A graduate of Vanderbilt University, Meryl Runion began her career researching environmental protection technology for the Mayor’s Office in Nashville, Tennessee as part of a program called EPMP: The Environmental Protection Management Project. She also played a public relations role for the project on behalf of the Mayor's office. She then moved to the Department of Finance to direct a pilot project designing effectiveness measures to be used by police departments all across the country.

She left to obtain a Master’s Degree in the Science of Creative Intelligence. For over 20 years, Meryl Runion has owned and operated a training and information service company. In addition to designing, marketing and presenting customized seminars, Meryl worked as an independent contractor for The World Plan Executive Council, presenting personal development training on their behalf. For eight years, Meryl contracted extensively for SkillPath Seminars, teaching management, communication, conflict management and personal development classes worldwide. 

Currently, Meryl is the President and CEO of SpeakStrong, Inc. a training, speaking, consulting, and information services company. Meryl’s first four books, beginning with PowerPhrases!, have been translated into seven languages and sold more than 300,000 copies worldwide. Her other books – How to Use Power Phrases to Say What You Mean, Mean What You Say and Get What You Want and Perfect Phrases for Managers (both 2004, McGraw Hill) and How to Say It: Performance Reviews (Penquin) – available through her SpeakStrong website. 

In her latest book, Unite and Concur: How To Stop Arguing and Start Communicating About Politics, Meryl explains how the same techniques that communication experts apply in negotiations and in diversity training can help "political opposites" have productive political conversations. To counter our usual dysfunctional dialogues, she addresses the five most common "yeah-buts" and provides action steps to elevate the level of political discourse.

She is also the author of a weekly email newsletter called A PowerPhrase a Week, which boast thousands of subscribers who want to become better, more assertive communicators. Register for A PowerPhrase a Week

She is a certified speaking professional who has delivered nearly one thousand workshops, keynotes and other presentations across the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, New Zealand and Australia. Her expertise is based on 30 years of training and mediation experience with clients such as IBM, who finds her to be systematic; the IRS, who particularly loves her in April; and the FBI, who finds her to be a person of interest.