Steven Cohen

Steven D. Cohen, PhD (Communication, University of Maryland) is an Associate Professor at the Johns Hopkins Carey Business School and the Faculty Director for Business Communication in the Executive Education​ program​.

Dr. Cohen is a leading expert on persuasive speaking and effective presentation skills. He has been quoted in media outlets such as the Financial Times, Slate, Huffington Post, Inc., New York Magazine, and NBC News. Dr. Cohen also was featured in the BBC Radio documentary, “Churchill’s Secret Cabinet.”

Dr. Cohen’s work examines the communication behaviors of effective leaders, with a particular focus on executive presence. He is the author of two books, Public Speaking: The Path to Success and Lessons from the Podium: Public Speaking as a Leadership Art. Dr. Cohen is also the editor of Speaking for Success: Readings and Resources (2nd edition), a collection of essential articles on the art of public speaking.

Prior to his academic career, Dr. Cohen spent several years working in the private sector. He was an assistant vice president and team leader at Bank of America and later became a senior strategy consultant at IBM Global Business Services.​

Honors and distinctions

Faculty Service and Mentorship Award, Johns Hopkins Carey Business School, 2019 * Dean's Award for Faculty Excellence, Johns Hopkins Carey Business School, 2018 & 2019 * Teaching Innovation Fund Award, Johns Hopkins Carey Business School, 2018 * The National Society of Leadership and Success Excellence in Teaching Award, 2016 * First Place, Redwood Toastmasters Speech Evaluation Contest, 2015 * Dean’s Commendation for Distinguished Teaching, Harvard Extension School, 2014 * International Listening Association Top Research Paper, 2013 * Teaching with New(er) Technologies Fellow, University of Maryland Center for Teaching Excellence, 2013 * Opening Plenary Session Speaker, Lilly Conference on College and University Teaching, 2012 * Department of Communication Outstanding Teaching Award, University of Maryland, 2011 * First Place, New Scholars Category, University of Maryland Graduate Research Interaction Day, 2011

Selected publications

• Cohen, S. D. (Ed.). (2018). Speaking for success: Readings and resources. (2nd ed.). San Diego, CA: Cognella Academic Publishing.
• Fontana, P. C., Cohen, S. D., & Wolvin, A. D. (2015). Understanding listening competency: A systematic review of research scales. International Journal of Listening, 29, 148–176.
• Cohen, S. D. (Ed.). (2014). On the path to success: Readings and resources. San Diego, CA: Cognella Academic Publishing.
• Cohen, S. D. (2014). The digital communication journal: Building an online COMMunity for student dialogue. In J. E. Aitken (Ed.), Cases on communication technology for second language acquisition and cultural learning (pp. 1–4). Hershey, PA: IGI Global.
• Cohen, S. D. (2014, November). It’s all about the audience: Earn your listeners’ appreciation by making your speech about them. Toastmaster, 80(11), 20–21.
• Cohen, S. D. (2013, Fall). Eliminating the dreaded um. Harvard Extension School Alumni Bulletin, 14–15.
• Wolvin, A. D., & Cohen, S. D. (2012). An inventory of listening competency dimensions. International Journal of Listening, 26, 64–66.
• Cohen, S. D. (2011). The art of public narrative: Teaching students how to construct memorable anecdotes. Communication Teacher, 25, 197–204.
• Cohen, S. D., & Wolvin, A. D. (2011). Listening to stories: An initial assessment of student listening characteristics. Listening Education, 2, 16–25.
• Cohen, S. D. (2011). Lessons from the podium: Public speaking as a leadership art. San Diego, CA: Cognella Academic Publishing.