Best Public Speakers Series: Jake Clark

by Kat Evans

We included Jake Clark for his great storytelling, calm, compassion and quiet authority. Save a Warrior has helped over 2000 veterans suffering from Complex Post Traumatic Stress since 2012.

This month’s Best Public Speaker feature highlights Jake Clark, a distinguished veteran who has served in the U.S. Army, LAPD, National Guard, Secret Service, and FBI. He completed multiple tours of duty in the former Yugoslavia, where he witnessed numerous atrocities and war crimes. Clark was suffering from suicidal ideation and found healing and direction through meditation and wished to bring it to other veterans. He founded Save a Warrior in 2012.

We reviewed a video that profiled Jake, his story, and several veterans who have gone through the Save A Warrior program.

What are the main communication takeaways?

• Consultative voice: Clark has remarkable power in his voice while maintaining a low volume, soothing tones, and conveying great passion. He combines confidence, gentleness, and a emotional maturity in his tone and pace.

  
  

• Strong eye contact: Clark maintains piercing, steady eye contact just off camera. It is highly focused and intimate.

  
  

• Structure: Clark give a perfect amount of background information to set the scene for his life's biggest crisis and suicidal thoughts, and leads the audience carefully into his own recovery and journey into leading others towards healing.

  
  

• Vulnerability: Clark shares a lot of emotions in his past and through is journey-- he unafraid and unashamed to describe how he felt at different moments and what they meant to him. His honesty and openness build great trust and respect.

  
  

How could they improve?

• Define terms: Presumably "TM" is transcendental meditation. Clark claims that TM is a 'secret sauce', but defining it keeps the audience from wondering.

  
  

• Program Logistics: Explaining more about the time, structure, cost, and therapies of Save A Warrior would make the inspirational testimonials more powerful.

  
  

• Impact: Providing some facts or statistics on alumnae of the program would increase the call to action at the end.

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