Dominic Colenso
Pitches lose to competitors with sharper narratives. Technical experts cannot compress their expertise into a board paper or a 20-minute presentation. Senior leaders pay the cost in deals lost and decisions delayed.
Dominic Colenso teaches leaders and sales teams to communicate with clarity and presence under pressure, using techniques drawn from professional acting.
Full Profile
Why organisations work with Dominic Colenso
- The IMPACT framework (six elements of confident communication) and the Six Ds (Discover, Distil, Design, Drill, Deliver, Debrief) give organisations a named, repeatable method for high-stakes communication. The same toolkit scales from graduate intake to executive committee.
- Dominic trained as a director at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art and starred opposite Sir Ben Kingsley in the Hollywood remake of Thunderbirds. The acting techniques he teaches in the room are the ones he was paid to use professionally on screen and on the stages of The National Theatre and The Royal Court.
- He is unusually effective with the audience most communication coaching fails: detail-focused subject matter experts in technology, finance and professional services who command technical credibility and need to convert it into commercial influence.
- He has been the lead public speaking coach for the NextGen Planners Speaker & Influencer programme for five years, training over five hundred financial services professionals across multiple cohorts. The senior-coaching track record is documented at scale, not anecdotal.
- The method has its own distribution. His YouTube channel on communication and pitching has accumulated over 2.5 million views, and audiences frequently arrive at keynotes already familiar with the frameworks.
Biography highlights
- Played Virgil Tracy in the 2004 Hollywood remake of Thunderbirds, opposite Bill Paxton and Sir Ben Kingsley.
- Trained as a director at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art; subsequently taught acting at RADA, Drama Centre London and Guildford School of Acting.
- Author of IMPACT (Rethink Press) and Cut-Through: The Pitch and Presentation Playbook (Practical Inspiration Publishing, 2025).
- Founder and Head Performance Coach of In Flow Training; lead public speaking coach for the NextGen Planners Speaker & Influencer programme.
- Performed at The National Theatre and The Royal Court; on screen in BBC period dramas and feature film.
- Delivered the TEDx talk “The Power of Telling Your Story” at TEDxVitoriaGasteiz; host of the Why Life’s A Pitch podcast; contributor to Big Think and Entrepreneur UK.
Biography
When the 2004 Hollywood remake of Thunderbirds went to camera, Bill Paxton played Jeff Tracy and Sir Ben Kingsley played The Hood. Virgil Tracy, the brother who pilots Thunderbird 2, was a 22-year-old Dominic Colenso. The discipline he absorbed on that set, and on the stages of The National Theatre and The Royal Court, is the foundation of his current work.
Most communication training works in adjectives. Be confident. Be clear. The actor’s craft works in mechanics: what the voice does under pressure, how the eyes hold a room, how a story is structured so it lands in the time available. Two books distil that craft into frameworks organisations can apply without a drama degree. IMPACT (Rethink Press) sets out six elements of confident communication. Cut-Through (Practical Inspiration Publishing, 2025) walks through the Six Ds of pitch and presentation: Discover, Distil, Design, Drill, Deliver, Debrief.
The audience best served by this method is the one most communication coaching struggles with. Technical experts in finance, technology and professional services are paid for the depth of their knowledge, then asked to compress it for a board, a client, or a 200-person sales kick-off. Dominic has been the lead public speaking coach for the NextGen Planners Speaker & Influencer programme for five years, training over five hundred financial services professionals across cohorts. Other named clients include John Lewis, Capita, Kerry Group, Paysafe and the National Sales Conference.
Beyond the keynote and coaching work, the method has its own distribution. His YouTube channel has accumulated over 2.5 million views on communication and pitching content. The Why Life’s A Pitch podcast interviews business and creative figures, including Daniel Priestley, about how they used storytelling to get where they are. The 2017 TEDx talk “The Power of Telling Your Story” remains in active circulation, including on US college course reading lists.
Key speaking topics
- High-stakes communication
- Pitch and presentation craft
- Sales storytelling
- Executive presence and gravitas
- On-camera communication
- Leadership communication under pressure
- Translating technical depth into commercial influence
Ideal for
- Sales leadership and revenue teams preparing for high-stakes pitches, kick-offs and renewal conversations.
- Senior leaders preparing keynotes, town halls or investor presentations where the room matters.
- Heads of L&D and CHROs investing in communication and presence as part of leadership development.
- Subject matter experts in finance, technology and professional services who need to convert depth into influence.
Audience outcomes
- A named six-step method for designing and rehearsing any high-stakes pitch or presentation.
- Specific physical and vocal techniques for holding attention and composure when the stakes are highest.
- A structured approach to distilling complex or technical material into messages an audience can act on.
- A shared vocabulary for giving and receiving feedback on communication, so the gains continue after the session.
Talks
A keynote on the three core ingredients (simplicity, emotion, energy) that determine whether a message lands in an attention-scarce environment.
Key takeaways:
- A repeatable formula for cutting through noise in pitches and presentations.
- Techniques for making messages emotionally resonant, not just clearly delivered.
- Tools for sustaining audience energy from open to close.
A keynote that draws on the discipline of professional acting to give senior leaders a practical method for presence, authority and composure under pressure.
Key takeaways:
- The actor’s three-step preparation process applied to leadership communication.
- Specific physical and vocal techniques for projecting authority in high-stakes moments.
- A method for diagnosing how others perceive you, and changing it.
A high-energy keynote built around the IMPACT methodology: six elements of confident communication that top performers use to deliver when it counts.
Key takeaways:
- The six IMPACT elements: intention, mindset, presence, audience, content, technique.
- Techniques for converting nerves into focused performance energy.
- A diagnostic for identifying which of the six elements is the weakest link in any communication moment.
A high-energy keynote that translates the storytelling craft of film and theatre into a structured method for sales pitches and client narratives.
Key takeaways:
- A narrative framework for turning a features-and-benefits pitch into a story buyers remember.
- Tools for building emotional connection in a sales conversation without losing analytical rigour.
- A method for simplifying complex product or service propositions for non-technical buyers.
Videos
Testimonials
Books
Fees
| EUR | GBP | USD | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Home Country | Under €12000 | Under £10,000 | Under $15000 |
| Asia Pacific | €12000 to €40000 | £10,001 - £35,000 | $15000 - $50000 |
| Europe | Under €12000 | Under £10,000 | Under $15000 |
| Middle East & Africa | €12000 to €40000 | £10,001 - £35,000 | $15000 - $50000 |
| South America | €12000 to €40000 | £10,001 - £35,000 | $15000 - $50000 |
| United Kingdom | Under €12000 | Under £10,000 | Under $15000 |
| US East Coast | €12000 to €40000 | £10,001 - £35,000 | $15000 - $50000 |
| US West Coast | €12000 to €40000 | £10,001 - £35,000 | $15000 - $50000 |
| Virtual | Under €12000 | Under £10,000 | Under $15000 |