Public Speaking Coach: Do You Actually Need One?

16 June 2026

A woman contacted me recently after missing out on a promotion. Her manager had already told her why.

"You need to speak up more in meetings."

She knew her subject. In meetings, she often had the answer before anyone else. But something would stop her from speaking up. She'd have an idea, then spend the next few minutes working out how to phrase it. By the time she felt ready, the discussion had moved on.

When she contacted me, she wasn't asking how to give a presentation. She wanted to know whether a public speaking coach could help her say the things she was already thinking, or whether she could fix it on her own.

A public speaking coach works with you one-to-one on the specific situations causing the difficulty, not presentations in general, but the meetings, conversations, and interviews you're already in.

When I surveyed 2,198 professionals, 89% said they experience meeting anxiety rather than presentation anxiety.

Can you improve your public speaking without a coach?

Yes, you can learn a great deal from books, videos, and online courses.

But public speaking anxiety is not caused by a lack of information. You know you should speak up more in meetings and put your hand up for opportunities. You know delivering the team update shouldn't feel as stressful as it does.

Access to information was never the problem. What stops you is what happens when you are in the meeting, the mind going blank, the voice shaking. No book or video helps at that moment.

Why doesn't reading about public speaking anxiety fix it?

I spent years trying to fix my public speaking anxiety through books, videos, and courses. One trainer spent most of the time on breathing exercises and vocal warm-ups. That wasn't my problem. I wasn't worried about my voice. I was worried about opening my mouth in the first place.

Another course I attended barely involved speaking at all. The only practice happened in pairs, during the final hour of the third day.

None of it addressed the moment itself. The point when it's your turn to speak.

What causes the problem in meetings?

Nobody has ever contacted me and said they didn't know they should speak up more. They already know.

There are two situations where it happens. The first is when you have something to say but hold back. Is the point good enough? Is the timing right? By the time those checks have run, someone else has said it and the moment has gone.

The second is when someone asks you directly. Attention turns to you. There is a pause, then "um... yeah... I think..." and a short answer that covers about a third of what you actually wanted to say. The moment the attention moves on, the rest of what you could have said comes back to you.

What does a public speaking coach actually do?

You cannot learn to drive by watching other people drive. You can study the theory, watch hours of footage and sit in the passenger seat. At some point you need to get into the driver's seat with someone who can see exactly what you're doing and correct it in real time.

Generic advice cannot tell you what you specifically are worried about, or why you hold back when you have something to say. You've held back so many times that it now happens without you deciding to.

One person worries about looking foolish. Another worries about going blank. Someone else worries about being challenged. The fears are different. The behaviour looks the same: staying quiet, watching the moment pass, watching less experienced colleagues get noticed while you say nothing.

What does coaching actually look like?

My clients are dealing with meetings, workplace conversations, and interviews. That's where the problem is showing up.

In a session, we identify what's causing the difficulty. I give them one specific thing to focus on. They apply it in a real meeting or conversation. When we next speak, we go through what actually happened.

We adjust and they apply it again. A few weeks in, they're doing things that felt out of reach when we first spoke: speaking up in meetings they used to sit through in silence, answering questions instead of waiting for the conversation to move on. They can see for themselves that it works.

If that sounds like the kind of work that would help, [you can get in touch here].

When do people decide to get help?

Most people I work with leave it until something forces the issue.

The woman I mentioned at the start contacted me after losing out on a promotion. She knew her work. She had ideas. But she stayed quiet, and over time that held her back.

Others get in touch when something unavoidable is approaching: a wedding speech, an interview, a presentation they can't get out of. The event forces them to address something they've been managing around for years.

Do you need a public speaking coach?

If you're speaking up more than you were a year ago and feeling more confident in meetings, then you are moving in the right direction, so keep doing what you're doing.

If you've been stuck in the same place for years, reading the same advice, sitting through the same frustrating meetings and watching the same opportunities pass, getting some support is overdue.

I offer public speaking coaching in London and online for professionals who want to stop sitting quietly through meetings they should be speaking up in. If you'd like to find out whether one-to-one coaching would be the right fit, get in touch here.