Jonathan Paul
The former Director of Debate at Georgetown University, Jonathan Paul has built a historic career teaching the art of persuasion to students and professionals. In less than a decade, he coached four national championships in competitive debate and was voted college debate “Coach of the Decade” for the 2010s. These accomplishments add to a national championship he won as a debater at Northwestern University.
As co-founder of Speech Labs, he has taught over a thousand workshops for the U.S. government. These classes, covering the full range of communication and persuasion skills, have changed many thousands of careers for the better.
Jonathan has appeared as a television commentator and, in addition to his group workshops, advises Speech Labs clients as a professional, political, and legal consultant.
Seth Gannon
As co-founder of Speech Labs, Seth Gannon has coached CEOs, celebrities, public intellectuals, and thousands of others, helping them with speeches, pitches, and media appearances. He has prepared clients for segments on Good Morning America, The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, CBS Sunday Morning, Squawk Box, and other TV shows and podcasts. He has led hundreds of workshops in written and spoken communication for the Food & Drug Administration, the Department of Defense, and the private sector.
His writing has appeared in Slate, The Paris Review Daily, Pacific Standard, and a number of literary journals. As one half of the writing duo “J.J. Carswell,” he is coauthor of the forthcoming novel The Lethe Killer (Hyperion Avenue, 2027).
Seth coached the 2012, 2014, and 2019 National Debate Tournament champions, after he and his partner won the tournament in 2008 and finished second in 2009. He is an adjunct fellow in global health at the Center for Strategic & International Studies, and in 2011 served as a staff liaison for the President’s Advisory Committee on Trade Policy & Negotiations.