Equipping You to Elevate

Sharon Lau (MACL) is an Independent Communications Consultant and Development Trainer (Regions: Hawai’i, Continental U.S. and Japan)

Professionally and personally, it is necessary to recognize opportunities for growth as a communicator in order to develop, sustain, and strengthen relationships, elicit positive impact with our public(s) and/or augment our ability to lead, negotiate, motivate, and inspire. As diverse beings, stemming from disparate backgrounds, cultures, inclinations, and experiences, our interactions not only define who we are, they ultimately advance or inhibit our opportunities. Thus, cohesion, consistency, and improved channels of communication are contingent upon practices and approaches designed to optimize our abilities as relational beings, organizational constituents, and leaders alike. 

Cultivate your most powerful, professional self through communication skills training

TRAINING FOCUS AREAS:

Public Speaking

Interview Preparedness

Media/Television Training

Interpersonal Communication

Relational Mindfulness/Empathic Communication

Pitch Development/Sales Presentations

SPECIALTY AREAS:

Loss Prevention

Sales Training

About Sharon:

Born in Honolulu, Sharon grew up on the beautiful Windward side of O’ahu, in Kāne’ohe. She attended Castle High School and upon graduating spent several years within the retail sector as a make-up artist, which led her to retail management and training opportunities at one of the nation’s most renown beauty establishments.

Possessing a penchant for helping others, Sharon desired to learn more about social and human behavior, including speech, and the implications of our words, mannerisms, and the contexts which determine our relational exchanges. This led her to Arizona State University, where she earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in Communication Studies, and graduated Summa Cum Laude.
During her undergraduate journey, she was chosen out of 65,000 students, comprising ASU’s then student body, to represent the university at the National Conference on Ethics – a symposium created to elicit awareness and promote ethical conduct throughout colleges across the nation, held at the West Point Military Academy in New York.

With her bachelor’s in hand, and a profound love for research, sharing knowledge, and humanistic studies, Sharon earned her Master of Arts in Communication and Leadership (MACL) at Gonzaga with the desire to teach upon graduating. While she has served as an adjunct professor in the past, teaching in the areas of rhetorical studies, gender and relational communication, she currently focuses on her consulting work where she facilitates positive personal and organizational change through customized training approaches and curricula, anchored within social science theory and research.

 When not immersed in teaching and training in both the private and public sectors, Sharon enjoys traveling, beach days, volunteering with local non-profit organizations, and spending as much time as possible with her husband and two children. Continually fostering their relationship with God, a faith that is anchored by His teachings of love, inclusivity, giving, and purposeful living, Sharon and her family attend New Hope Windward in Kāne’ohe.

Education:

M.A., Communication and Leadership, Gonzaga University (2011), emphasis in Training and Development.

B.A., Communication Studies, Arizona State University (2007), emphasis in Rhetorical Studies and Gender Communication.

Published Works:

Cultivating Culturally Empathic Environments in the Academic Setting (2011).

Keiki Speech Club

Keiki Speech Club LLC, founded in 2016, is Hawai’i’s first and only collegiate-based communication skills training program for youth ages 8-18. As a series of small-group training workshops, designed to train youth in the art of public speaking while building confidence; the curriculum Sharon created is modeled after the classic collegiate intro course (within Speech, Communications, Public Speaking, etc) with a focus on experiential activities (emphasis: training and development) to ensure that it is highly engaging and focused on skill attainment. Since 2016, Sharon has graduated over 40 students, many of which who have become entrepreneurs and college scholars who serve their community through educational equity and advocacy initiatives.

Community

Sharon currently serves as Vice President of the Board of Directors at KEY Project (Kualoa Ecumenical Youth) in Kahalu’u (O’ahu, Hawai’i)