Since retiring as a professor of English and communication at the United States Air Force  Academy in Colorado Springs, I now help business executives, astronauts, physicians, cops, and government staffers put together tight messages that communicate complicated ideas in a flash.  The goal is to get their meetings, voice mail, and E-mail down to size.  My clients used to be like the people described in a USA Today article that says most people in organizations spend 60% of their time in endless meetings that cover non-issues 25% of the time and turn out to be totally unproductive 50% of the time anyway.  

My specialty is communication under pressure.  The idea is to act as if you’re a fighter pilot, moments away from either victory or being shot down; like a cop busting through the door of a crack house; or an astronaut with only seconds to go before a risky docking in space. Do that and your new communication strategies are sure to get you competitive advantage in today’s cyber spectacular market.  As you can see, I like to bring plenty of good communication “war stories” to the sessions I conduct for business audiences.  

The Formula

Here’s how we turn things around: Put your main point up front and support it with only what your audience needs to make a good, educated decision. Cut the background, jargon, big words, history, and fluff. Match your words with powerful, yet uncluttered visuals that help you telegraph the point: You say it as they see it. And keep it to about seven minutes. The idea is to communicate clearly, get decisions made, and spend less time in meetings so everyone can get back to business.  

Who Bill Works With

Bill works with such diverse groups as the astronauts and cosmonauts of NASA, The European Space Agency, and The Japanese Space Agency; NASA Office of Safety, Reliability and Quality Assurance; The Coca-Cola Company; General Mills, Inc.; The IRS; Naval Space Command; FmHA; the medical community; The U. S. Marshals Service; The Congressional Budget Office; The White House Office of Management and Budget; The Emergency Room Doctors of Spectrum; and scores of universities. He also regularly prepares well-known personalities for appearances on such national television programs as Today, Nightline, Good Morning America, and Meet the Press. Because he likes to observe highly charged operation environments first hand, he is often a participant in federal Fugitive Investigation Strike Team (FIST) operations.  

Education

Bachelor of Arts in English from Allegheny College, Master of Arts in Communication from the University of Oklahoma, Doctor of Education from the University of Southern California, and Doctor of Management from Colorado Technical University.

Special Honors

As a member of several official U. S. Delegations in the early 1990s, Dr. Wallisch spoke to government groups in Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union on the subject of “Communicating in a Free Society.”  He was a delegate to the White House Conference on Eastern Europe in 1990.  His many publications and speeches have earned him an array of honors – including an award for “top government writing and speaking.”  The U.S. Marshals Service named him “Citizen of the Year” for 1991.  He was an American Council on Education Fellow at The University of Pittsburgh, 1982-83.