“No More Rambling: Making a Positive Impression and Speaking With Confidence About Your Private Practice.”
Nick Bognar, LMFT
This 90-minute workshop (+30 min Q&A) helps therapists develop a clear, confident, and authentic way to talk about their work, without rambling or resorting to clinical jargon. Through practical exercises and therapist-specific insights, attendees will craft an “elevator pitch” that feels natural and memorable. Ideal for clinicians who feel awkward or unsure in networking spaces, this talk offers a supportive and engaging path toward making genuine professional connections that lead to referrals.
Educational Goals
- Improve therapists’ ability to clearly articulate their niche/clinical focus in ways that attract aligned referrals.
- Increase awareness of the role of networking and community connection in private practice success, and encourage more authentic and relational approaches to networking and community-building among clinicians.
- Foster long-term growth in therapists’ communication skills with peers, both with other clinicians and within interdisciplinary collaboration opportunities.
Participants will be able to:
- Identify 3 common pitfalls therapists encounter when describing their practices to other individuals.
- Identify the 3 components of an effective and well-constructed “elevator pitch”.
- Distinguish between jargon-heavy language and connection-focused communication when introducing their work.
References:
Caromile, C., Espinosa, C., Luo, C., & Sun, Q. (2023). How to construct and deliver an elevator pitch: A recipe for the research scientist. ResearchGate. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/376527336
Chui, H., Palma, B., Jackson, J. L., & Hill, C. E. (2020). Therapist–client agreement on helpful and wished-for experiences in psychotherapy: Associations with outcome. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 67(3), 349–360. https://doi.org/10.1037/cou0000393
Fronzetti Colladon, A., Grippa, F., Broccatelli, C., Mauren, C., McKinsey, S. J., Kattan, J., Sutton, E. S. J., Satlin, L., & Bucuvalas, J. (2023). Boosting advice and knowledge sharing among healthcare professionals. arXiv. https://arxiv.org/abs/2310.15102
Jacobsen, C. F., Karstoft, K.-I., Falkenström, F., Nielsen, J., Lunn, S., & Poulsen, S. (2024). Client preferences, therapy activities, and preference–activity match as predictors of therapy outcome.Psychotherapy Research, 34(3), 1–16. https://doi.org/10.1080/10503307.2024.2353358
Simpson, M. R., Grumbach, N. M., & Fennimore, L. A. (2023). In the huddle: “What is your ‘elevatorpitch’?”
Journal of Physician Assistant Education, 34(3), 145–146. https://doi.org/10.1097/JPA.0000000000000483
Instructor Bio:
Nick Bognar is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist in Pasadena, CA. Nick’s therapeutic work as a client led him to pursue a career in helping others shed the emotional shackles and burdens that keep them down, so that each may live their own happiest life and have the greatest impact on their community. His professional interests include building better men and helping people set boundaries with loved ones. Nick also is passionate about working with therapists and helping them build their client caseloads through a robust framework he has developed. It is no secret; he tells everyone he meets how effective it is at building the private practice of your dreams!
