Workshop & event speaker

Need someone to speak at, chair, facilitate or organise a conference or workshop? Please get in touch.

Alongside speaking at or running your events, you can also engage me to run training courses, or coaching, on an in-house basis – or if you require it I can organise a venue for you.

I’ve spoken at (and organised) many events including:

  • October 2023 – Stockholm, full day media training workshop for the GreenPole project and researchers from the Universities of Copenhagen, Lund and Helsinki (delivered through Research Retold)
  • September 2023 – University of Oxford, Blavatnik School of Government – workshop participant at the Government Outcomes Lab SOC23 event (covering messages featured in the Vitalising Purpose book)
  • September 2023 – House of Lords – financial inclusion event (event organiser)
  • June 2033 – University of Sheffield: how to communicate research beyond academia (with Research Retold)
  • May 2023 – How to pitch research findings to the media and amplify your research – two online workshops (with Research Retold) for Climate Strategies / South to South Just Transitions, with researchers from universities worldwide
  • April 2023 – House of Lords – financial inclusion event (event organiser)
  • March 2023 – Yonsei University Entrepreneurship Programme – marketing and communications workshop and mentoring for pre-start SMEs and impact businesses
  • November 2022 – planned and delivered workshops on working with the media and on marketing for social enterprises at the Responsible Finance member day
  • April 2021 – Media training, mock interviews, pitching and creating memorable stories – full day of online training for The Children’s Hospital Charity
  • February 2021 – How to pitch the media and grab journalists’ attention – online training workshop for the Trent Rivers Trust
  • January 2020 – full day of media training, including crisis communications, for the senior management team of an international business
  • October 2018 – Digital marketing lecture for Sheffield Hallam University.
  • September 2018 – Working with the media workshop for Don Catchment Rivers Trust.
  • April 2018 – Chairing and facilitating NEX Exchange workshop for The Wosskow Brown Foundation.
  • March 2018 – Media interview training workshop for Project6 and Sheffield Alcohol Advisory Service.
  • March 2018 – Marketing mentoring at Eden Project Communities’ event, Enterprising communities: Setting up community-owned places & services.
  • January 2018 – Bidding for public sector contracts workshop for Sheffield Social Enterprise Network.
  • September 2017 – Why your business should have a communications strategy – and how to measure the effectiveness of that strategy – Inox Dine, Sheffield.
  • September 2017 – keynote speaker at Good Stories 2017 hosted by RBS/NatWest at their HQ in London and organised by Matter&Co.
  • September 2017 – lecture for Sheffield Hallam University, How to take the con out of consultancy – and why most social media consultants sell snake oil.
  • August 2017 – lecture (introduction to social enterprise in the UK) and workshop leader (marketing and comunications for social enterprises) for accelerator programme for MBA student entrepreneurs from KAIST Business School, organised by the University of Sheffield Enterprise
  • April 2017 – Chair for the opening event in The Festival of Debate, a panel discussion titled ‘Does Sheffield Just Need a Pay Rise’
  • January 2017 – Business Breakfast at a world class centre for manufacturing excellence
  • January 2017 – Presentation and Public Speaking workshop for Sheffield Hallam University Students’ Union Graduate Intern Programme
  • December 2016 – Media training workshop for Don Catchment Rivers Trust
  • November 2016 – full day media and interview training workshop in Exeter for a number of organisations
  • October 2016 – Storytelling in your business communications – Business Breakfast event for Rotherham Hospice
  • October 2016 – Lecture for Sheffield Hallam University / VentureMatrix
  • September 2016 – Lecture for Sheffield Business School MBA students, The University of Sheffield
  • August 2016 – 2 lectures (social enterprise in the UK; sales, marketing & communications) for MBA students from KAIST Business School, South Korea, at The University of Sheffield
  • June 2016 – Enterprising Nation Marketing Essentials for Startups workshop
  • June 2016 – Presentation Skills and Public Speaking course for Voluntary Action Sheffield
  • June 2016 – keynote speeches at two Wosskow Brown Foundation Enterprising Partners events
  • May 2016 – delivery of one day Media Interviewing Skills workshop for Exeter and other councils
  • April 2016 – keynote speech at the Wosskow Brown Foundation Enterprising Partners event
  • February 2016 – presentation skills workshop for Sheffield Hallam University graduate interns
  • January 2016 – workshop for MBA students from KAIST Business School (South Korea), delivered as part of a University of Sheffield-organised accelerator programme
  • October 2015 – lecture and workshop, Sheffield Hallam University
  • July 2015 – co-facilitator of workshop at the NatWest SE100 Leaders Insight event
  • June 2015 – BforB Sheffield Women’s Group Invitational – keynote presentation
  • May 2015 – Business Breakfast Wake Up Call for Rotherham Hospice at AESSEAL, including how to get journalists to cover your business
  • March 2015 – 1 day Social Media Marketing workshop, delivered for SYAC in Sheffield
  • March 2015 – 3 day workshop in Malaysia, “Journalism for Social Good” organised by The British Council
  • January 2015 – 1-1 advice at StartUp 2015 – “The UK’s largest startup show”
  • December 2014 – keynote speaker at The Big Potential event
  • November 2014 – participant at Growth Voucher taster day
  • November 2014 – panelist at national conference, Crowdfunding Deep Impact: rebooting innovation, venture creation, entrepreneurship
  • September 2014 – MADE: The Entrepreneur Festival – chaired and facilitated fringe event for Barclays Bank and Wosskow Brown solicitors, featuring Drop Dead Clothing.
  • July 2014 – Yorkshire Venture Philanthropy Programme – with Andi Stamp, I ran this Marketing Seminar for social enterprises and small businesses
  • July 2014 – Sheffield Live Television – preview screening and business networking event – short presentation
  • July 2014 – Digital Media Exchange Project (Sheffield) launch event – short presentation
  • June 2014 – Sheffield Local Enterprise Partnership CDI Sector Group event – short presentation
  • April 2014 – Towns Alive – I organised and chaired the one-day, national TownFunder event
  • November 2013 – Towns Alive Annual Conference – workshop on crowdfunding, community share issues, and other routes to fund town improvement projects
  • November 2013 – Sheffield Enterprise – Social Impact Measurement workshop
  • October – November 2013 – Sheffield Community Network – series of workshops on Digital Media on the Move
  • September 2013 – Sheffield Community Network – Social Impact Measurement workshop
  • April 2013 – Sheffield Community Network – 9 Steps to Social Enterprise Success
  • March 2013 – Towns Alive – I organised and chaired the one-day, national TownFunder event
  • I’ve also previously spoken at the Community Development Finance Association’s Annual Conference; run in-house training for an international software business; and organised numerous national conferences. Please get in touch for copies of presentations.

Workshops and training session topics include:

Media Skills Training

Whether it’s trying to secure media coverage or dealing with a hostile interview situation – if you’re well prepared and you understand the needs of journalists and the media, you’re much more likely to get your message across clearly. Different media: broadcast, press, print, online have varied needs and audiences; news coverage and in-depth features or interviews again require appropriate approach.

Something that often strikes me as a radio presenter is how often the senior and highly talented figures I interview are incredibly nervous before going live on air. This course is tailored to your requirements and builds on my radio presenting experience, alongside work I’ve done as a spokesperson for clients in live interviews and representing them to the press.

Social Impact Measurement made simple

Running a social enterprise? Then demonstrating your social impact is essential: you must be able to chart your social outcomes as well as your (easy to measure) economic ones. And the Social Value Act means that all public bodies in England and Wales are required to consider how the services they commission and procure might improve the economic, social and environmental well-being of the area. So if you want to sell to public bodies then you need evidence of your social impact.

But where do you start? Social Impact measurement can be daunting. Which framework to use, what do you measure? What about SROI (Social Return on Investment)?

This one-day workshop helps to make it easy for you to clearly define your mission, targets, indicators and create a “social impact chain” and impact measurement system you can use. Then it shows you how to use it to support your business: from collecting and analysing your results, to how to review and learn from them – and how to communicate them.

“Different approaches will be suitable for different social enterprises but there’s no excuse for not measuring your impact in some way,” David Floyd of Social Spider CIC writing in the Guardian, May 2013.

Drawing on my work supporting real-life social enterprises in social impact measurement through the Sheffield Community Network, this practical course will enable you to easily embed social impact measurement in your social enterprise.

Social Media Marketing – introduction, tips and tricks

Help! Twitter, facebook, linkedin…and other social networks – should you engage, if so how? How do you develop and implement a social media marketing strategy without it taking over your life? Where do you start, how do you measure the effectiveness of your engagement, and what are the top tips to ensure your strategy is effective? This course shows you!

Fear-free Sales

Selling terrifies people – even passionate business owners and social entrepreneurs.

It’s vital for everyone in a small business or social enterprise to know how to sell effectively. This course gives you a toolkit to get on with developing your business in confidence. It’s based on my experience of business development – from sales executive to managing director level. At Trinity Mirror I was twice crowned ‘salesperson of the year’ and rose to a position of group sales and development manager, responsible for a portfolio of 8 products including magazines, an exhibition and an award scheme. As launch sales director (and co-founder) for New Start magazine I was responsible for growing sales from zero to nearly £1m per year within the first 2 years of launch. And I’ve subsequently secured high-value sponsorship deals and continue to do so on behalf of clients.

Setting up a social enterprise

What’s the difference between a social enterprise and any other kind of business? How do you setup a social enterprise? Covering legal structures, governance, and a healthy dose of ‘how-to-do-it’ business startup advice, this course will show you.

Marketing masterclass

For small businesses and for social enterprises. A focused, practical, hands-on course, getting to grips with your business goals and objectives and outlining how to direct your marketing efforts to achieve them. This course is tailored to you, and you will leave with an integrated marketing and communications plan – and the knowledge of how to implement it!

I’ve delivered (bespoke, tailored) versions of this workshop for MBA students from KAIST College of Business, in an accelerator programme hosted and run by The University of Sheffield in January 2016. I’ve also delivered this for the Yorkshire Venture Philanthropy programme (with Andi Stamp) and varied private clients.

Learn from my business mistakes

Nobody’s perfect, though business gurus like to pretend otherwise! I’m certainly not. Despite winning numerous industry awards in businesses I have run, I have a wish list full of “if only I’d done that”. This irreverent, funny but highly focused workshop is aimed at social enterprises and small businesses. It will enable you to learn from my experiences and mistakes without having the pain of making them yourself.

I love helping people to unlock their talents and develop their skills. Please, get in touch for a chat about your training or coaching requirements.