About Us
The Critical Communications Group has developed nationally recognized programs that address the organizational and interpersonal communication needs specific to many disciplines within the business, science, and healthcare industries.
We offer a range of interactive workshops, executive training and coaching, and keynote presentations that will help you and your teams develop better, more efficient, and more satisfying interactions with clients, patients, and colleagues. We are experts at creating and implementing sustainable communication strategies that will help you transform your organization without sacrificing any of the habits and shortcuts that make you the high functioning professionals you already are.
We design customized research to empirically assess learning outcomes. The results of our work have been published in peer-reviewed journals including The Journal of General Internal Medicine, The Journal of Investigative Medicine, Surgery (the official journal of the Society of University Surgeons, Central Surgical Association, and the American Association of Endocrine Surgeons), and Medical Encounter: Building Community, Providing Voice, Supporting Innovation, and in books such as The Clinical Teacher and The Psychology of Empathy.
We are the recipients of numerous Awards for Excellence, Education, and Innovation across several disciplines (including Awards for Innovation in Medical Education and Awards for Excellence in Arts).
Feature stories and interviews about his work have appeared in over 200 media outlets including:
The Washington Post
The Chicago Tribune
The Atlanta Constitution
The San Francisco Chronicle
National Public Radio
US News and World Report, and many others.
Our latest books, Real-World Presentations: Dramatic Techniques to Deliver with Confidence and Real-World Presentations: Dramatic Techniques to Strengthen Your Message and Make It Stick are currently used as the textbooks for public speaking courses around the country.
Meet the Team
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Dr. Aaron Anderson
CO-FOUNDER
Aaron’s hard-won experience began as an Army Explosive Ordinance Specialist struggling to get out of a wheelchair after a year in a military hospital. Fast-forward to the present where Aaron is one of the only people in the world to hold simultaneous university positions in Art, Business, and Medicine.
Dr. Anderson is Founding Director for both the Center for Arts and Humanities in Healthcare, and the Standardized Patient Program in the Center for Human Simulation and Patient Safety at Virginia Commonwealth University. He holds an Interdisciplinary PhD in Culture from Northwestern University, a Certificate in Executive Presence from Cornell University, and is one of the only non-physicians to have ever received an award for Innovation in Medical Education.
His unique background has helped him found three successful companies; and for the past 15 years, he has coached leaders on five continents, from congressional candidates and government officials to doctors, lawyers, and Fortune 500 CEOs.
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David S. Leong
CO-FOUNDER
David is an international consultant, speaking coach, trainer, author, and fight master. He is a former Chair and Professor Emeritus from Virginia Commonwealth University and a member of the Board of Trustees of the College of Fellows of the American Theatre. Currently he serves on the faculty of the VCU Executive Master of Business Administration program. Over 40 of his former students currently hold faculty positions on colleges and universities across the United States. He was a featured speaker at the 2019 TedX Broadway: How to Stop Conflict Before It Starts.
His 40+ year career in higher education includes faculty appointments at the Juilliard School, Brandeis University, Northern Kentucky University, and the University of Maryland. He has also coached many TV, film, and theatre stars on Broadway and London's West End including Daniel Craig, Kathleen Turner, Don Cheadle, Christopher Plummer, Sigourney Weaver, Marisa Tomei, Raul Julia, Christopher Walken and many more.