International Influence
"Where are you from?" — My hot date in the red dress asks across the candlelit table.
A drop of sweat forms on my brow.. [this is going to be tough! I should have expected this question..]
What's worse? I'm not even joking! Try and make sense of this: Tanzania is where I grew up. I was a teenager in sunny Spain. I'm 1/4 Norwegian and 1/4 Indian. The UK is on my passport. But Poland is where I live now! Try press that into a soundbite.
See, I've spent my life peering through airplane windows and living out of a suitcase. Beautiful places. Beautiful people. Beautiful memories. But always transient. Always for a moment. Rarely long enough to say this is where I'm from.
Curious at heart.
Cambridge University. Genetics final year. Fist bumped a 73 year old Nobel Prize winner (Prof Johnny G) on the way into the lab.
My dream was to be a University lecturer — presenting cool topics and educating others seemed awesome! Unfortunately, that meant I had to get beaten about by boring Uni courses first…
I ended up playing rugby, rowing, and drinking extensively. In a strange twist, I also became president of the University Buddhist Society — a position I was wholly unqualified for. Somewhere in the grind of it all, I realised becoming a lecturer would take years of scientific research — and that sounded just like 'doing time' (aka going to prison)!
I joined the Royal Navy.
"LISTEN UP!"
0153AM. Training Exercise. A savage snowstorm has set in. There's no 'leader' above me and fellow trainees are arguing about how to set up our shelters for the night. One guy can't use his hands anymore. Another is barely conscious, lying in a freezing pile of cows**t.
[People are going to end up in hospital unless I get a grip of the 100 other Officer Cadets in front of me.]
I use my voice and boom out commands with an intensity I didn't know I had. Heads turned to listen and we got the shelters built.
I still remember that moment in the blizzard. I learned my voice could have real power if I needed it.
Refining my voice.
Following military service, I moved to Poland to be near family. I found an English public speaking club near me to make new friends. I quickly discovered my varied background gave me a natural talent for speaking. My military background gave my speaking some 'Oomph', my Uni background gave me Logic.
I began to perform two or three prepared speeches per week. My skills skyrocketed.
Storytelling is the most important lever in public speaking.
Speech after speech, I realised that storytelling is the single greatest differentiator between a good speaker and a great one. StoryCrafting is a business storytelling programme developed from my insights into public speaking — designed to help leaders and founders communicate with the clarity and authority their ideas deserve. I've created story templates that allow a business owner to create compelling and connecting content around 12 critical moments. Moments that matter to your customers.
Leadership, Teams & Organisational Culture
Alongside my speaking interests, I work with scaling founders and executive teams to remove internal growth constraints. Often they've built something significant, and now find themselves caught inside their own machine. They are the bottleneck; either in terms of decision making, deal flow or creating standards and culture. This makes them the ceiling on their own company's growth.
I help them diagnose, understand and remove those limitations.
Speaking. Teaching. Building.
Away from client work as a leadership/influence/storytelling coach (I'll find a catchier title someday), I'm an active member of a growing number of Toastmasters clubs. Dynamically Speaking Toastmasters, where I am President, Praxis Toastmasters, where I am VPM, and my local club Poznan Lead and Speak, where I enjoy a casual membership. I believe communicating with clarity and conviction is the most underrated leadership capability there is.
I am documenting my speaking journey on YouTube. See the links next to this section and Subscribe to follow along. Feel free to join as my guest at any of the clubs. Guests are always welcomed warmly.
Creating a sense of home.
I'm now settled in Poznan, Poland. I have some family here and a blossoming relationship with my fiance Anita.
That said, we're both keen travellers. I think we'll be spending a lot more time living out of suitcases over the coming years.
