Erica Barnhart
Your guide to unlocking the power of words to overcome adversity, build resilience, and create a life you love.
Erica breaks things down so you can break through.
Through the loss of her husband to mental illness, Erica learned firsthand that adversity is inevitable, resilience is hard won, and happiness is worth fighting for.
Erica dives into the missteps that fuel the internal struggles we all face—imposter syndrome, self-doubt, and performance anxiety, just to name a few. She knows the unique (and at times, awkward) challenge of having to show up professionally while, personally, your world is falling apart. She lived through walloping amounts of hardship and came out the other side stronger, happier, and ready to help others do the same.
Unflinching, yet heartfelt, Erica blends her lived experience with her expertise so audiences can stop wasting words and start using them to deliver results and create lasting change.
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With decades of experience as a professor, consultant, and coach, Erica has helped hundreds of leaders and thousands of individuals—from Fortune 500 executives to nonprofit leaders to people navigating life's hardest moments—discover how to use language with intention and conviction. She is the author of Pitchfalls: Why Bad Pitches Happen to Good People and Recharge: Energize Your Employees One Word at a Time. Her work has been featured in MarketWatch, Stanford Social Innovation Review, The Seattle Times, and beyond. But what sets Erica apart isn't just her intellectual rigor or impressive client roster, it's her ability to blend research-backed frameworks with hard-won personal wisdom. She inspires audiences while giving them strategies that will sustain them long after the keynote ends. Erica understands the universal experiences that shape us—love, loss, fear, self-doubt—and knows that the words we choose can transform hardship into resilience, courage, and a life worth celebrating.
If you want a speaker who is insightful, inspiring, and fun to work with, book Erica to speak at your next event.
Erica’s keynotes are equal parts inspiration and information. Her talks are infused with humor and grounded in science, and she engages participants in unexpected and memorable ways. From impromptu, audience-fueled rock operas to ripping up paper and planting new self-talk “seeds”, she creates an immersive, unforgettable experience.
Listen to Erica’s Podcast Communicate for Good
The path to success and happiness is paved with adversity. Resilience is required. Listen in as Erica and her guests share stories and suggestions for navigating uncertainty, inspiring action, and transforming the way leaders face challenges, one word at a time.
Contact Me
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