If you're feeling nervous about booking, this page is for you
Many people who come on this course feel exactly as you do now. They hesitate. They worry. Some nearly don't come. The people below were nervous too and they discovered something very different on the other side.
People who nearly didn't come…
Every person below very nearly didn't book. Some doubted it would work, some were scared, some just felt it was something they had to force themselves to do. All of them came anyway, and all of them are glad they did. One man called me once a year, every year, for ten years, always saying this would be the year he'd finally come. The years rolled on. When he did eventually turn up, he was an hour late. He told me he wished he'd come a lot earlier. Here are some others…
"I came in hoping for a magical solution, but I never thought it would actually work. How wrong I was! I now feel liberated and ready to tackle any speaking challenges that come my way."
Stine
"I did have hesitations about signing up, on and off right up to the morning of the course. On the second day I went into a cafe for lunch on my own and sat at the centre table, which is something I would absolutely not do previously."
Caroline
"I wanted to feel more confident with my own voice in front of other people, as I feel I've been hiding for too long. Yes, I was very hesitant, and that was all fear based. I feel much more able to just be myself now and let all the noise go."
Andy
"Yes, I was very worried about attending this course. I would have been worried about attending any course. I knew I had to attend a course to progress in my job role. I would never have freely joined this kind of course. My first hurdle was just to travel on my own, get the right train, find the hotel, eat alone, sit in a room with strangers. With your help, I achieved all these things. What you taught us, to be kinder to yourself, allowing yourself to be present without feeling judged. The things we learned can be taken away and used both in your work and personal life. I have been inspired to chat to people in different situations, something I wouldn't have done prior to this course."
Tracey
"Yes, I did have hesitations. It was just feeling that it was something I had to do, a hurdle I had to jump. I initially attended to help with my presenting, but it quickly morphed into a wider learning journey around my own confidence at work. I'm much more present now because I'm able to tell my brain to be quiet."
Dan
What if I don't feel safe?
In 26 years of running this course, it's been built for anxious speakers. The group is small, the learning steps are small, and nothing is compulsory, it's all optional. Here's what other anxious people said about how safe they felt.
"I like the public speaking practice in a safe space, the techniques learned, and the way the group supported each other (everyone was nervous about public speaking but was fully supported)."
Jonathan
"I liked that I felt comfortable in the course from the moment I stepped in. John made us all feel at ease. It genuinely felt like a really safe space and I met the most lovely people on the course."
Lauren
"The safe environment you created was incredibly helpful for me."
Rob
"You created a complete safe and welcoming space that we all relaxed in."
Vanessa
"As a persistently hypervigilant person, I was surprised at how quickly the group dynamics felt safe and supportive."
E
"I really valued the supportive, safe atmosphere you created; it made it much easier to try things that would normally feel daunting."
Tom
"From the very beginning, the environment felt safe, and it was inspiring to see how much progress everyone made."
Abbie
"I loved that the course felt like a safe space to talk as a small group. I felt I could be honest and open."
Heidi
What if it's too much?
It won't be. The pace isn't fixed, I go at the speed of each group, and if people need longer on a step, that's what they get. Nothing is timed to a script, I respond to the people in front of me, moment to moment.
"I also liked that we took very small steps in building our confidence and I could see my mindset changing as the course progressed."
Lauren
"Nothing was too big to handle before we had a chance to practice."
Rob
"Small steps and continuous practice, but you helped me start the journey toward believing in myself."
Tom
"I liked the gradual, incremental learnings and practices we did. The pace and small steps helped me learn and own the tips shared during the course."
Julie
"The progressive and iterative steps covered in the course are well refined and push you just enough out of your comfort zone without being overwhelming."
Mike
"I liked how incremental the course was; it teaches you the basics and works on them to the point where you feel you have a solid foundation to build on." Luke
"Taking you pretty quickly from one level to another without ever feeling it was too quick or anyone ever too far out of their depth."
Dougie
What if everyone else is MORE confident?
They're not, even when it looks that way. It's not a competition, and nobody's here to be the best speaker, everyone who comes struggles with it in some way. Anxiety plays a strange trick: it convinces you your own nerves are obvious to everyone else, while everyone else's nerves stay hidden from you. That's rarely how it actually looks from the outside, and it's one of the shifts we work through on the course.
"It was comforting knowing that everyone else on the course was there for the same reasons."
Lauren
"Being surrounded by others who share similar struggles reminded me that I'm not alone, and that these challenges are far more common than I thought." Abbie
"It was eye opening to see all these people who have every right to be confident (and mostly appear confident) go through the same struggles. It helped to see my own thoughts and feelings in a different light."
Tatiana
"Seeing the group opening up about shared struggles was really special, and reassuring that it's not just me."
Chris
What if I hate every minute?
Your fear brain is good at catastrophising, painting worst-case scenarios of being watched and judged. Most people come to build skills around confidence, being the centre of attention, and quietening that overthinking, not to enjoy it from the start. These people thought they'd hate it too.
"I didn't expect I would say 'I'm excited' about public speaking, but that's how much my mind and thinking have transformed."
Julie
"I even actually enjoyed being 'up there' and talking, unscripted. So liberating and confidence inspiring!"
Nick
"I ended up enjoying speaking towards the end, and also not dreading standing up. I was buzzing afterwards."
Jack Head
"I actually felt myself relaxing and even slightly enjoying the experience."
Abbie
Up until the moment I walked in on day one I had absolutely no idea what to expect. I have been on numerous courses on different subjects throughout the years and a part of me was already sabotaging the course thinking to myself ‘it won’t work’, ‘it will be a waste of time’. This disappeared by the first morning break when I could instantly tell it was different to any other course I had been on and we were all there for the same reasons with no judgements.
Paul
I wish I’d come years ago…
This is a pattern that comes up again and again: people who arrive years after they first thought about it. The same fear that makes public speaking feel dangerous can make even booking a course feel dangerous, so people wait, sometimes for a decade or more, telling themselves it's not the right time. Here's what people say once they finally came.
"I just wish I had signed up sooner. I've been running away from this problem for about 15 years, maybe more. I was sceptical about the course when I signed up, and knew I would be facing my fears by turning up, but I am so glad I did."
Shaun
"I held off from going on this course, and generally seeking help, for years before finally biting the bullet, and it is something I wish I had done a long time ago."
Rob
"The course gave me something I wish I had years ago, permission to forgive myself, to challenge my own thoughts, and to recognise that acceptance is often what reduces anxiety most."
Carlos
"This fear had held me back personally and professionally, rooted in deeper confidence issues."
Chris
"It had become a crippling thought and was impacting my wellbeing, both by trying to avoid it whenever I could, or having months of build up."
Kirsty
"I booked the course three weeks before it started and then spent the three weeks so anxious and wondering if I was brave enough to go. John makes you feel so at ease as soon as you walk through the door and the nerves just disappear. I only wish I had done this course years ago, so if you are worried about it, please don't be and know that you will come away with so much more."
Sarah
Whenever you're ready
You've just read what a few years of waiting looked like for other people.
You don't need to decide anything right now. But as you well know, avoiding it in the long run tends to make things worse, and it's not worth the discomfort
If you want to see what's coming up, you can browse all my upcoming courses or look in detail at Bristol, London and Manchester.
If you'd rather ask something before booking, have a free 10-minute chat with me, no obligation, just a chance to ask whatever's on your mind.
Or you can email me if you prefer. Or WhatsApp me
And don't forget, every course comes with a no-quibble money-back guarantee.
all the best
John