Calling all anxious presenters…
Presentation skills training may NOT be what you really want
Does the idea of giving a presentation fill you with anxiety? Do you feel like a ‘rabbit in headlights’ when you are called to give a talk?
The trouble is that traditional presentation skills workshops are teaching you how to structure a presentation, how to stand but they are missing the point. How do you connect to presentation audiences, from behind a wall of fear and self-doubt? The advice is often “practice, practice, practice” but you just end practising being scared. Unless you change your thinking and most courses don’t focus on the deeper confidence you need to present.
But people really want those skills of being comfortable with being in public.
tackling presentation nerves / anxiety in order to become a competent presenter
to be able to do presentations to large groups of people.
to start enjoying presentations.
to tackle the fear of being the centre of attention
of stopping the 'rabbit in the headlights' feeling and your brain going blank
I’m John Dawson and over 8000 people have come to my two day course “Taking your place in the world” over the last 24 years. And it’s aimed at people who really don’t like presenting and public speaking and who want to make presenting far more possible.
Learning how to make powerpoint slides pretty isn’t the right answer for lots of people. You need to start with deepening your confidence, understanding how to connect to audiences in more conversational way and learn to be an authentic speaker. These are the real presentation skills you need! And the great thing about developing confidence for presentations is that it helps with a wider confidence for life. But don’t just take my word for it…
Anxious presenters review my courses in their own words
It's not about learning how to give a presentation in terms of content, or professionalism, it's about developing authentic confidence and overcoming our fear or being looked at. It's like no other presentation course I've ever been on and it's the only one that's actually helped me.So don't hesitate - it's so worth it.
Ella Tyler
I wish I had attended this training earlier in my career. I now view public speaking in a different, more positive way. The course helped me to focus more on the needs of the audience rather on my previous need to be seen as a ‘perfect’ presenter who does not make mistakes. I have since delivered 2 presentations and felt much more relaxed before, during and after making presentations. I have gained the ability to speak more confidently, while being genuine and authentic. I have received positive comments from colleagues on how comfortable I appear to be when speaking in front of a group.
Dave Edwards
Read hundreds more course reviews from the last seven years of teaching.
In this course you will learn how to
✔︎ Feel more at ease being the centre of attention,
✔︎ Be able to think on your feet more and to be more ‘present” while you ‘present’ (tricky phrase!)
✔︎ Overcome the fear of presenting and public speaking anxiety
✔︎ Feel confident in front of any audience
✔︎ Understand audiences in a different way so that they change from threatening and judging to just listening faces
✔︎ Stop getting in your own way and learn how to focus on the purpose of the presentation rather than yourself
✔︎ Be yourself and connect authentically
Extremely worthwhile 2 days. Gained so much more than I had from reading books on presentations. This is different. Reaches all aspects of life, not just public speaking.
Sarah Norman
My approach to teaching presentation confidence
This course has been developed over 24 years and teaches you the skills you need be a better presenter in very small steps.
Group work and conversations.
Small experiential exercises to build confidence
Lots of coaching after each exercise and getting you to reflect on what you are learning
Strong ground rules to make the courses very safe and supportive. No one is made to do anything they don’t want to.
Course handouts
Seeing the course as a conversation about presenting and public speaking so I often answer lots of questions throughout the course
Because I’ve run the course for 21 years I can adapt the course to suit the group’s needs so that everyone is looked after.
The course can be supplemented by one-to-one coaching before and after the course. See my coaching page for more information
For more background on John Dawson take a look here.
The pace of the course was excellent, it was small steps which helped build the foundations and nothing felt too out of control – it was a very safe environment
Alison
Honestly I thought it (the course) was great, it is very clear you have dedicated serious time to developing your approach and working out the best ways to hold space for people.
Adam Telford
I learnt so much from coming on your course. You have an amazing ability of holding the space for people experiencing this fear. Your approach, experience and skills are second to none.
Claire
What i liked about the course: The small number of people really helped, I think everyone felt more comfortable speaking and each other as the course went on. The sense of progress and support from/for everyone. The rules you set up at the beginning, especially around confidentiality. This really helped with me with committing to the course
Tim
John the facilitator is great and helps you feel at ease as soon as you walk in the room. He really works hard with everyone which allowed us to feel we could do this. He works at a pace everyone is comfortable with and whilst the course has structure, he was happy to adapt to ensure we got the best out of it.
Liz Pickering
My courses
I teach my courses in Bristol, London and Manchester once a month.
If you want to see all the courses by date for every location look here.
A note about presenting and public speaking
My definition of presenting, of course, includes public speaking. And my definition of public speaking is very wide. For lots of people that means speaking up at meetings, getting more involved with work conversations. Although the course is focused on presenting and public speaking, the skills you learn on the course will help you be more involved with the wider conversations at work and in life (if you want to be!)
Reviews of the courses
Hundreds of in-depth reviews are listed here.