meet “the guru”

What’s often cited as the number one fear in the United States, even over death, is one of the things that I relish the most.

My name is Jill Schiefelbein, and I am passionate about public speaking.

After five years of teaching public speaking and business communication to students at Arizona State University, and doing speech consulting for Phoenix-area executives, I thought it was time to take my lessons, put them online, and enable anyone to access them, without having to hire a consultant or enroll in a class.

From the time I did my first formal presentation (I was nine, it was at a 4-H club, and the topic was How to Draw a Mouse, which my mom will remind me about to this day) I knew that communication would be a passion in my life. Since then, I’ve spoken to groups of all ages, in audience sizes of one to 5,000. And I love every minute of it.

Impromptu Guru is my way of enabling and empowering others to become better speakers. Whether you are terrified of speaking in public, or you are an experienced speaker, we can all use tips, tricks, and practice. Enjoy the site, the videos, and your personal progress in becoming a better speaker!

it’s all about communication

My education background is based in communication and international business, with foci in computer-mediated communication, multimedia writing and technical communication, organizational communication, strategic communication and communication technology.

My work background reflects my education, with direct experience in managing and directing online education, teaching communication classes and authoring textbook materials, evaluating and analyzing courses and market research, designing and facilitating corporate communication training classes, and one-on-one speech consulting.

specialties:

Speech consultation, mediated speaking, online course design, technical training, communication training, webinar design, teaching in-person, hybrid and online courses in public speaking, communication technology, crisis and strategic communication and business communication.