Never Lost for Words · Corporate Workshop Programme

Innovation, influence, and performance
depend on how well your people communicate under pressure.

In an AI-driven world, the ability to speak up with clarity and persuasion is more important than ever. But it’s a skill most organisations never fully develop. This programme closes that gap.

Based on the book · Publishing September 2026

Shola is trusted by 100+ organisations, including

  • IQVIA
  • Amazon
  • HSBC
  • Deloitte
  • AstraZeneca
  • Google
  • American Express
  • NHS
The challenge

Your people are capable. Sometimes their communication doesn’t show it.

The knowledge is there. The thinking is there. What’s missing is the structure — and under pressure, that gap becomes very visible.

“They said all the right things in the corridor”

Ideas arrive too late — after the meeting, in the email follow-up, in private. In the room, when it matters, they go quiet or vague.

“Brilliant thinking, buried in words”

Long emails, meandering updates, three-minute answers to a yes/no question. Smart people who lose their audience before they reach their point.

“The freeze under senior scrutiny”

They know their subject. But the moment a C-suite executive challenges them, the structure disappears. They over-explain, hedge, or backtrack.

“Needs to work on presence”

That 360-degree feedback phrase that means everything and nothing. People want to improve — but no one’s given them actual tools to do it with.

These aren’t confidence problems. They’re frameworks problems. Give people a reliable structure and the confidence often follows — immediately.

Is this right for your team?

Built for the people organisations most need to develop

The programme can be tailored to any group — here’s where clients typically see the biggest impact.

Senior Leaders & Executives

Practical structures for board presentations, investor meetings and challenging conversations, helping their communication match their expertise and standing.

Common trigger: leadership comms feedback, executive presence programmes

Mid-Level Managers & Team Leads

Tools to communicate clearly, give useful feedback and influence across teams without relying on formal authority.

Common trigger: management development programmes, 360 feedback cycles

High-Potentials & Emerging Leaders

Practical structures to help emerging leaders influence others, earn trust and communicate confidently before they have formal authority.

Common trigger: HiPo programmes, succession planning, leadership pipeline

Graduate & Early-Career Hires

Essential tools for meetings, stakeholder communication and speaking up, building skills that many organisations assume but rarely teach.

Common trigger: graduate programmes, onboarding, early-career academies
What changes

Not awareness. Actual ability.

Most communication training tells people what good looks like. This programme gives them a toolkit — specific, tested frameworks that work in real situations.

Participants leave sessions with structures they can use the next morning. Managers often report hearing the frameworks in meetings within a week of the training.

Never Lost for Words book

Backed by the book
The programme is built on the frameworks in Shola’s forthcoming book — publishing September 2026 by BraveSpeak Media.

After this programme, your people will be able to:

  • Structure a two-minute update clearly — even when put on the spot

  • Give feedback that’s direct, specific, and actually heard — without softening it into uselessness

  • Handle a challenge from a senior stakeholder without going blank or going on the defensive

  • Build a persuasive argument for a change or a decision — and know how to frame it for different audiences

  • Tell a story that makes people remember the point, not just the anecdote

  • Walk into a difficult conversation with a structure — and adapt it in the room
Choose your programme

Structured to fit your L&D calendar

Every session is 90 minutes, virtual, and designed to produce behaviour change — not just awareness. All formats can be adapted for your sector, seniority level, and goals.

1 × 90 minutes
Taster Session
A high-impact standalone session — ideal for leadership days, conference formats, or organisations who want to experience the programme before committing to a series.

  • Participants leave with 3–4 practical frameworks they can use immediately

  • Introduces the core mindset shift behind confident communication
  • Participant resource pack included
  • Post-session debrief with L&D lead

Most Popular

3 × 90 minutes
Foundations Pathway
The complete starter programme. By the end, participants will communicate with noticeably more clarity, structure, and confidence — in meetings, in writing, and in difficult conversations.
  • Session 1: Foundations — structure your thinking and your message
  • Session 2: Storytelling — make your ideas memorable and persuasive
  • Session 3: Difficult conversations — say the hard things, well
  • Pre- and post-programme assessment, workbook, framework reference card
6 × 90 minutes
Full Programme
Six sessions that develop communication skills from strong foundations through to persuasion, storytelling and difficult conversations.
  • Sessions 1–2: Core frameworks for updates, opinions, and everyday communication
  • Session 3: Frameworks for persuasion, change, and influence
  • Sessions 4–5: Story gathering, simple stories, and advanced storytelling
  • Session 6: Difficult conversations and full integration practice
  • Full resource library and manager guide
Client results

What it looks like in practice

Two organisations who trusted Shola with their people — and what happened.

IQVIA · Global Life Sciences

Shola was brought in to deliver leadership communication training for senior leaders and managers who needed external expertise, fresh perspectives, and practical tools.

“Shola asks the right questions upfront, quickly understands our needs, and tailors her approach to the audience. Her delivery style is natural and engaging, with strong insights that resonate with our team. Not a single negative comment across participants. Participants continued to use the language, tools, and frameworks long after the training.”

Consistently excellent feedback across multiple programme formats over several years

Virgin Media O2 · UK Telecoms

Following their merger, VMO2 needed to develop leaders across two cultures simultaneously — building communication skills without creating division or defensiveness.

“Expect lightbulb moments. The programme was engaging, practical, and thought-provoking, helping us to rethink our leadership habits into day-to-day management in the right way. Insightful, a reminder of key skills to encourage openness in your teams.”

100% ‘valuable’ ratings across all sessions

About Shola Kaye

She’s been there and knows what’s on the line.

Shola Kaye began her career in investment banking and IT management consulting in New York and London, in environments where communication either built careers or ended them. She knows exactly what it costs to freeze, hedge, or stay silent in a high-pressure meeting.

Today Shola works with global organisations across financial services, healthcare, technology, and professional services. Her frameworks become part of how teams talk to each other. Her sessions are described as engaging, energising, and genuinely practical.

100+
Organisations
15+
Years delivering
15
Frameworks
Ready to help your people speak with greater clarity and confidence?

Let’s discuss your audience, your priorities, and the programme that would work best.

Shola has worked with many of the world’s best known brands, including:

© 2026 BraveSpeak · A Shola Kaye company