helping perfect my craft and making me the best broadcaster I can be."

Kimberly Kravitz
Associate Producer & Journalist, Me-TV, New Jersey

"Working with Karen was an absolute pleasure. She taught me the proper breathing techniques to help my speech, and patience with which to execute them. Thanks to her, I am settling in with my natural range, and using the proper amount of breath to get my point across with articulation. I feel more confident having worked with her, and am continuing to use her tactics to improve on my own. If you want a hands-on teacher with patience, honest feedback and a wealth of knowledge, Karen is the right choice."

Kate Rogers
On-Camera Business News Reporter, New York

"I traveled from my home in Panama City, Panama, all the way to New York City, just to study with Karen Schadow, the founder of The Voice of Success. Her program and her decades of professional experience taught me communication skills that will last a lifetime. As an on-camera television professional, the quality of my voice is everything. Karen helped me correct my trouble areas and fine-tune all areas of my presentation. Karen Schadow and The Voice of Success is something that I would recommend to every professional -- from attorneys to sales professionals, teachers and actors to college students. This is the program you've been looking for!"

Brianna Meighan
CEO, HPI Media
Television Presenter, Panama Hot Properties
Panama City, Republic of Panama

"Karen, I wanted to personally thank you for the voice and media training you provided last week. I learned more in several hours over a two day period than I thought possible. I never knew what it takes to actually come across effectively on the (television) screen, and now I know. The voice training was great, and I see it as a tool that will last the rest of my life, whether I am in front of a camera or not. Your approach and materials were very conducive to quick learning and that is much appreciated. I look forward to practicing and using what you have taught us."

Ken Haddad, Executive Director
Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission

"When you invest in a session with Karen Schadow you'll learn how important breathing is to developing your vocal style. After only one hour with Karen, I was an instant convert. Now I'm trying to avoid letting my voice slip into ‘glottal fry‘ and instead am focused on enunciating, delivering my message in a clear and concise way and of course -- breathing more. I would recommend her sessions for any novice or seasoned professional who has to do public speaking, television or radio work. She has dramatically improved my sound and quite surprisingly, my on-air presence. I am now more relaxed and confident than ever before!"

Allison Hemming
Founder & President, The Hired Guns
Author, "Work It - How to Get Ahead,
Save Your Ass, and Land a Job in Any Economy"

"Karen Schadow is a remarkable person, both professionally and personally. I currently work as a full-time anchor, and not one day goes by that I don’t give thanks to Karen and all that she’s taught me. It is really amazing how many people in this industry don’t realize how valuable - and important - the voice is. And unless you truly realize what it takes vocally to make it in this industry, you certainly won’t go far. "Through Karen’s practical, hands-on instruction, I have been able to capitalize on my vocal abilities and make the best of my career. And when I see other reporters and anchors who are struggling vocally, I quickly refer them to Karen Schadow - for I know through her, they will get the professional help they need. I have even gone over some of the exercises with my agent, who has been more than eager to share them with other clients. "The efforts and instruction of Karen Schadow are invaluable. If it weren’t for her, I would not be where I am now, nor be on my way to where I am going professionally with my on-air career."

Victoria Mondesire
New York On-Air News Reporter

"Karen is a remarkable coach. In just one hour she shared a range of techniques that helped improve my presentation. She was fun and personable to work with, and a clear expert on the subject."

Chris Elam
Artistic Director, Misnomer Dance Theater

"Who knew there was so many intricacies to breathing and enunciation, tone and rhythm?!  Not I, which was obvious after an intense one-day session with Karen Schadow. She is a tremendous teacher, one with the ability to instruct and critique with honesty and firmness, yet with a confidence-contagious, you-can-do-it motivational flair.

"Now my media appearances show polish and professionalism, intelligence and enthusiasm! My newly developed abilities are reflected in the delivery of my message and in my demeanor."

Gina LaGuardia
Editor-in-Chief, The CollegeBound Network

"Hi Karen,  I just wanted to take a moment to thank you for MC'ing our Mainland High School 50th Class Reunion.  It clearly was the best one yet, and I owe it mostly to you as Master of Ceremonies, for doing such an over-the-top fabulous job of overseeing it, keeping it going, making it light and fun, and yes, sometimes funny.  It was such a pleasure working with you, and I hope we can collaborate again for our 70th Birthday Party celebration.  Thank you again!

Patti Hebert, Chairman
Mainland HS Reunion Committee, Daytona Beach

"I am happy to say that I have known Karen Schadow for more than 18 years. She was a stand-out colleague when I first signed on at WABC TV as an anchor/reporter and she remained a wonderful caring individual even after she left to start her own company. Karen is a bright, articulate business woman who has left her mark on the New York market and many of the people who work here. People like me. Once she puts her mind to it, there is nothing she can't do."

Roz Abrams
Former News Anchor
WCBS-TV & WABC-TV, New York

"I had the opportunity to hire Karen as the announcer and live voice-over person for the Stevie Awards (in Sales & Customer Service) in Miami Beach and in Las Vegas for three years in a row.  She was perfect, and the audience loved her energetic voice. She is very easy to work with because of her professionalism, demeanor, and quick uptake of the nuances of material with which she is working.

"I highly recommend her for any work that demands intelligence as well as talent."

Peter Levy, Producer
Corniche Productions, New York

Karen created, directed, and produced a 12-minute tribute video for the retiring bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of New York, which was shown at their Diocesan Convention: "Karen Schadow is a true creative professional. She took our very pedestrian brief and worked tirelessly-and with genuine inspiration-to create a final video that not merely met it, but was beautiful to watch, expertly paced, lively, and highly polished."

Nick Richardson
Director of Communications & Editor, Episcopal New Yorker
The Episcopal Diocese of New York

"I just wanted to express my deep thankfulness and gratitude for giving me the opportunity to play Frank in Colette Flanagan's play 'The Table,' under your direction. Your kind understanding and brilliant ideas have made me grow as an actor in ways I am just beginning to understand, feel and appreciate. From the writing out of the initial imaginary history storyline of the Irish family, to the line-by-line subtext analysis (neither of which I ever used in my previous acting studies), you provided me with an insightful process. It all truly came together as a complete story as 'the troupe' met and began rehearsal.

"Your direction was on point, and your vision became clear. Your openness to the actors' input was a compliment to your willingness to make adjustments in order to tell a wonderful story. Thanks, with peace, and acting in mind."

Bob Leonard
Actor, New York City

"As a playwright, I knew my play was in safe hands with Karen directing in New York. She had great insight and understanding of the characters involved, along with being thoughtful and practical in crafting the stage production. She dedicated much time and preparation to the production and was passionate about seeing it come together well for the audience. The audience were delighted. Many many thanks, Karen."

Colette Flanagan
Playwright, Dublin, Ireland

"Karen took charge in New York of producing and directing Colette Flanagan's play, "The Table," on short notice.  (Colette was in the UK.)  Karen cast the play with highly appropriate actors, one of whom had never acted onstage before but who turned in a closely-felt performance, due to Karen's excellent coaching and directing.  On top of a satisfying production, done under the tight restrictions of the Short Play Lab, the play sold a bunch of tickets, which helped support the Lab financially."

John Chatterton
President/CEO, Short Play Lab, New York

"As an attorney, studying with Karen has not only improved my everyday communication skills, but it has also given me the ability and confidence to pursue a second career as broadcast journalist."

Janine
Attorney-at-Law

"Karen'’s techniques and training are an excellent way to maximize the effectiveness of one’s speaking voice, not only for broadcasting, but for any presentation. As part of my job, I am frequently interviewed on television. Karen’s training has really helped me improve my ability to communicate during these interviews in a clear and engaging manner."

Kevin Gooley
Senior Market Strategist,
Standard & Poors

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"It is a great pleasure working with Karen. My native spoken language is not English, and hence I have a heavy local accent. To deal with sophisticated clients, I needed to neutralize my accent, and Karen helped me improve that.

"Karen's approach is very systematic and professional. She first analyzed my existing speech and paid personal attention to particular areas of weakness, and then focused her efforts in correcting those. Her techniques were methodical and effective, and my clients could notice the change in my conversations over the phone. Karen knows exactly what needs to be done to correct specific errors. I would highly recommend Karen's services in Speech Training."

Keshav Inamdar
Assistant Vice President, Credit-Suisse

"Karen is a true professional and has the right mix of experience (broadcast journalism, professional voice coach) and presentation expertise to teach the course, "Ten Steps to a More Dynamic Voice" at New York University. She set out clear expectations and syllabus and stuck to it throughout. She is very good at assessing each student's strengths and weaknesses and providing each with individualized instruction/pointers on what to improve and how.

"Karen is also very helpful to students from other countries for whom English is a second language and the sounds are not native to the speaker. Karen was able to target instruction for them very nicely. The class size (~8) was very conducive to a high amount of participation and everyone getting a good amount of time within the class to practice the techniques in front of the teacher for real-time feedback. I was pleasantly surprised to really enjoy the mix of students in the class, all professionals from a range of background and industries. This was helpful because each was able to provide a varied perspective."

Celeste Hughes
Senior Manager, McGraw Hill Financial, Inc.

"Karen Schadow has helped me overcome several of my accent challenges, quickly and rapidly. She was able to work with me over the phone. I was quite happy with the pace with which she picked up the specific areas of my speech that needed attention and improvement. She was quite gentle but firm in encouraging me to increase the frequency of my voice practice to achieve results I desired.

"Karen was very fast in designing exercises specific to my accent challenges, and I enjoyed each and every session. I am really pleased with the improvements in my voice projection and speech delivery to my audiences. I am able to project my speech far more effectively, after her coaching and voice exercises. It is a pleasure to recommend Karen's voice and accent reduction coaching. "

Venkata Nandigama
IT Business Consultant, Detroit

"All my life, my voice was so soft that not only could people not hear me well, but sometimes they didn’t even notice that I was speaking. I knew I needed to use my diaphragm, but I simply didn’t know how.

"Finally, I found Karen. There was a lot to cover in a 3-day, 10-hour session, but at no point did I feel nervous or pressured (only a little shy when we tried to add some colors to the voice). I was able to take full advantage of the session, thanks to her warm and supportive attitude.

"Videotaping was an effective learning tool. I had a tendency to mumble, and there in the videotape I saw very little mouth movement, even though I had been consciously moving my mouth a lot more than usual.

"Now I can project my voice much more strongly with the newly-acquired breathing technique (never thought I could!) and I can speak more articulately by making my lazy tongue and drowsy lips work harder. That helps me not only professionally (whether I work in the simultaneous booth or in front of the audience), but also in my daily life. Thanks Karen!"

Etsuko Kumata
Conference Interpreter, Otsuka America Pharmaceutical, Inc.

"I took Professor Karen Schadow's class “Ten Steps to a More Dynamic Voice” in Spring 2017.  Before I took this class, I was not sure how would she teach voice coaching, but her profile was shining with '25 years of award-winning experience in Television, Theatre Film, and Video.'  It convinced me to take her class. It was a great decision that I made.

"Karen was a very organized, professional, and genuine teacher. She handed out her syllabus at the first class and explained it in detail. Since it was a class on how to achieve a dynamic voice, Karen taught us from the basic knowledge of where and how to breathe properly, where to stop and breathe during conversations/presentations, and how to gesture effectively when we were speaking. Also, we worked on how to pronounce words and sentences clearly, and Karen listened to each individual’s pronunciation. During the classes, when students could not speak a certain word well, she pointed out and taught him/her until they pronounced the words correctly, which was very important for us non-native English speakers.

"Before I took this class, many people asked me, 'What did you say?  Could you say it again?' because of my incorrect pronunciation and low voice. However, after this course, I was able to speak more dynamically and correctly. In fact, not many people need to ask me what I said anymore.  Likewise, if someone wants to learn how to communicate with others effectively or wants to be a great speaker, I strongly recommend taking Karen's her classes and learning from the essential techniques that she teaches. Prof. Karen’s class will help one to have a Dynamic Voice in one’s life, indeed!"

Soyun Park, NYU Student

"Your voice is such an important part of how you present and express yourself in your daily life, both professional and personal. We often put so much attention on the content of what we're saying, or on our appearance, but totally neglect how we speak! Karen has been instrumental in helping me improve the way I use my voice. After years of speaking with poor vocal habits, I'm amazed at the progress that can be made after a few sessions with Karen and some practice. Working with Karen has been a fantastic, fun and rewarding experience. I would recommend her to anyone!"

Xavier, IT Consultant

"Karen's 10 Step technique is an extremely useful tool set to have in one's repertoire. It is very handy while prepping for meetings or presentations, where the intention is to clearly communicate and be understood. I can sense a visible, positive difference in the way audiences respond to even subtle variations in how I communicate. I am glad I was able to do this."

Kedar Patil
Barclays Bank

"As a non-native speaker, in just four private sessions with Karen Schadow, I significantly improved my pronunciation and increased my confidence to speak in public. Karen’s attention to detail and experience helped her to develop a quick, easy, and personalized program that focused in to correct the key areas that were holding me back. With Karen, your return in the investment is worth the time and money."

John V.
IT Systems Integration Manager

"After only four training sessions with Karen, I feel much more confident about presenting. I also got complimented on my improved English pronunciation and my more confident appearance. Thanks a lot, Karen, for helping me with this."

P.S., Post-Doctoral Researcher, New York University

"Having endured years of humiliating speech therapy as a child to correct speech problems resulting from a cleft lip and palate, I began voice coaching with Karen Schadow to improve my storytelling with fear and trepidation. But Karen immediately put me at ease. Karen tailored her coaching to address my specific needs, even inventing new vocal exercises to help me. She showed me how breathing is key to good vocal performance. Her patient coaching improved my articulation, pitch, and breathing, giving me more confidence as a storyteller. I would recommend Karen Schadow to anyone who wants to speak with 'the voice of success'!"

Jim Cyr
Crisis Intervention Specialist
& Storyteller, Heart Tales

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“For decades, Karen Schadow has been attending St. Bart's, an Episcopal Church in midtown Manhattan, and reading Scripture as part of our Sunday worship services. Recently, Karen agreed to share her expertise with all of our lectors (lay readers) in the form of a multi-session training.

“Karen taught patiently and skillfully, offering a helpful overarching framework and frank but kindly-phrased feedback to session participants. Our readers left feeling more confident and better prepared to lead in worship. I am grateful to Karen and recommend her wholeheartedly to other organizations and individuals in need of public speaking assistance.”

The Rev. Peter D. Thompson
Vicar, St. Bart’s Episcopal Church, New York City

"Dear Karen: The ACI Conference is long past and although everyone has moved on to other venues and projects, no one will forget your dynamic workshops on presenting themselves and speaking out. The skills you taught are ones that we will use in all aspects of our work, and I am still amazed by how much we all learned in a very short period of time.

"These two workshops should be required of all wildlife biologists and communicators ... We were indeed fortunate to have your participation and are especially grateful that you were able to take the time to offer both programs. For those of us who participated in your workshops, it was both a valuable experience and a treat. Thank you for coming to Lenox and for providing such outstanding training."

Ellie Horwitz
Conference Coordinator, Assn. for Conservation Information
Director, Massachusetts Fish & Wildlife

"I had the opportunity to participate in a Karen Schadow voice workshop at a communicator’s conference in Florida last year. Wow! She directed the voices in the crowd like a maestro conducting a symphony. We were all trying her exercises and making improvements in our speaking abilities within a half-hour. I enjoyed it so much that I invited her back the next year, to the same conference, to offer it again for those who missed it. Her techniques work; they are memorable and fun at the same time. Her workshops make even good communicators better and more confident. Don’t miss a chance to work with her."

Judy Stokes
Association for Conservation Information
Public Affairs Chief, New Hampshire Fish & Game Department

"I want you to know, Karen, that your seminar was an enormous help to me. I learned so much and look forward to putting these lessons into practice. Going into this seminar, I was thinking that I had a lot of experience in front of cameras and microphones throughout my 18 years of service with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, and I was thinking that I already knew a good bit about good communication skills. With your help, I quickly realized that I really had much to learn.

"There are so many aspects of on-camera communication that I had never considered, beginning with the basics of learning to breath properly and how that affects your ability to make a strong, professional impression on the audience. You also have an excellent teaching style that I would characterize more as 'coaching' which makes learning easier and more effective. Thank you for taking the time to lead this workshop. I can assure you my professional life and performance will be much improved after this experience."

Nick Wiley, Director, Division of Game Management
Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission

"I thoroughly enjoyed the opportunity to work with you, and your training greatly improved my voice and communications skills. Your direct approach and easy-to-use materials made learning how to speak more effectively an enjoyable and easy task. I would strongly recommend your training for anyone seeking to speak more clearly, confidently, and effectively. I found the on camera sessions most helpful and I know that they will lead to better results for me. I continue to work on my breathing and other exercises to reinforce the sessions I had with you. Breathe! Breathe! Breathe!"

Dr. Thomas H. Eason, Ph.D.
Conservation Initiatives Coordinator, Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission

"Karen Schadow gave our faculty and staff a well-rounded presentation on communication basics, which really hit home with them. Whether it was remembering APB (articulation, projection, breathing), 'staying in the moment,' or taking a breath before speaking, our doctors, nurses, clinical and support staff noted they felt armed with tips they could incorporate immediately into their daily work. "

Michele Fisher, Media Relations Specialist
Office of Communications
The Cancer Institute of New Jersey

"Karen was well received throughout our Project Management Institute’s NYC Breakfast Roundtable event. She is an effective and consummate professional speaker and her well-crafted presentation on Public Speaking Skills delivered a very engaging and practical message to all of our attendees.

"Many members participated in the Q&A, identified with Karen’s presentation, and left with tips and techniques that can be taken back to the workplace and utilized immediately. Their feedback has been spectacular. Thank you Karen! "

Felicia Minott
Program Manager, Breakfast Roundtables
Project Management Institute, NYC

"Karen,

"On behalf of the Manhattan/Bronx Chapter Board of the New York State Society of Certified Public Accountants and our membership, I would like to thank you very much for presenting your 'Ten Steps to a More Dynamic Voice.'

"The presentation was excellent and well received by the audience. We received very good feedback from those in attendance. Communication skills are essential to all CPAs, whether in public or private practice, and your tips will help the attendees be heard and understood. The enunciation and the projection of their voices greatly improved as the evening progressed, as evidenced by the beginning introductions by the attendees and their performances at the end.

"We are really appreciative of the time and effort you have invested to support the Chapter's continuing education programs. Again, thanks so much for your enthusiastic support."

Todd Ichihara
President, Manhattan/Bronx Chapter, NYSSCPA

"Karen presented a program on 'Overcoming Your Fear of Public Speaking' at our annual AEC PHCC Management Conference (in Saratoga Springs, New York). She is a warm and effervescent speaker and her presentation had us on our feet and laughing. Karen had our undivided attention for two hours and left us wanting more. The feedback from our members has been great. Thank you Karen!"

Dorothy J. Reddy
Executive Director
New York State PHCC

"Thank you for being such a great presenter at this evening's ASTD (American Society of Training & Development) Coaching SIG Meeting. I spoke to a number of the participants after your session and, without exception, they had glowing comments.

"I like the way you engaged everyone and made it comfortable for them to ask questions throughout so that they got their answers in the moment. They also seemed to enjoy sharing their stories. You were so completely comfortable that it set the tone for everyone else.

"All in all - a big success. Thank you and congratulations!"

Anne Lesch
Former ASTD New York Metro President
Organizational Development Consultant

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"The benefits of your program truly exceeded my expectations. One of its strengths is the way you tackled my difficulties from multiple angles -- physical, mental and psychological. As a result of our sessions together and practicing at home, my confidence increased in interviews, and I was able to make effective eye contact when speaking. In the past, my thoughts, as well as my speech, had been jumbled in stressful situations. You taught me to articulate cogently and confidently.

"With the interview, speech and presentation skills you taught me, I was able to get into all of my top choices for graduate school. I also competed for, and won, a significant five-year fellowship. Besides helping me snag the opportunity of a lifetime, the skills I learned with you have transferred over into my personal life. I feel more at ease with myself and I think other people see me as being smarter, happier, and friendlier too. Thanks so much, Karen."

Josh Marshack
Washington University, St. Louis

"I contacted Karen at The Voice of Success for my teenage daughter, and I was struck by not only Karen's accomplishments, but also by her friendly and encouraging demeanor.  My daughter is an intelligent high school student with a soft and gentle speaking voice.  She is beginning to face more outside school public speaking opportunities, like presentations and discussions with professional mentors and debates in model congress conferences.

"Karen’s coaching surpassed our expectations and has helped my daughter feel more confident about her public speaking. I highly recommend Karen Schadow to anyone for attaining the voice of success!"

June Yip
New York City Parent

"In junior high, I was always very quiet. If you heard a small whisper float out of a corner, most likely, it was one Anita Lim. So, I told myself that in high school I would be extremely outspoken. I tell myself many things. By the time I met Ms. Karen Schadow, I was already in my last year of high school and still wasn't outspoken at all. This time, it wasn't that my voice was inaudible, but that I wasn't comfortable speaking in front of groups of people. I wondered how I would be able to speak naturally in class. So, I met with Ms. Schadow thinking: I have to talk in front of people without the awkwardness, especially without turning red all of the time. With Ms. Schadow, I learned breathing techniques that amplify the voice, the pronunciation of commonly disregarded letters, intonation and presentation. In the end, the breathing and intonation techniques really helped because being able to speak loudly in class made me much more confident. Now, I volunteer answers more than before and when presentations roll by, I'm there and really not as frightened anymore. I even get the urge to talk in class nowadays and that, coming from the former mute girl in the corner, means a lot."

Anita Lim
High School Honor Student

"I was lucky enough to have had Karen Schadow as a Professor of Communications. I have encountered few professors who have the ability to connect with and motivate their students like Prof. Schadow. It was encouraging to see a professor so excited about the subject matter, and it was obvious that she enjoyed being in the classroom. Her real world experience combined with her clear-cut, enthusiastic teaching style made for an extremely valuable experience. I am a stronger, more confident student having met Karen Schadow."

Andrea Baumgarten
Marketing, New York Road Runners
Kean University, Broadcasting Graduate

"After last night's class, I must say that I never thought that speaking to a group of people, however briefly, could actually be a pleasant experience. Over the course of six weeks I've developed a much better feeling of my own voice and the things I need to work on during my continuing practice. I really liked your way of drawing people out and felt very comfortable in your class. I realized that even though I'm not a "born" speaker, with enough practice I can and will get to the point where I'll be able to take my voice for granted and can focus on WHAT I'm going to say. Again thank you very much for a thoroughly enjoyable class."

E.L, Translator, New York

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