Eleni Kelakos
Eleni Kelakos uses theater techniques to help business leaders be confident, relaxed and real under pressure and scrutiny, so they can speak and lead with greater impact.
Expert on
- Image / Self-Esteem
- Presentation Skills
- Performance Improvement
- Women in Business
- Motivation
- Leadership
Fee Range
$7,500–$10,000Travels from
MI, USBiography
To Meeting Planners:
It must very stressful to have to come through under pressure to select the “perfect” speaker for your meeting, training event, or convention.
I understand a thing or two myself about coming through under pressure. That’s because from the moment I started auditioning for career-altering roles in plays, television shows and film as an eager young actress in New York City, I had eyes on me, judging me at every turn. To get cast and make my mark, I had to learn to do two things fast and well: Embrace my uniqueness, and perform at my best no matter who was watching or how high the stakes.
It wasn’t easy. But with time, practice, and a focus on what I call Presence Mastery, I learned the techniques I needed to be consistently relaxed, real and relatable in my high stress, high-pressure auditions and performances. I’ve been teaching those same fear-busting, confidence-raising, presence and presentation mastery techniques to audiences and coaching clients for almost twenty years. Like actors, they, too, have to perform under pressure on a daily basis. Colleagues and clients are relying on them to come through, to bring their best to their work and their words.
Because when they don’t– when they play small instead of striving for excellence by fully embracing and developing who they are, delivering a clear message, and bringing a magnetic presence to their conversations and presentations—opportunities are blown, miscommunication proliferates and confidence and productivity plummet.
When you choose to have me deliver a keynote or breakout at your association or corporate convention, retreat or meeting, I’ll deliver an experience, not just a lecture. An experience high in fun, energy and audience interaction, woven from powerful stories, and simple, practical, highly effective strategies and techniques. And, depending on the program, you choose, I’ll even include well-placed original songs that reflect my years as an award-winning touring/ recording singer-songwriter. As a result, your attendees leave feeling more valued, more hopeful, and more committed to embracing their development as speakers, leaders and human beings. And, of course, you’ll look like a hero for having booked me!
My most requested topics:
Perform at Your Peak: Three Principles for a Confident, Compelling Presence (Focus: Developing a powerful , authentic and magnetic leadership presence –for the long-run –by embracing an actor’s toolkit and mindset)
Think Like an Actor, Speak Like a Pro (Focus: Foundational, theatre-based techniques for public speaking and communication excellence)
Stop Playing Small: Ten Ways to be Seen and Heard as a Woman of Power (Focus: Presence and presentation techniques for women in leadership)
Touch the Sky! (A Motivational Keynote Concert for Everyday Healers) (Focus: “Be You, Aim high”; Increased productivity and personal/career satisfaction by embracing who you are and reaching for your best)
See complete program descriptions below
About Eleni:
Eleni is a presence and presentation expert, and the Chief Transformational Officer of The Eleni Group, now in its second decade. She uses performance techniques– learned over twenty years as a professional actress and award-winning nationally touring singer/songwriter in New York and L.A.– to help business leaders speak and present themselves with more authenticity, confidence and impact no matter who’s watching.
When she’s not coaching individuals or facilitating trainings at companies like General Motors, Plante-Moran, and The Kubota Tractor Coporation, Eleni practices what she preaches, firing up hearts and minds with her signature keynote presentations at conferences nationwide.
A double major in Theatre and Semiotics from Brown University, Eleni is a past president of the National Speakers Association of Michigan. She’s sung the national anthem at Shea Stadium for three (winning) Mets games, and has produced four acclaimed CDs of her original songs. Her book, Touch the Sky: Find Your Voice, Speak Your Truth, Make Your Mark, was a gold medal winner of the 2014 Global e-Book Awards. She lives happily with her husband, and two constantly shedding cats, in Ann Arbor, Michigan.