Services / High stakes
High stakes
For the meeting you cannot afford to lose.
There is one meeting that decides the mandate, the funding round or the promotion. It is a few weeks or a few days away, and you will not get a second go.
When people call me
When getting that meeting wrong would cost you something that is hard to win back. It is usually one of these.
- A board meeting
- An investment committee
- A hearing or a mediation
- An investor pitch or a roadshow
- A promotion panel
- The partnership panel
- The final interview for a senior role
- A press conference
- An interview or a debate
- The difficult conversation you know is coming
The ones with an arrow have their own page, because they are prepared differently.
How we rehearse it
No generic exercises. We work on what you are going to say that day, and we count back from the date.
- First session
We look at the meeting itself
Who will be there, what they are deciding, who will challenge your number, and the three points that absolutely have to land.
- Rehearsal sessions
I play those people
The director who cuts you off after two minutes, the chair who looks at the clock, the journalist who repeats the awkward question. I stop you where they would stop listening and we go again until it comes out right.
- As close to the date as possible
The dress rehearsal
The last session, with everything you are actually going to say, so it is all fresh when you walk in.
- The day
Your meeting
You have already lived it. You held the worst version of that room with me.
When is yours?
Put in the date and I will tell you which format fits the time left.
seats, no microphone and no second chance. That is where you learn what pressure does to a voice.
Ten years singing opera across EuropeWhat you leave with
- Your opening, said out loud until it holds when you are nervous.
- Your answers to the three questions you are dreading, rehearsed with me pushing back.
- A routine for the hour before: what to do with your breath and how to say your first sentence.
- A recording of your opening on the first day and on the last, so you can hear the difference.
- A short written note after each session with what to keep and what to watch.
What this is not
- Writing your slides or reworking your argument. The content is yours.
- Changing your voice. In a few weeks, let alone a few days, nobody does that.
- A course.What we do is remove the two or three things that undermine your authority when you are under pressure.
Format and price
With weeks to go
Three or four sessions, the last one as close to the date as possible.
- For one person or a group of up to four
- Online or in person
- Written proposal with a fixed price
The intensive
£1,000whoever pays for it
With a few days to go: two sessions of two hours in the three days before, or the four hours in one day with a break.
- Only what you are actually going to say
- For one person or a group of up to four
- Online or in person in London or Madrid
If your firm is paying, here is how to put it to them. Travel outside London or Madrid is charged at cost.
“He hears what is getting in the way before you do. The adjustments are small. The difference is immediate.”
Engin O., Senior Manager, Tesco
Questions
How much notice do you need?
With two weeks we can do good work. With a few days, the intensive: we concentrate the four hours on what you are actually going to say. If the date is tomorrow, email me anyway and I will tell you honestly what can be done.
Do you work on the content or only on how I say it?
On how you say it. The content is yours. If something in the structure makes it hard to say, I will tell you, but I will not write your slides.
Can my team come?
Yes, up to four people. It works well when you are presenting together, because we rehearse the meeting as it is going to be.
Online or in person?
Both. Online works just as well for rehearsing, and if your meeting is on Teams or Zoom, it is better to rehearse it that way. In person, in London or Madrid.
How much does it cost?
The intensive is £1,000, whoever pays for it. With weeks to go, I send you a written proposal with a fixed price. The diagnostic session, one hour, is £150.
It might be a board meeting, a hearing, an investor pitch, a promotion panel or a team that is not getting its message across. Just send me an email, there is no form. I reply within 24 hours and, if it makes sense, we have a 20-minute call. If your date is less than a week away, put it in the subject line. Or start with a free voice read: send me two minutes of you in a real meeting and I will tell you what I hear.