The Talking Trade shows how you can connect with an audience and create the impact you want by helping them experience you and your message. Lawrence creates a synergy with his co-director John Bennett who spent many years on the receiving end of company presentations and even longer on his feet successfully representing the company that employed him. He also spent several years managing a 700-strong sales force. He encouraged them to develop lively and interesting presentations and instilled real confidence in those who worked for him.

John Bennett readily admits that It took him longer than it should to realise that what came naturally to him did not come naturally to others. So he started coaching, or perhaps more accurately, coaxing, others in presentation skills. One day a client introduced him to Lawrence, a professional actor and a graduate of the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School. He has considerable experience of both television and live theatre. More importantly, he knows how to help people develop the ability to perform themselves and to do it with impact (and a lack of fear) irrespective of the audience or their surroundings.

Their belief is that the ability to communicate well forms an important part of everyone’s job even if his or her role is not that of traditional sales. We also believe that the ability to improvise is becoming an important business skill and increasingly it forms the basis of good presentation skills.

Remove sales from this equation and look at other applications where presentation skills are important. An engineer, advertising agent, or project manager - it is vitally important to be able to communicate your thoughts and ideas effectively. In managing any project, the presentation is used as a medium for bringing people together but it puts you on display. Your bosses, colleagues and clients need to see evidence of decisive planning and leadership so that they are confident in your position as their manager. Motivation is important and they need to be inspired. Third parties such as investors or banks may need to be persuaded of the merits of your new project in order that they are to provide the financial support. Senior management need to be impressed by your presentation skills so that they too will provide other resources.

Presentations need not be heavy and serious they can be fun. By deploying the expertise of The Talking Trade, you are not only learning from the skills of a professional speaker but also the art of using and manipulating your audience. While you hold the stage, the audience should hang on to your every word and retain the information you have skillfully presented.

Because no two presentations are alike The Talking Trade offer one to one coaching. Much of the coaching they do is for individuals wanting to achieve a specific performance goal - a business presentation to customers, prospects or colleagues.

The Talking Trade also coach a team for a specific sales bid or presentation . And if necessary they'll even be there on the day !.

The value of their coaching lies in the feedback you get from them as presentation experts, which more often than not you do not get from your colleagues. They will give you honest, constructive feedback. And help build on your strengths whilst identifying where you could be even better.

Their presentation skills workshop lasts two days. It is run in-house with delegates from the same company or on an 'open' basis where delegates are from different companies. They only allow a maximum of 8 delegates. It's fun. It's very different. And it will show you how to develop presentations that will entertain and be memorable.

Consider a major customer event or informal sales meeting. Companies tend to spend too much money on staging, audio-visual back up, travel and accommodation without giving sufficient thought to the performance or the performers. The Talking Trade work with you to develop a strong theme which links everything together, ensuring that your people are as good as they can be and that the performance is memorable and worth every penny of your overall budget.

Where appropriate, they will develop a theatrical performance. This will involve professional actors to help you put across your message and, if necessary, they will also provide the 'link' presenter. It is what they call Corporate Theatre and they're good at it.

They have a simple philosophy - no matter how many presenters there are, there is only one performance. And it is people, not technology , that communicate and deliver strong messages.

Voice Coaching may be a perfect solution for you. Voices that have colour, variety and power convey confidence, possess a certain presence, and give their owners the ability to influence. The Talking Trade help you to develop such a voice.

If you hold conferences, seminars and meetings, add a powerful value added sparkle. For those occasions when you need someone else to perform in front of your audience, The Talking Trade are professional presenters and are used to hosting events, large and small. So if you're looking for a lively and energetic session that is fun and informative , that will involve your people and leave them with a powerful message talk to The Talking Trade.

As you will be now aware the marriage of an actor's skills with those of experienced business people with sales backgrounds is the perfect platform from which to learn how to communicate clearly and with impact. This is why The Talking Trade is different.

They bring the disciplines and techniques of the theatre into the business world. They show the importance of being emotionally committed to your message - only then do you make an impact.

They show you how to free yourself from the shackles of exact language and from a dependency on visual aids so that you, your content and your performance become one.

During the workshop they get you to 'perform yourself'. They won't teach you to act. But by teaching you the techniques that actors use they will 'bring out' what is already there. And what lies hidden is the ability to feel comfortable in any situation, to communicate naturally, and to sell yourself, your ideas and your solutions.