DAENA GIARDELLA has been designing and leading training programs for corporations and organizations for over twenty years. In her work as a communications consultant she integrates her extensive background as a media coach, public speaking instructor, organizational trainer, team building specialist, executive coach and theatre professional. Daena creates custom designed training programs to address the particular goals and issues of each group or organization. She also offers keynote presentations as a motivational speaker as well as entertaining performances that illuminate the themes and goals of the program.

Daena integrates many uniquely creative techniques, exercises, and demonstrations as she focuses on motivating participants to invest in the goals of the training and learn new skills in a lively and engaging format. She offers on-site trainings and organizational learning retreats. Daena can also develop training films and videos as adjunct learning tools. She also offers individual employee coaching sessions.

Read Daena's Consulting Bio...

Media: Articles, Videos, and Interviews

• Improvisational Leadership: In the Moment Leadership Skills
• Constructively Navigating Difficult Conversations
• Leading Diverse Teams: Responding Effectively as Leaders to Bias & Harassment
• Speak Up & Bystander Intervention Skills
• Leading and Communicating in Change: the New Normal
• Cultivating Emotional Intelligence
• Leadership and the Inner Critic
• Leading in Uncertain Times: Adaptability, Resilience, and Improvisation
• Creativity Development: Fostering Innovation and Initiative
• Team Building: Making Strong, Collaborative Relationships
• Effective Communication and Interpersonal Skills
• Leadership and the Art of Influence
• Giving a Great Presentation and Performance
• Negotiation Skills: Handling the Unexpected with Dexterity
• Overcoming Stage Fright
• Cultivating Confidence and Presence
• High Stakes Listening
• Customer Service Excellence

Some of Daena's Popular Presentations/Trainings:

Have you ever tried to exercise your best executive instincts, only to find yourself freezing up, hesitating, second guessing your choices, or feeling thwarted by unanticipated pushback? In order to employ leadership models and negotiation tools during the day-to-day demands of real life situations, we need to be ready to respond, adapt, and extemporize. Find out more about LEADERSHIP, INFLUENCE, NEGOTIATION, & IMPROVISATION.

Have you ever felt stuck, confused, or anxious in a conversation that suddenly takes a difficult turn into tension or conflict? Do you sometimes feel defensive, impatient, reactive, or uncomfortable during discussions when opposing views are expressed? The ability to effectively respond, influence, and negotiate during difficult conversations is vital for all leaders. This capability is essential for our leadership tool kit since challenging conversations are inevitable in professional settings.Find out more about CONSTRUCTIVELY NAVIGATING DIFFICULT CONVERSATIONS.

Our ability to interact with people from diverse backgrounds is essential for successful collaboration, especially given our rapidly evolving global business marketplace. Our professional environments are composed of women and men from different cultures, industry expertise areas, ethnicities, cognitive styles, races, sexual orientations, ages, and physical abilities. This workshop offers specific steps and skills for responding when we experience or witness comments or behaviors that communicate unconscious bias or stereotyping, sexual harassment, or misconduct as well as other expressions of incivility or bullying. Find out more about LEADING DIVERSE TEAMS.

As we continue to transition to a “New Normal” after 2 years of Zoom meetings and other COVID-19 adaptations, we will need to navigate this transition with care and thoughtfulness. Leading in change is an essential leadership capability that will be needed and tested often as we all create our “new normal” together in the coming months. In an interactive format, this workshop will give you an opportunity to learn, discuss, and practice useful skills, influence tools, and approaches to help you lead adeptly in times of change and transition. Find out more about LEADING AND COMMUNICATING IN CHANGE: THE NEW NORMAL.

Our ability to be effective in our “outer” negotiations or conversations with other stakeholders depends greatly on our ability to adeptly manage and navigate our own “internal negotiation” with our Inner Critic. Managing one’s internal negotiation is one of the key aspects of emotional self-regulation in leadership, which is the ability to regulate one’s emotions and reactions as we respond to situations throughout the day when we are faced with stress, conflict, difficult conversations, disappointments, etc. Find out more about LEADERSHIP AND THE INNER CRITIC.

During this monumentally challenging moment, we are grappling with core questions: How do we lead effectively in times of uncertainty? What tools will enable us to cultivate resilience and adaptability in ourselves and our team members?.. and more. The ability to respond proactively in uncertain times is a core leadership and team capability. Our ability to improvise to solve unexpected problems strategically is paramount Find out more about LEADING IN UNCERTAIN TIMES.

Daena focuses on the challenging issues of change and transition that arise during times of organizational growth and restructuring. Innovative programs are designed to facilitate communication, leadership development, transition coaching, management/employee collaboration, conflict resolution, and creativity development. Training the trainers as well as executive coaching may also be included in this program. "THE ART OF CHANGE"© gives participants specific skills for creatively managing the unique stresses of change that are currently confronting organizations of all sizes in our rapidly evolving world. Find out more about "THE ART OF CHANGE" ©.

Daena also offers PRESENTATION AND PUBLIC SPEAKING SKILLS TRAININGS for individuals and organizations. Her popular "MAKING YOUR BEST PRESENTATION"© program gives people specific, dynamic skills and customized coaching. Daena draws upon her extensive background as a motivational speaker, presenter and actress to target the learning needs and skill areas that will help each participant grow and excel in his/her mastery of the art of delivering a great presentation. Find out more about "MAKING YOUR BEST PRESENTATION"©.

Daena's Team Building trainings are among her most popular programs. Participants have an opportunity to learn how to use improvisation exercises to cultivate their team instincts. The skills of improvisation are the very same skills that are most needed for the effective creation of vibrant team work.  Find out more about TEAM BUILDING TRAININGS.

Daena also coaches people from virtually every profession in the art of effective on-camera and radio appearances. Her vibrant "MAKING THE MOST OF A MEDIA MOMENT"© training gets to the heart of what people need to know as they approach a media experience. Daena draws upon her extensive background in radio, television, video films, and theatre to help each participant turn the camera and/or microphone into a reliable ally as they project a natural authenticity and engaging clarity. Find out more about MEDIA COACHING & "MAKING THE MOST OF A MEDIA MOMENT"©.

In addition, Daena Giardella has specialized in creating training and coaching formats that dramatically improve CUSTOMER SERVICE SKILLS in both face-to-face and telephone interaction contexts. Find out more about CUSTOMER SERVICE EXCELLENCE TRAININGS.

Creativity is essential in work and life. In the same way that our physical muscles need a regular workout, so do our creativity muscles. Daena offers individual and group coaching sessions to help you develop a dynamic relationship to your creative process. Daena's Creativity Coaching helps you gain more clarity about your goals, explore your vision, develop new ideas, and make action steps designed to help you achieve concrete progress. Fing out more about INDIVIDUAL AND GROUP CREATIVITY COACHING.

Read Past Client Endorsements!

Daena Teaches the Improvisational Side to the Art of the Deal at MIT
Read and listen to the story.

Daena's Articles on MIT Sloan Experts Blog

From Failure to Success: Using Improvisation to Develop Resilience and Leadership

Secrets of Celebrity Companies

BizEd goes on location at MIT Sloan to report on how Daena helps students make the connection between leadership and creativity in her courses.

Click here to view the PDF article.

What brings executives and improvisers together?

Daena Giardella brings improvisational leadership programs to Lisbon, Portugal. - Click here to read the article.

MBA students learn that all the business world's a stage

Daena's Improvisational Leadership Course Featured in Financial Times - Click here to read the article.

Daena Helps Future Business Leaders Cut Loose at MIT
Read the article from The Chronicle of Higher Education

Daena's Improvisational Leadership Course Featured in MIT's TechTalk Newsletter

Daena helps business leaders and entrepreneurs in Buenos Aires develop their leadership skills with improvisational techniques.

Read the article featured in Argentina's largest newspaper (in English).

Daena teaches her workshop "Improvisational Leadership:
The Art of the Moment" in Santiago Chile.

Read the article (in English).

View photo gallery from this event.

Daena provides business leaders and entrepreneurs in Santiago Chile the skills they need to successfully face uncertain times in business.

Read the article about Daena's workshop in Chile's leading business newspaper (in English).

Daena speaks to top international executives at a business breakfast offered by the Foundation for Business Quality and Excellence.

Read about her presentation (in English and Spanish).

Daena kicks off a series of business workshops offered by
"Clase Ejecutiva," a unique alliance between Pontificia Universidad Catolica de Chile and the Chilean newspaper,
"El Mercurio."

Read the article (in English).