Executive Education Series: Thinking on Your Feet

Executive Education at the Lucas Center

Executive Education is ACCELER8 2.0, advanced learning for entrepreneurs and leaders who've moved past the fundamentals and are ready to tackle the specific challenges that come with growth and complexity.

These aren't networking events, lectures, or motivational talks. They're working sessions where you'll develop new capabilities you can use immediately. We focus on one skill at a time, going deep enough that you can change how you operate.

Public Speaking & Executive Presence Series

Most leaders know what they want to say. The challenge is saying it in ways that land, whether that's with customers, boards, teams, investors, or communities.

This four-part series develops your ability to communicate with clarity and impact in high-stakes situations. You'll learn to structure ideas so people can follow them, manage your presence so you're credible and compelling, and adapt your approach based on what's happening in the room.

Workshop 2: Thinking on Your Feet

This 5-hour workshop focuses on what happens when you don't have a script: handling questions, managing the unexpected, and responding with clarity when you're put on the spot.

You'll learn frameworks for organizing your thoughts in real time, techniques for managing the pressure that comes with unscripted moments, and strategies for staying present when someone asks a question you weren't prepared for. We'll practice handling difficult questions, pivoting when conversations go sideways, and maintaining credibility even when you don't have all the answers.

By the end, you'll have approaches you can use in Q&A sessions, pitch events, difficult conversations, or any situation where you need to think clearly without advance preparation.

Others in this Series

This series has four 5-hour workshops. Leaders can attend any or all of them, as each is treated as a stand-alone course. We'll offer one each quarter.

• Workshop 1: Fundamentals of Public Speaking | Work with frameworks grounded in communication and behavior research, then practice applying them to real scenarios from your own work. (already occured for 2026)
• Workshop 2: Thinking on Your Feet | Handling questions, pivoting when things don't go as planned, and responding with clarity when you don't have a prepared answer. (this workshop)
• Workshop 3: Presence and Credibility | Managing the physical and emotional elements of how you show up in the room, what builds trust with an audience, and how to stay grounded when stakes are high. (Summer 2026)
• Workshop 4: Structuring Ideas That Stick | How to organize content so people can follow and remember it. Not just what to say, but how to sequence ideas, what to leave out, and how to build toward the point that matters. (Fall 2026)

Your Facilitator

Dr. Ande Noktes has been working with leaders and organizations for over twenty years—helping them navigate change, build stronger teams, and develop the capabilities that make growth sustainable.

As CEO of the Lucas Center, she works alongside entrepreneurs as they prepare for moments that matter: investor pitches, board presentations, community conversations, and the kind of discussions that open up new possibilities. She's seen what helps people find their clarity and confidence, and what gets in the way.

Her background spans philosophy, business, and public policy (MA, MBA, and doctorate), with research focused on how people actually make decisions, not how we think they should. That brain and behavioral science foundation shapes how she teaches: understanding what helps messages land, what builds trust, and how we can communicate in ways that connect.

She's also a runner, which has nothing to do with public speaking except that both require showing up consistently and pushing through when it's uncomfortable.

Know what’s Happening Next — before everyone else does.

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Host or Publisher Lucas Center for Entrepreneurship