Coaching Your Event Speakers

Storytelling Coaching and Speaker Coaching for when your reputation is on the line.

Corporate Events are expensive and high profile - and they can make or break reputations.

Whether you are an events company or the company holding the event, I fit in and become part of your team. It’s up to you at which stage I come in and whether I work with you earlier as a Storytelling Coach and Speaker Coach or later mainly as a Speaker Coach.

In some companies I work directly with the principal (usually the CEO, CFO or COO) on a regular retained basis developing themes and content (Storytelling) and working on delivery (Speaker Coaching) for key events such as AGMs, Key Analyst meetings and internal End of Year or Mid Year comms sessions. 

These big events typically have a lot of input on content from a range of people including members of the Board, Legal, operations and the comms team. These contributions don’t always perfectly overlap and I help to make the speech sound coherent and consistent and, most importantly, in a single voice - the voice of the speaker. 

I did this first in 2003 when I coached the Sri Lankan Prime Minister on his address to the United Nations, and we had to blend all the competing contributions to the speech from a number of important Ministers.

I also work as a Speaker Coach with some premier events agencies or communications companies. They bring me in a bit later in the process after the storytelling aspect has already been locked down. Time is short and tangible results need to happen fast while keeping everybody happy and on board.

Sometimes a key and high ranking speaker needs reigning in.

Sometimes a key speaker is a demanding high performer who wants robust, direct, bespoke professional Speaker Coaching.

Sometimes employees are part of the event and have never spoken before in public - let alone on a big stage in front of their colleagues and their bosses and they need encouragement and confidence.

I can do robust and I can also do encouraging - they are not mutually exclusive. 

Six-time TEDMED SpeakerCoach

I have to be both robust and encouraging at TEDMED. I have to get serious, accomplished individuals with different needs and experience onto that stage with the red dot, and help them knock it out of the park. 

Some are experienced speakers but some are public speaking novices. 

The stakes are high - TEDMED is live streamed to over 100 countries and the live audience is made up of their peers. Their reputation, their work and their career is on the line. 

I need to diagnose what they need and prescribe it - and then get them to implement the changes - in a very short period of time. 

Every speaker I encounter is different and they all deserve a tailored, personal blend of robust feedback and encouragement in their coaching. 

I have no standard “cookie cutter” approach and I don’t trot out the same copy-and-paste prescription for each speaker. 

I can help you with your event, whether you need me to coach the CEO of a global company or the 26 year old graduate who has to introduce the CEO - or anyone in between. 

Call me and let’s discuss your event, your speakers and what you need done.