Alanna Olken, Creator of Speechless
Speechless is a communications advisory that helps leaders and organizations navigate inflection points with clarity and confidence.
Everything I do ladders up to my three C’s:
Confidence
Clarity
Connection
OK cool, what does that actually mean? Well, I coach the way I wish I’d been coached when I was building this business, or at a major fork in the road in my career. I keep things grounded in the belief that most leadership challenges are communication challenges. If you can figure out what you want to say, how to say it, and then deliver it powerfully, you’ll be shocked by the results.
How I Coach
Every engagement starts with conversation. We dig in, name what’s really happening, and put language around it so you can move forward with focus.
From there, we build a strike plan that is customized for you. This looks like putting language to your key challenges and setting 3 clear goals. I have a corporate background, so you know we’re going to define success before diving in.
I’m not interested in keeping anyone in coaching forever, that’s boring for me and unhelpful for you. So I like to keep our first engagement around 12-16 sessions and pick three goals to focus on. Anything more is covering too much to absorb and genuinely integrate into your life. Anything less is not going to cut it.
The Output
Because everything I do runs through the lens of communication, I help people figure out what they want to say, how to say it, and how to deliver it with confidence.
That work takes a lot of different forms — both individual and company-wide — depending on what you need:
• Fundraising decks and investor pitches
• Brand narrative and messaging
• External communication materials
• Elevator pitches and personal positioning
• Content and storytelling across digital platforms
• Confidence coaching and presentation prep
• Practical AI tools for better strategy, writing, and workflows
Ways to Work Together
1:1 Coaching (most advisory cycles run three to four months)
Leadership and Strategy Advisory / Retainer
Team Workshops
Communications Projects (pitch decks, messaging, narrative work)
Supporting executive leaders at:
Anthropic, Apple, Audible, Bloomberg Philanthropy, Citadel, Goldman Sachs, Google, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Last Week Tonight With John Oliver, Morgan Stanley, TPG, Via, Williams College, Yale University (Venture Lab)