After a boy threatened to kill her with a machete, Lynne Franklin started learning all she could about reaching unreachable people. Her secret? Listen well, tell the truth, and do it with a good story—plus a wry sense of humor. She spent most of her career showing executives how to connect with investors, the media, and their own employees.

Along the way, Lynne became a neuroscience nerd: translating how the brain works into practical, easy-to-use communication tools. She delivers these ideas with energy and fun. One example is her
TEDx Talk: “How to Be a Mind Reader.” This has gone viral, with about 4 million views.

Leaders and teams—in companies of all sizes and many industries—work with her to break down their communication silos. They advance their careers by building more rapport, creating more trust, and developing cultures where people want to work.

Lynne has presented before the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers, Ceilings and Internal Systems Construction Association, Healthcare Businesswomen’s Association, New York Department of Homeland Security, Northwestern Mutual, Ragan’s Storytelling for Communicators Conference, and Wintrust Bank, among others.

She double-majored in psychology and English at St. Catherine University, and earned a master’s degree in liberal studies—for which she created a novel as her thesis—from Hamline University, both in St. Paul, Minn.

Lynne is a leadership communication consultant, coach and speaker. She is past president of the National Speakers Association Illinois Chapter and a Certified Virtual Presenter. Lynne wrote Getting Others To Do What You Want and is working on her next book—Leaders on Rapport:
Secrets to Creating Successful Connections.

To keep her sanity, she does song parodies: creating lyrics about the pandemic and singing them to familiar tunes on YouTube.