John Dawson, public speaking coach & trainer
I teach public speaking differently. Over the years I've seen too many people living quiet lives because of the real fear of speaking up or being seen, and that changed what I do. I moved away from straightforward public speaking training into understanding far more about psychology and the anxiety underneath it. For some people what's at stake is keeping their job, running a meeting without dread, or finally getting married. And it's wider and deeper than that, it's about having the freedom to live a fuller, more vital life.
I'm John Dawson and I run two-day courses in Bristol, London and Manchester, plus one-to-one coaching over Zoom. I've been doing this for 26 years and have worked with over 8,500 people. I keep the training simple, safe, and gentle.
30 years ago I struggled as a speaker, avoiding events that would have been good for me as a magazine editor. I trained in the approach I now teach - known as Relational Presence - in 2000 and I loved the freedom it gave me, and how it helped build my confidence. It's an approach that teaches how to be authentic and present, rather than treating public speaking as a performance. I went on to co-lead the European Facilitators Network for over ten years.
I don't see my work as therapy. I'm trained in Group Work and have learnt from clinical psychology, particularly Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, and translated it into the everyday training room. It's given me a clarity and framework to help me and others become more psychologically flexible and to build a public speaking confidence practice.
The courses nourish me in a way few things do. The admin… not so much. But that's a small cost of doing a job I love.
Why I do what I do
My mother took her own life four days after my 21st birthday. She had never really found her mission or her place in life, and she struggled with the tranquillisers she'd been over-prescribed. It made me see how fundamental confidence and self-worth are in leading a fulfilled life.
Both jobs I've done since - editing The Spark Magazine in Bristol for 15 years, and now this - have come from the same place: helping people find ways to change their lives.
It's now 46 years since she died. The work isn't driven by her loss any more, but I wouldn't be doing it without it. And helping people become confident as public speakers so they can take their place in the world is at the very heart of my work. It might sound pompous, but I believe it's all been about transforming grief into a force for positive change.
Personal
I am married to Clare who is wonderful and has supported me like no other person. We were both born in the same hospital in Huddersfield but only met in Bristol many years later! It’s been a deep privilege to walk life’s path with her and to see her grow into being a wonderful ceramicist.
I've been a photographer since I was 12. In July 2018 I put my first photography website together and it's had some lovely reviews. My photography is all about trying to see the beauty in the everyday and sometimes a cheeky way of looking at things!
I’m also interested in design and illustration from my 15 years as a magazine publisher. On this website, I’ve tried to stay away from the standard stockshots of business people presenting. So I hope you like the illustrations and images.
Training and background
I never stop exploring Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, or rethinking how it applies to what I do in the room. It is an ongoing conversation with the work as much as a body of study. It started with a two-day ACT training in 2019, then deepened significantly during the 2020 lockdown when I completed six ACT courses online. More recently: a DNA-V course in Bath in 2023, online study in Values in ACT and social anxiety, and continuing work on attention, mindfulness, and their relationship to anxiety and confidence.
I've written more about what underpins all of this on my What I believe page.
My role in the Relational Presence community has deepened over the years. I now hold a senior position in the European network, having co-led it for over a decade. In 2025-2026 I worked with Caroline Peet to organise and implement supervision for the facilitator community, work I found genuinely valuable for everyone involved.
I coached speakers for Bath TEDx in 2021. A reminder of what's at stake when someone stands up to say something that really matters to them.
Working with Meg Wheatley on her Warriors for the Human Spirit programme in 2015, and with Jane Magruder Watkins through Appreciative Inquiry, changed something in how I see my working life. I realised I could still be doing this work in my late 70s and loving it. That was not a small thing to discover.
Appreciative Inquiry Coaching Course, Lincoln, 2011. Fundamentals of Appreciative Inquiry, Lincoln, 2010. Appreciative Inquiry is about developing the strengths of an organisation or project rather than focusing on its problems. We need far more of that in the world.
Other training: Spirituality and Leadership at Woodbrooke Quaker College, 2010. Leadership in Times of Chaos with Margaret Wheatley, Schumacher College, 2010. Transformational Learning Workshop with Michael Carroll, 2010.
Common Purpose, 2008-9: a year-long enquiry into leadership in Bristol, exploring alongside leaders from the statutory, voluntary and private sectors. Less a course, more a conversation about what it means to lead in a city.
The founding editor and publisher of The Spark Magazine in Bristol from 1993 to 2008. Over two million copies in print. The magazine ran for 25 years in total. I'm proud of what we built - an independent magazine run by a team who paid themselves the same hourly rate, worked crazy deadline hours, and laughed a lot. It was an amazing thing to be part of. And I burnt out at the end of my time, which with hindsight was entirely predictable. It taught me that I can bite off more than I can handle.
Two-year Diploma in Group Facilitation, IDHP, 1988-90. Probably the most practically useful training I've ever done. It taught me how to run powerful groups safely, and it underpins everything I do in the room. It went to a depth that really challenged me - and I'm still meeting monthly with some of the facilitators I started working with 35 years ago.
In 1984 I trained as a counsellor at BADAS. I hold a Diploma in Health Education from Bristol Polytechnic 1986, and helped devise training for an HEA drugs awareness course. My suggested name for it: Learning Skills with Drugs - LSD. But somehow they didn't go for it… It gave me my first real taste of group facilitation, and I never looked back.
I am a proud holder of a Bus Conductor's Certificate. My first job in Bristol in 1982. I had absolutely no idea where those buses were going. I was also literally a bit lost in career after my mum died, I was an insurance clerk, unemployed and HGV 1 driver for awhile.
Honours Degree, Keele University - my mum died in the final year, but I had a lot of fun before then. I wrote a comedy show every week for a couple of years and performed sketches. I also wrote an ethical rag mag, which probably says everything about where I was headed.
I did a careers test when I was 21 where suitable careers were suggested. Number two was Social Worker and number one was Minister of Religion! I’m sort of 30% towards that mix so far!
It didn’t look this small… The Spark was a big A3 magazine full of life!
I loved what we created and I miss the laughter and the connections. But I love this work more!
