FAQ
Frequently asked questions
What John Bowe does, who he works with, how he works, and what it costs
Introduction
What does John Bowe do?
He teaches people and teams to become proficient at public speaking. That covers writing and delivering pitches, presentations, sales reports and technical updates, along with wedding speeches and eulogies, and preparing for job interviews, compensation reviews and difficult meetings of any kind.
His method helps clients focus and distill their message for maximum relevancy. It guides them to write, develop and organize the words and visual material they need to express their thoughts and ideas. It helps them practice and say what they want to say clearly, effectively and persuasively, without wasting time or being miserable with anxiety.
Who is John Bowe and what makes him an expert?
He is a former journalist, the author of several books, and a formerly terrible public speaker who discovered the somewhat lost art of speech training and fell in love with it. The ancient Greeks and Romans taught speech as an integral part of higher education. They believed that educated people and citizens in democracies need to be able to share ideas and make group decisions. He loved their way of teaching because it is practical and easy, yet transformative. He has seen it many times: a few hours of speech training gets every client over the hump of feeling like they will never be any good at public speaking. Once they know they can do it on their own, they become happier.
He didn’t invent anything. He spent a few years figuring out how to explain the teachings of Aristotle and Cicero, the two greatest speech teachers in history, for modern people. When he realized how much people needlessly suffer from anxiety about public speaking, because they have never been taught how to do it, he decided to become the world’s best teacher using these ancient techniques.
How do you know if John Bowe is a fit for you or your team?
Start with a conversation. Send him an email or use his calendar to schedule a free 20-minute Zoom to discuss your team or personal goals. If you have an upcoming challenge or deadline, a meeting, pitch, IPO, conference, annual meeting, speech or presentation you need to prepare for, that is perfect. He will get you or your team ready and confident. You will walk away proud, and you will also have a template for speech preparation you can use forever.
If you agree to work together, you pay a deposit up front and schedule the initial sessions. You give him an NDA to sign, if you like, then share any materials relating to your project. He reviews your material and makes notes.
How long does it take to become a good public speaker?
It depends on the length of your presentation, how much writing or rewriting it needs, and how much work you are willing to put in, both in sessions and on your own.
Virtually no teams and very few people set out to become wildly eloquent orators, with the exception of TED talkers in training. They want to become competent and comfortable expressing their thoughts. Most clients preparing for 15 to 30 minute presentations get pretty decent with 4 to 5 hours of training. That TED speaker in training? They worked over 80 hours in a month, and got a standing ovation.
Services
Can John Bowe build a custom public speaking workshop for a company or team?
Yes, and it is a common form of engagement. Once you tell him your learning objectives and schedule, he starts by interviewing members of your team to get a sense of their challenges. He designs workshops around solving their particular, real, upcoming problems rather than introducing new exercises that create additional work. By using your own company presentations, all-hands meetings for example, or any other routine meeting, you gain institutional knowledge for how to carry the training forward after the work is finished.
Does John Bowe coach clients remotely?
Yes. He does a lot of remote one-on-one coaching and team educational talks. Team training tends to work better in person.
Where is John Bowe based?
New York City. He is happy to travel for work when needed.
What hours does John Bowe work?
Normal hours, 8:00am to 6:00pm Eastern. When deadlines or time zones make that impossible, he will sometimes schedule sessions on weekends.
Clients
Does John Bowe work with beginners?
Gladly. He works with speakers at all levels and nothing he teaches is difficult to understand. Whether you are new to public speaking or highly accomplished and polishing an upcoming project, his classical approach will radically improve your ability to connect with any audience.
Does John Bowe work with children and teens?
He loves working with children and teens. Learning to speak up and explain yourself at a young age is the most useful, empowering, emotionally and professionally enriching skill of all. The lifelong multiplier effect of learning it young is incalculable.
Does the coaching work if English is your second language?
Yes. The training works the same for everybody. Effective public speaking is much more about knowing what to say and how to say it than it is about pronunciation. He has also worked with people on accent remediation with great results. His deep belief is that if you distill and organize your content well, your accent will not stop you from being an effective and powerful public speaker.
Process
How do you overcome a deep fear of public speaking?
Many people are convinced that good public speaking requires lessening anxiety and gaining confidence. If that were true, cocaine and Xanax would solve the problem and you would never need to learn anything. Neither of those has the ability to organize your ideas in a way that connects with people. The goal of expressing your thoughts and ideas well is ultimately unrelated to your emotions.
Public speaking is awkward for one reason only: you have never been taught how to do it. When you do it poorly and represent yourself to people in an awkward manner, yes, it feels emotional. But the fix isn’t emotional. The fix is intellectual. You have to learn the trick of organizing your thoughts for public consumption, and that trick begins with learning how people listen to you. It builds from there.
The principles are very simple and anyone can learn them, no matter how anxious they are. You practice the techniques. You see how much easier it becomes to speak in public. You will probably still be anxious, but you will notice yourself speaking more clearly, explaining yourself more effectively, and being yourself in a way you never would have imagined. In the end, yes, you eventually feel more confident.
Is public speaking coaching like therapy?
No. His approach to speech training is based on simple ideas rooted in the ancient Greek and Roman art of rhetoric, about the nature of speech and how people listen. Approaching speech from that perspective, thinking about others instead of thinking about yourself, reduces the cognitive noise in your head by narrowing your focus. What he teaches has everything to do with thinking about your audience and nothing to do with your childhood, brain chemicals or emotional state.
Is the work confidential?
Any information you share stays between you and him. He is also happy to sign an NDA.
Is John Bowe available between sessions?
Yes, always. After two or so initial sessions, much of the work can be done in short sessions, over email, and so on.
Rates
How much does John Bowe charge?
Schedule a chat to discuss it. Every client’s needs are so varied that there is never a one-size-fits-all solution or price.
Does John Bowe reduce his fee, or work with groups who split one?
He is always eager to help students, nonprofits, activists, or anyone working for a good cause. Tell him about your goals and you will work something out.
What is the cancellation policy?
There is no charge for cancellations more than 48 hours in advance. Cancellations between 24 and 48 hours in advance are refunded at 50 percent. Cancelling within 24 hours of a session is charged at the full rate.
What happens if a session runs longer or shorter than scheduled?
Sessions often run longer or shorter than scheduled. When that happens the minutes are noted and prorated accordingly.
If you need more convincing
What results can you expect from working with John Bowe?
After 4 to 6 hours of work, his clients no longer dread public speaking. They no longer suffer the painful regret that follows a bad presentation. Founders report getting a second meeting or funding from investors. Job candidates report getting the job. At a minimum they learn to speak more convincingly and engagingly in pitches, presentations and meetings, and they walk away with a method for speech prep that saves time and stress. Once you know what it feels like to speak well, you don’t go backwards. The method isn’t something you forget.
Can you speak to John Bowe’s references?
Of course, depending on their availability.