Skip to content
ABOUT MIKE

I wasn't a natural. I learned this the hard way.

As a kid, I couldn't say some sounds. In Mazatlán, Mexico, I gave my first school presentation in Spanish to a class that laughed before I finished my first sentence. I went home with a fever, sick with fear.

Years later, I competed in college debate at the national level and, as a community leader, spoke at a vigil attended by more than three thousand people. Today I help people find their voice and use it well, starting with the voice in their own head.

Mike Acker speaking at TEDx Warrenton

The short version

  1. CHILDHOOD A speech impediment Speech therapy and a lot of practice, one sound at a time.
  2. MAZATLÁN Presenting in a second language Laughed at, teased, and slowly learning that fear doesn’t get the last word.
  3. COLLEGE National-level debate Learning to think on my feet and argue for what I believe.
  4. TODAY Speaker, author, coach Keynotes, coaching through Uplevel Communication, and a first book translated into six languages.
Mike Acker with his family

Home base: Austin, Texas

I live in Austin with my family. The most important voices I speak over every day are the ones at my kitchen table, and the bedtime conversations with my kids are where I practice everything I teach.

MEDIA KIT

For planners, hosts, and press.

Copy, paste, and download. Everything here is approved to use.

SHORT BIO · ABOUT 60 WORDS

Mike Acker believes communication is a skill anyone can build with the right structure, honest feedback and consistent practice. He founded Uplevel Communication and coaches leaders at companies like Amazon, Adobe, Microsoft and GE Vernova. Mike wrote Speak With No Fear, which has sold over 100,000 copies and been translated into six languages, and Speak With Confidence, published by Wiley. He has been a speaker at TEDx Sawmill Lake and a speaker at TEDx Warrenton.

INTRO TO READ FROM STAGE

As a kid, our next speaker had a speech impediment. In seventh grade, a classroom in Mexico laughed at his first presentation. Today he has spoken on hundreds of stages, and his book Speak With No Fear has been translated into six languages. He's here to speak about the voices we listen to, and the ones we shouldn't. Please welcome Mike Acker.