From blank page to the big stage – total speech preparation
If you want to cover every angle of your all-important speech or presentation, you can work with an experienced politician and a speechwriter to get maximum support.

Carwyn Jones was First Minister of Wales for nine years, and for much of that time his Chief Special Adviser, Matt Greenough was his speechwriter. They will work with you on the art of producing – and then delivering – speeches that make a difference. When it comes to public speaking, there’s a lot to get right – and a lot that can go wrong – this course will cover it all in detail. From the blank page to the big stage, you’ll be walked through every step of the journey.

Matt Greenough

Matt is passionate about words – and the power they have to make real and lasting change in the world. He had a successful career in politics, culminating in his role as the Chief Special Adviser in the Welsh Government. Prior to that he was the Special Adviser for Media & Strategic Communications, and the Education Special Adviser. As the most senior adviser working for the First Minister of Wales, Matt worked with politicians, officials, and external partners to help deliver the Government’s programme. He also had responsibility for writing keynote speeches and leading on high profile communications challenges. In addition to his work for Government, Matt worked in various roles for the Labour Party in Wales, including as Director of Communications for the successful 2016 Assembly elections.

Working at the top of government in strategic, policy and communications roles has given him wide-ranging and high-level experience of: speechwriting, media handling and training, change management, crisis communications, briefing senior teams, and stakeholder management.

Matt now runs his own speechwriting and communications consultancy, Words Matter.

‘They may not remember what you’ve said, but they will remember how you made them feel…. You are asked to give a speech or a presentation, but what does that really mean? What are the opportunities, the pitfalls and what do *you* really want out of this? Work with an experienced speechwriter and government adviser to craft a winning speech that makes the right sort of impression’

Carwyn Jones

Carwyn was the First Minister of Wales for nine years and served in government for eighteen years in total. Before coming into politics he was a barrister and taught advocacy and lectured at Cardiff University for two years.

Carwyn has extensive experience in speaking and presenting, beginning with winning UK wide debating competitions as a student. He appeared many times in court as an advocate. Carwyn was Welsh Politician of the Year in 2009.
During his political career he delivered hundreds of speeches to a wide range of audiences – from big set piece conference speeches, to lectures and short presentations. He has extensive experience of speaking to large audiences, including at the Ryder Cup in Wales when millions were watching around the world.

As an Assembly Member, Minister and then First Minister, Carwyn delivered countless speeches, on a huge range of topics in the National Assembly. He also has wide experience of answering questions in the Chamber and in committees. He dealt with First Minister’s Questions on over three hundred occasions!

How do I make people remember me?
How can I get confidence to look up from notes?
How can I slow down when I’m speaking?
How do I add to a presentation when people can already see what I’m saying on Powerpoint?

These are some of the questions I’ve heard over the years and each one of them has an answer.
The way you say something is often as important as what you say. Over the years it’s become more difficult to make an impression when people can simply read what they need to know.

Whether you plan to deliver a one-hour lecture or simply a short presentation you want people to make an impression. I look to concentrate on pace, fluency and eye contact amongst other skills. The aim is to eliminate weaknesses one by one, and build on existing strengths.
We offer one to one teaching using video and oral feedback. If you want to get to grips with using an autocue, this can also be provided. The aim of the training sessions is to create a confident and clear speaker. There’s nothing to be afraid of!

Sessions on how to deal with Q&A sessions can also be arranged. With the dominance of instant news, and social media, there has never been a time when framing an answer properly was so important.

Cynigir hefyd cymorth yn Gymraeg. Y nod yw magu hyder yn yr iaith. Does dim rhaid cael Cymraeg berffaith!