How a great presenter learned the difference between teaching from stage and truly moving an audience.
Industry
Sustainability & entrepreneurship
Country
Netherlands
Role
Sustainability Consultant
From start to TEDx booked
8 weeks
Dream stage landed
TEDx
Positioned in sustainability
Thought leader
Before
A confident presenter who realised presenting ≠ keynote speaking
Duncan was already charismatic, energetic and very comfortable on stage. As an entrepreneur in sustainability he was constantly presenting ideas and workshops. Presenting itself was never the problem. But when he decided he wanted to become a keynote speaker, he realised something: being a good presenter does not automatically make you a great public speaker. Creating emotional tension and making people deeply feel the message was a completely different skill — and he didn't want to fake it.
The challenge
Move people without becoming someone else
Duncan is naturally funny and energetic. He didn't want a fake "emotional" show just to create impact. He needed to learn how to pick the right pieces of the story, structure them into something that lands, and deliver them in a way that's still him — while creating deep impact.
What we built
Throughline, presence, positioning
We replaced "interesting information" with a real journey — a strong throughline, strategic structure, audience psychology, and storytelling balanced with practical insight. On presence we made him more himself, not more performative: less presenting, more conversation; less trying to sound smart, more letting people connect. And we helped him clearly communicate his message, vision and value so the right people could book him.
“
"I thought I needed help with storytelling. But it turned out I had to completely change my view of what it means to be on stage. Laurie helped me understand how to build stories that actually impact people and stay with them. And because of that, I now have my own TEDx Talk — which was a dream goal for ‘in a year or so’. It's insane how fast everything happened."
After
Dream TEDx in 8 weeks — and a new identity
Within 8 weeks Duncan got booked for a TEDx Talk that he absolutely crushed. The keynote feels fully like him and creates real transformation for the audience. Even more importantly, he now sees himself as a speaker — not someone who can wing it on a stage, but someone capable of emotionally moving an audience.
