Firstly…  about you?

This is how many of my aspiring politician clients describe their situation, motivations and beliefs. Which of these resonate and are relevant to you? 

• You want to be a better and more effective community leader.
• You want to speak up for people. 
• You want to improve your speaking and communication skills on big stages.   
• You want to be listened to, taken seriously and make an impact. 
• You want to change things in your community, town, city, area, country. 
• You believe public office deserves the very best people - doing it for the right reasons. 
• You are ambitious for your country. 
• You are unsure of how to become an MP. 
• You are confused by the process and frustrated by the opaque system.  
• You have had storytelling coaching, comms coaching, career coaching or interview coaching before... but you know there MUST be more.  
• You understand that well-meant feedback like “You’re fine” and “That was really good”  is useless.

You are searching today for practical, useable - and above all honest and zero BS - expertise, feedback and guidance you can trust and apply immediately. From someone you can trust. 

A programme of work that delivers results. That you can start this week.   

Friends and family want to make you feel good. 

Sharp-elbowed colleagues, peers and “work friends” want you to fail. 

I want my people to fly. So....

Who (the hell) is Peter Botting, and what has he done?

What a great question: “Who the hell is this guy?”

The whole point is that I’m not supposed to be known. My job is to help other people find, develop and use their voice. So they can tell better stories. I am a discreet backroom resource. 

If you see other people succeed and advance “effortlessly” in their business or political careers or win at interviews, you shouldn’t know that I helped them. It's their story, not mine. 

Born, and then raised in a few countries in Africa, I was surrounded by strong personalities, vivid stories and natural storytellers. At school, I devoured books when not playing competitive tennis and rugby, as well as club and provincial rugby. Against the backdrop of a vivid and violent civil war. Unsurprisingly I love hearing and telling stories. I also hate losing.

I've also seen people get jobs, get promoted and get fired. I've done all these things myself, I have also hired, promoted and fired. I have worked with serious companies from start up to PLC and understand firsthand from HR teams and CEOs why people get hired, promoted and fired.

I've started and lead businesses and worked with those who do.   

Real World Business, Storytelling and Interview Experience

I have hired, promoted and fired people myself. I have turned around and run a failing small 145-strong manufacturing group in Europe and run my own tiny business for over 30 years.

I have worked with hundreds of CEOs and business leaders from different countries, cultures, industries and approaches. I have worked with all types of managers and HR Directors and I know what they are looking, what and who they favour or filter out and how to stand out to them. 

Professionally trained in Germany, I have worked for 17 PLCs and coached over 7500 people in 8 countries – including four years with that cheeky German startup SAP, a fun bit of work for Mercedes, an ongoing workshop series with BASF and storytelling for IBM all around Asia. There’s a fuller bragging list here if you’re interested. It isn’t exhaustive at all – some clients prefer discretion – they’re not sketchy though. Just discreet.

I have been a panel member for multiple Magistrate (Judge) Selections and Interviews in the United Kingdom. This gave me an interesting insight into preparing for public sector interviews. 

Storytelling in Politics and Campaigns

• I’ve helped over 175 prepare for, and navigate, the interview and selection process to get into the UK Parliament. 175 MPs including Ministers and Cabinet Ministers. 
• I was part of a tiny team that used to storytelling to bring Anti-Slavery Day onto the UK statutes. I conceived and set up the Anti-Slavery Media Awards.
• I conceived and pitched the concept and need for a new political think tank to Francis Maude and Archie Norman, who hired me to found and set up what is now known as Policy Exchange – reporting to Francis.
• I used storytelling extensively in my “crucial contribution” to the national No2AV referendum. We were trailing 30/70, and my storytelling job was to help reverse the polls by persuading the Labour Party to join the Conservative Party on the No team.

Talk like TED

I have speaker-coached (it's a bit like Film or Stage Directing) over 300 speakers for 6 TEDMED conferences (the geeky health arm of TED). I have a big interest in the health sector, was a Non-Exec in the NHS and have worked the Royal College of GPs and disruptive medical device startups.

Why retain or hire Peter Botting?  

Firstly...

Malcolm Gladwell talks about 10 000 hours: my storytelling coaching hour count is over 30 000 hours. Which is quite a lot. Maybe that’s why I look like I do. All of my work initially was face-to-face. Then I used Skype; now it’s a hybrid of in-person and online (I prefer Zoom tbh) for big-ticket event coaching and online for most interview coaching. It saves commute time. 

Secondly...

What drives me? This is key to why you should hire people.

Simon Sinek’s WHY, his purpose, is inspiring people.

What is my WHY? I believe people have a story or stories they don’t tell (that they should) – or stories that they do tell, but that could be told better. I believe people know, deep down, they are underselling themselves.

My WHY is helping people find, develop and use their voice – and tell their story better. People like you. 

Imagine you were a car. Whichever car you’ve just imagined – I believe it has more gears, more ability, more capacity, more top speed, and more potential… I help people unleash and stretch and push their potential… I help them get into their top gear. Sorry for the car analogy, but I like cars…

Some people know they have a story but can’t distil it or articulate it. Some need help to deliver it. Some are amazed at the potency of the overlooked, forgotten stories we unearth together – stories that become a powerful and persuasive part of their storytelling armoury. Some people are so busy with the urgent and short term that they miss out on the storytelling arc that is the thread joining up what they do and why they do it. Most focus on short-term survival – rather than long-term success.

Understanding, unlocking and articulating your WHY leads to long-term success.

Thirdly...

I love seeing people grow in confidence and volume and impact.

I love helping people identify and unpack their stories, understand the power and potential of their stories and then deliver those stories in the very best way.

I love getting messages from my clients telling of the ongoing ripple that follows their speech, presentation or pitch. Standing ovations are very cool – but being able to persuade people and affect long-term change: that is epic. I like epic. 

My Coaching Approach

There is no instant silver bullet. Career coaching is going on an uneven journey together. People need different things at different times for different scenarios from a personal career coach they can trust. A personal development coach who gets them, where they are today and where they want to be ... and stretches them as an individual not a as a course participant.  

My bespoke executive coaching is the furthest thing from copy-and-paste. Your story is unique and you deserve tailor-made coaching from a coach who gets you, goes where you are and takes you forward – not what some coach hastily “prepared” in a re-labelled, rehashed, rigid Excel sheet. Political coaching needs to meet you and be of value to you where you are and where your head is, focusing on what you have to achieve and by when. Deliverables. Output. 

A very senior military officer wrote: “Your different thinking, disruptor style that leads to better solutions but in an inclusive way is a strength.” I’ll take that!  

Another smiled and said: "Unorthodox." I'll take that too. 

Another senior military officer described me as “unafraid and happy to challenge…thinks in broader terms…more ambitious and less constrained”. I’ll take that too. All of that.

But... I am still learning and far from perfect. 

Fact is… I am not for everyone. I am blunt, and I do ask dumb questions, and I do challenge. A lot. Leaders I have worked with have often told me that they have clarified their thinking by having to explain their “thing” to me. 

One commercial client was hiding behind the generic and meaningless word quality. I challenged them to unpack that, to explain and justify their claim. It’s been incredibly unsettling for the CEO and the Commercial team… but… 

Political clients often make the same mistake - using unchallenged words and phrases that are often meaningless or misunderstood. Or stale. Or divisive. Or all of these. 

If you believe in the change you want to achieve enough to go into politics, and its impact will affect so many people, then your beliefs and how you talk about them should be challenged   

I never know what my clients will walk in the room with, nor which coaching or human tool or skill I need to be of value TO THEM… so I need to be ready for anything. With a full toolbox – not a pre-prepared solution. This means I first need to listen aggressively to you – then work with you. This means every coaching session of mine is one-off and focused on moving you forward. Feedback YES, Validation NO. We won’t be bored. 

That’s what bespoke coaching is – it is not pretending to listen, nod, then “apply standard solution – just change the label”. There are plenty who practice what Americans call “Cookie-cutter coaching” approaches – the same old, single-trick stuff. Not my gig. Yours?

You’re not standard – I am not standard. 

“Peter’s seismic approach to speaker coaching can make you feel as if there’s earth moving under that once-stable place you were standing. You can view that as a danger… or…” 
Denise Graveline. Washington PR Woman of the Year

Like you, I am constantly learning, reading and broadening my knowledge. I recently completed a fantastic Harvard course on Exercising Leadership and am actively learning more about writing and storytelling and leadership, and the power of purpose-fuelled words. 

I am haunted by how much I still have to learn…  

Professionally trained and with over 30 years of experience coaching business leaders as both a Storytelling Coach (Content – WHAT) and a Speaker Coach (Delivery – HOW), I offer a far wider, more demanding and more “holistic” (eye-roll) coaching experience than a pure speechwriter or an ex-journalist following their 2nd or 3rd career as a “media trainer”.  

Find out more about my coaching approach here.