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Master your Story
Master your Stage
For founders, keynote speakers, and senior executives who have the substance - and need the room to get it.
Stage Intelligence Coaching for the moments that decide careers, deals, and reputations: investor rooms, keynotes, TEDx stages, and board updates.
ᗢ In 30 minutes you'll get a clear diagnosis of where the story breaks - not a pitch. Confidential by default. NDA's available.
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Master your Story
Master your Stage
Communication Coach ◆ Award-Winning Speech Writer ◆ Public Speaking TEDx Advisor.
With 20 years of corporate experience, there is a reason senior leaders at Vodafone, Microsoft, the BBC, and local Governments trust me to craft their story, sharpen delivery, and make it land when the stakes are highest.
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Master your Story
Master your Stage
Communication Coach ◆ Award-Winning Speech Writer ◆ Public Speaking TEDx Advisor.
With 20 years of corporate experience, there is a reason senior leaders at Vodafone, Microsoft, the BBC, and local Governments trust me to craft their story, sharpen delivery, and make it land when the stakes are highest.
Master your Story
Master your Stage
Communication Coach ◆ Award-Winning Speech Writer ◆
Public Speaking TEDx Advisor.
With 20 years of corporate experience, there is a reason senior leaders at Vodafone, Microsoft, the BBC, and local Governments trust me to craft their story, sharpen delivery, and make it land when the stakes are highest.
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Founded by Richard Ford | Award-Winning Writer | Public Speaking TEDx Advisor
WORKING WITH LEADERS FROM
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Promoted & recognised in a couple of months
“Richard has completely changed the way I speak. He made me feel at ease and gave me the tools to command the room. I've been promoted - and feel a large chunk of this is down to Richard.”
Andreas M · Financial Director, Microsoft
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You have the substance.
Does the room ever get it?
what i do
Every leader I work with is about to be watched - a keynote, a board update, an investor room, a camera. What happens in that short space of time
often outlasts it by years. My job is to make sure it holds.
Even during our consultation, everything you take away is practical. Whether it's a story that needs selling, a pitch that has to raise money, a keynote with one shot, or a board update where ninety seconds decide whether they hear you.
I give you the tools and techniques, while ensuring your words, your delivery and your deck are fit for purpose and win your room.
Three parts, one discipline.
◆
how and why it works
Introducing Stage Intelligence Coaching.
Most coaching picks a lane - write the speech, polish the slides, or “work on presence.”
Stage Intelligence treats words, delivery, and the deck as one system. That’s not a slogan.
Because the room doesn’t buy one thing. It buys three.
01
Your words & story
Craft it.
Words that survive scrutiny
What we do. We find the narrative inside your expertise and write the argument so it holds under a hard question - not a generic script, not an AI draft that sounds fine and dies in sixty seconds.
Why it works. People remember structured stories far better than loose facts. If the narrative is weak, no amount of coaching saves it.
22×
Stories are up to 22× more memorable than facts alone in classic recall studies - which is why we build the arc before we polish the performance.
02
Your voice & Presence
Deliver it.
Presence that holds the room
What we do. Voice, pace, physical presence - rehearsed how performers train. Real tools and techniques, you make people lean in rather than switch off when the room gets difficult.
Why it works. Content is judged on how it’s delivered. Competence through composure, pacing, and command - not through slides.
90 seconds
In high-stakes rooms, first impressions form fast. Those ninety seconds often decide whether your expertise is credited - or diluted.
03
Your deck & the room
Land it.
Message that sticks after they leave
What we do. Slides that support the argument rather than carry it. Composure to read the room in real time so you leave with what you set out to do - not a polite nod and a forgotten pitch.
Why it works. Content is judged on how it’s delivered. Competence through composure, pacing, and command - not through slides.
£28.5bn
Poor communication costs businesses an estimated £28.5 billion a year. The failure is rarely “more content.”
◆
who it works for
Three ways to work together.
Choose the engagement that matches your moment.
Let's craft it, deliver it and land it.
For Founders & Entrepreneurs
The Launch Room
✓ Founding story rebuilt under real scrutiny
✓ Elevator pitch, vision, and mission that flex by room
✓ Delivery rehearsed for investor and client questions and scrutiny
✓ One message across deck, site, socials and LinkedIn
For High-Stakes SPEECHES
The Performance Room
✓ Speech written & structured from scratch (or rebuilt from your draft)
✓ Delivery coached - voice, pace, body language. Live coaching available.
✓ Slides that support the argument, not carry it
For Executives, SENIOR LEADERS
The Command Room
✓ Honest read of how you're currently received
✓ Board and stakeholder communication, sharpened
✓ Presence and composure under difficult rooms
✓ Ongoing coaching matched to your calendar of moments
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about richard
Twenty years in the room.
Both sides of it.
I've spent my career inside the rooms I now coach people to walk into. I started at Autotrader, then led operations at Cable & Wireless selling to Vodafone. I went on to drive supplier investment at Vodafone and Syngenta, and to lead communications at JD Sports. Finally founding Life is a Speech - A executive consulting and coaching practice built on everything that career taught me.
But I didn't start out able to hold a room. I started out terrified of one - over-rehearsed, anxious, and certain I'd be found out. So I went and learned the thing nobody teaches executives. I trained as a performer.
Drama. Stand-up. Scriptwriting. Improv. Rooms with no slide deck to hide behind, where if you don't hold attention you know immediately- out loud, in real time. That's where I learned what commanding a room actually means, rather than just being technically right in it.
That combination is Stage Intelligence Coaching, and what every engagement is built on.
The foundations
Boardroom. Stage. Coaching room.
Corporate
Built in the Boardroom
◆ Head of Supplier & Comms
JD Sports Fashion plc
◆ Senior Global Strategist
Syngenta Group
◆ Director of Communications
Positive Start Ltd
◆ Global Supplier Manager
Vodafone
◆ Green Belt Lean Six Sigma
100% Effective Ltd
Creative
Shaped on Stage
◆ BA Degree in Communication
Lancaster University
◆ BA Degree in Drama
Lancaster University
◆ Improvisation Training
Improv North & ImprovQuo
◆ Stand-up comedy
Performed clubs across the UK
◆ Award-winning writer
BCG Pro, Screen to Seen
coaching
Proven in Practice
◆ ILM Level 7 Coaching
Institute of Leadership
◆ CPD Accredited Coach
CPD
◆ Coaching consultant
Baldur Talking Therapies
◆ Founder
Life is a Speech Ltd
◆ Training & Development Coach
Unity Leadership Solutions
THE case study
From Fear to TEDx Stage.
Lucy was invisible in her own company. She'd rebuilt a failing £50M division from the ground up, pivoted the entire strategy, kept the team intact through chaos, and landed three contracts
nobody thought were possible.
But in front of the board, she didn't have a story. They saw a nervous executive reading slides. They had no idea what she'd actually done and she struggled to explain her work and
land her points either in meetings or in the boardroom.
The Discovery
Lucy didn't have a confidence problem. She had a story problem. The turnaround was in there. She wasn't telling it as one.
We worked through Stage Intelligence Coaching in sequence. We found the narrative inside her results. Voice, pace, and physical presence, rehearsed the way performers rehearse.
Finally reading the room in real time, holding composure when a question comes in sideways, and staying in command when the plan changes.
The Transformation
"Richard didn't just give me tools. He helped me see the story underneath my own results, and gave me the confidence to own it in the room.
Listening really helped, and trying this out in a safe environment meant I went from feeling scattered to speaking with authority."
The Results
Eighteen months later, she stood on a TEDx stage and told that story to over 2,000 people.
She got the promotion she'd already earned. The work never changed. What changed was whether the room could see it.
She started taking the first slot in the meeting instead of the last. When the hard question came, she answered it rather than deferring to someone more senior in the room.
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how we work
Four steps. One engagement.
01
discovery
We talk about your situation
A paid 30-minute consultation to understand the moment, what's at stake, when you need to deliver and where the story is getting stuck.
02
development
We sharpen the story
I find the narrative inside what you already know - your track record, your data, your theme - and build it so it wins minds and holds up to scrutiny.
03
dynamics
We project your presence
Voice, pace, physical presence, rehearsed the way performers rehearse, until it's not a performance anymore. It becomes second nature.
04
delivery
We land the result
You walk in with the story, the delivery, and the composure to hold it when the moment doesn't go to plan. Crafted, delivered and landed for you.
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Outcomes.
You end up with a story that leads with what's hardest to argue with, and a
delivery that holds up when the room pushes back. The goal isn't a better script.
It's a room that believes you.
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Common Questions.
◆ How much does this cost?
It depends on the shape of the engagement - a single keynote, a founder story, or ongoing coaching are three different scopes. We agree the exact fee in the first consultation.
The 30-minute consultation itself is $125.
◆ Do you write the material, or just coach the delivery?
Both, as one job. Most people come to me because the story isn't landing, not just the delivery -
so I build the narrative and coach the performance together, not separately.
◆ How long does an engagement take?
A single keynote or founder story is usually shaped over a few weeks. Ongoing executive coaching runs to your calendar of moments, not a fixed end date. We agree the timeline on the first call.
◆ Can you work with something I've already written?
Yes. Plenty of people come with a draft, a deck, or a speech that isn't landing - rebuilding from
what you have is often faster than starting from nothing.
Every engagement starts with a conversation.
for organisations
Equip your leadership team to communicate at the level the moment demands.
Bespoke workshops, keynotes and facilitation for organisations investing in the communication capability of their senior leaders.
Keynote Speaking Coaching
High-impact keynotes on executive communication, presence, and leading through high-stakes moments. Delivered for boards, conferences & leadership worldwide.
BEST FOR
◆ Annual leadership conferences
◆ Board retreats
◆ Industry summit feedback
Leadership Team Workshops
Half-day or full-day intensives for senior leadership teams.
Live practice, real materials, immediate application. Bespoke to your organisation's challenges.
BEST FOR
◆ C-suite teams
◆ Board directors
◆ Senior partner groups
Facilitation &
Advisory
Strategic facilitation for senior offsites, board meetings, town halls and transformation moments. I help your leaders communicate when the stakes are highest.
BEST FOR
◆ Town halls and AGMs
◆ M&A and change comms
◆ Crisis communications
Trusted by Microsoft, NHS, BBC, JDRF, Vodafone and more.
THe evidence
Two independent studies. One consistent finding.
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Poor communication costs UK businesses £28.5 billion a year.
-
Almost none of it is a content problem.
Inefficient communication costs UK businesses an average of £7,675 per employee every year - more than a third of the average UK office worker's salary.
The failure is almost never the argument. It's the ninety seconds before anyone hears it.
Sources: Mitel/Vanson Bourne UK workplace productivity study; ACAS
MY testominals
Trusted by people who can't afford to be forgettable.
1700+
coached
680+
testominals
40+
countries
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“I'm so glad I hired Richard for my Executive Coaching.”
Dr. Sandra Handlbauer-Zrust
CEO and Founder at Aspirant
My Berlin keynote on menopause was built on years of clinical practice, research and lived experience. Richard helped me find the sharpest, most human way to say what I already knew.
He understood, then helped me strip away everything that stood me and the audience. The keynote landed.
If you want to actually move people, work with Richard.
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“Promoted & recognised in just a couple of months."
Andreas M
Financial Director at Microsoft
Richard has completely changed the way I speak and approach things now.
From the moment we started working together, he made me feel at ease, and gave the tools to command the room.
I've been promoted and feel a large chunk of this is down to Richard.
Now, I can tackle more than spreadsheets!
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"His impact is always nothing short of incredible."
Sharon Underwood
Presenter and Entrepreneur
Not just great, fantastic! Richard was absolutely amazing in crafting our stories. He really got an understanding of what our vibe was.
His delivery helped the nerves and the speech was insightful a great balance of serious, fun, love and engaging.
We can not recommend Richard enough, and recommend him for speeches.
01
The boardroom feels different
Every word is scrutinised. Every pause is read. The communication skills that got you here aren't the ones that move the room now.
02
Your message gets diluted
You have the strategy. You have the data. But somehow it lands flat, your audience drifts, and the moment slips past.
03
The stakes keep rising
Investor pitches. Board updates. Town halls. Media interviews. The cost of getting it wrong has never been higher.
faq
Questions
leaders ask first
◆
Our standard premium timeline is 2 to 3 weeks, which allows for deep psychological audience mapping and narrative iteration. However, for urgent corporate scenarios, we offer a high-priority 72-hour turnaround service subject to availability.
We treat content and delivery as inseparable. Every speechwriting engagement includes targeted, psychology-led coaching designed to reduce performance anxiety, establish executive presence, and anchor your physical delivery.
High-impact storytelling is universal. We work extensively across technology, finance, venture capital, and creative industries, helping technical founders and senior executives translate complex data into compelling narrative hooks.
Absolutely. We maintain absolute discretion for all corporate leaders, political figures, and public speakers. Non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) are signed prior to any briefing or strategic discovery session.
Instead of relying on generic presentation templates, we engineer scripts based on cognitive load management and audience status dynamics. We structure your speech so that the room retains your core message within the first 5 seconds.
Yes. We conduct a detailed vocal rhythm analysis during our initial intake session. This ensures the cadence, idioms, and structural pacing feel natural to your personal speaking style rather than sounding overly scripted.
ready to begin?
Your next high-stakes
moment deserves more than
the words you've used before.
Every engagement starts with a 30-minute consultation - $125 USD. No pitch, no pressure.
A clear conversation about how you'll get results.
Confidential by default. NDAs available. Prefer email? Reach Richard directly.