Victoria Labalme

Victoria Labalme helps people perform at their highest levels by Risking Forward to express their hidden genius.

Her proprietary Risk Forward^® systems and strategies have been embraced by 13 of the Fortune 100 companies. She has been the private coach to C-suite executives at Starbucks, Microsoft, PayPal, Omnicom, New York Life Insurance, Polycom, and JCDecaux; and has worked with over 700 organizations including Intel, Cisco, Oracle, IBM, McDonald’s, Coca-Cola, AAA, American Heart Association, BlueCross BlueShield, Precor, 24 Hour Fitness, Optum, LPL Financial, ADP, L’Oreal, GSA, U.S. Dept of Health & Human Services, The World Bank, Nationwide, MetLife and Chase.

Victoria has also been the private consultant to Hollywood directors, New York Times Bestselling Authors and thought leaders appearing on stages for PBS, TED and Oprah.

With 20 years in the Performing Arts — from Broadway to comedy clubs, landmark films to high-profile television — Victoria brings uncommon insights to help individuals and organizations embrace uncertainty, distinguish their work and achieve sustainable growth.

Her show business credits include: a cameo on Sex & The City, 27 television commercials including a Super Bowl spot, NHK Japan’s documentary with Harvey Keitel and Robert DeNiro, a film “Bessie” directed by Academy Award winner D.A. Pennebaker, HBO’s Workspace Theater, Caroline’s on Broadway, and representation by the manager for Billy Crystal and the late Robin Williams.

Victoria also conceived and produced the documentary film, “Muppet Guys Talking” about the visionary leadership style of Jim Henson: how a culture of innovation, risk taking, hard work, and playfulness produced one of the most successful creative endeavors in history. The film premiered at SXSW with critical acclaim from The Hollywood Reporter, Variety, BBC, Los Angeles Times, and ABC Good Morning America. 

A graduate of Stanford University and an inductee into the Speaker Hall of Fame, Victoria is also the founder of a complete suite of online learning experiences and live workshops proven to help people Risk Forward^® and knock their presentations out of the park – on stage, in meetings, in virtual presentations…and in life.

RISK FORWARD® - Harness Uncertainty. Take Action. Express Your Inner Genius.

Performing Arts Principles to Transform Your Business Performance

LEADERSHIP –  SALES – TEAMS

We live in an era when conditions are in constant flux, people are experiencing internal angst, and uncertainty prevails. Competition, speed, and change are increasing at unprecedented levels.

Victoria’s counterintuitive approach to all this is riveting, surprising, and effective.

The key to success is not in how quickly we can lock in fixed plans, but rather the opposite: how we can approach our work as an art — navigate uncertainty and Risk Forward^® to achieve remarkable results.

In her landmark keynote and forthcoming book, she shares unconventional business insights to help people perform at their best and achieve sustainable growth through a surprising blend of art and business:

Along the way she shows:

• How goal setting can lead you astray — if it’s not done right
• Why decisiveness is overrated — and how to harness the wisdom of indecision
• And that uncertainty is not the enemy, but a potential asset

In the current landscape, leadership requires fluidity; teamwork requires adaptability; and interactions — whether in sales or customer service, hospitality or healthcare —  require the ability to create a memorable experience.

What people need, thus, are not step-by-step formulas but reliable, effective, guiding principles that they can apply in any situation.

Using skills she developed through 25 years of professional stage and screen performances, Victoria leverages her background — from Broadway to Hollywood — to share her unique Risk Forward^® methodology, that has led to stunning results in organizations around the world.

With gripping storytelling, comedic highlights and shrewd insights, Victoria brings decades of stage mastery to your event.

In her Keynote Performance, Victoria takes the audience on a profound journey. Attendees are laughing, learning and taking notes. They leave empowered and inspired, having internalized proven strategies to take action and harness the innate talents that currently lie dormant within.

As part of the prep, Victoria listens to your needs, studies your organization, does a deep dive questionnaire and then selects the specific Risk Forward® content that will most resonate with your audience. She then crafts unique bits, learns your acronyms, weaves in your themes, and puts together a fully customized, unforgettable keynote experience.

Risk Forward. Reconnect with What Matters Most. And Reap Unimaginable Rewards.

• Ideal for opening or closing conferences
• Keynotes, Half Day, Full Day and Multi-Day workshops
• Audience can be any size

ROCK THE ROOM® - Knock Your Presentations Out of the Park

As distractions and information overload increase to unprecedented levels, and as people’s attention span drops dramatically, how can you deliver your message in a way that truly lands?

Whether you’re communicating on stage, on video, or in meetings with your team, clients, customers or prospects…the stakes are high.

It’s hard to get people’s attention and when you do, you can’t afford to blow it. In our fast moving, multi-channeled, entertainment-driven culture, you can’t just deliver information.

You must create an experience.

Using game-changing strategies developed through 25 years of professional stage and screen performances as well as decades working with the world’s top CEOs, teams, entrepreneurs, consultants, and speakers, Victoria provides you with the secrets you need to Rock The Room® and knock your presentations and communications out of the park.

In this humor-filled, entertaining and power-packed keynote, Victoria shares her 5-part Rock The Room Performance System which you can implement immediately to transform your communications into an unforgettable experience.

Interactive, fun, filled with “Ah=ha” slap-your-hand-on-your-head moments, Rock The Room® is guaranteed to crack open your creative spirit and set you and your business apart from the pack.

You’ll walk away with the tools you need to deliver your message with the unexpected twist that makes it your own and distinguishes your brand.

Rock The Room® has met with praise from people across multiple industries — and the most introverted to the most extroverted of individuals.  Whether tech, health care, hospitality, insurance, academia, internet marketing, advertising, social media, financial services….you name it. We’re on it.

• Keynotes; Half Day; Full Day; Multi-Day workshops
• Group can be any size

OUTCOMES:

• Avoid the #1 communications mistake most people make
• Get the confidence you crave
• Engage the audience – no matter what size
• Be a great storyteller
• Be free from memorizing or “winging it”
• Add humor with 3 fail-safe techniques
• Know the secrets to creating phenomenal PowerPoint (it’s not bullets)
• Clarify your message
• Captivate the room (no one will be touching their phone)
• Get texts that say, “You nailed it!”
• Have a reliable system — guaranteed to work every time
• Increase results & Win more business

Crazy, Busy, Nuts: Getting off the Conveyor Belt of Life

A Broadway-level customized performance to inspire & entertain your audience. Do you ever wake up stressed just thinking about your day? Does the week feel like a non-stop ‘conveyor belt’ of commitments? In this comedic, dynamic, entertaining performance, Victoria takes the challenging issues in your organization, delivers practical tools for managing the chaos, and transforms people’s mindset by giving them the inspiration to change. Packed with customized humor and cutting edge commentary, this keynote provides your teams with the specific skills needed to move beyond the “crazy busy” mindset, reconnect with their Through Line, communicate more effectively, and become more productive in work and in life. Comedic. Entertaining. Thought provoking. And profoundly inspiring.

A huge hit with our sales and management team…well exceeded our expectations. We have seen an immediate impact on sales activity and new business. — Senior Vice President, Enterprise Rent-A-Car

Victoria delivered. Pure and simple. She is funny, poignant, dramatic, visual - in short, the total package. I highly recommend Victoria for a program of any size, for any industry, global or domestic. — Vice President, Marketing & Communications, IBM

Brilliant. Inspiring. Client centric. And uniquely talented. Not only did Victoria energize and inspire our PayPal team, but her techniques from the performing arts helped us perform at the highest levels...and unlock hidden genius in our top talent. — Chief Product Officer, PayPal

The talk and "WOW" of my Sales Meeting. My entire team got great working tools that they can take into their daily lives to make a positive and measurable difference. Thank you for a great performance that we will never forget. — Sales Director, Starbucks