Executive Communication Coaching

You speak English well.
But something gets in the way.

In the meetings that matter — the decisions, the disagreements, the moments where your point needs to land — something changes. That's not a language problem. That's a communication problem. And it's fixable.

"The better my students became, the more I realised the work had never really been about language at all. It had always been about communication — and communication is about so much more than the words you know."

— Colin Dorman

20+
Years coaching
12
Week programme
EU
Clients across Europe

Why high-performing managers struggle to communicate with authority in English

Most senior professionals working in English are fluent. They write clearly, understand everything, and communicate well in low-pressure situations. The issue is something more specific than fluency — and more fixable.

01
The late point

The key message arrives at the end of a long explanation, or not at all. In English, particularly in European business contexts, the expectation is that you lead with your point. When it comes last, it is often lost — the room has moved on.

02
The softened message

A direct message becomes hedged and qualified in English. Phrases like "perhaps we could consider" replace the clear recommendation that was in your head. The result reads as uncertain, even when you are not.

03
Explaining instead of influencing

When challenged, many senior managers respond by explaining more — adding detail, restating the logic. This is the opposite of what works. Influence comes from holding a position clearly, not from providing more information.

Communication is how leadership is perceived. It does not matter how good your thinking is if it does not land in the room. The gap between how you think and how you come across in high-stakes situations is not a minor inconvenience — for many senior managers it is the single factor that determines whether their ideas get acted on. That gap is exactly what this programme is designed to close.

This programme is for you if…

  • You are a senior manager, team lead, or director working in an international environment
  • You communicate regularly in English — in meetings, presentations, negotiations, or difficult conversations
  • You know what you want to say, but something changes in the moment
  • You feel more effective in writing or one-to-one than in group situations or with senior stakeholders
  • You want to be more direct, more persuasive, and more authoritative without losing your natural style
  • You understand that this kind of change takes time, honesty, and practice — not a two-day workshop

Not an English course

There are no grammar exercises, no vocabulary lists, no language assessments. Every session works directly on the situations you are already dealing with — in your actual role, with your actual colleagues.

The gap is not your English. It is the distance between what you think and what comes out.

The people who get the most from this programme are already good at what they do — the gap is not competence, it is communication. They are self-aware enough to know something is not working, even if they cannot always name it.

"I don't measure success by how many sessions we complete. I measure it by what changes in the room when you speak."

— Colin Dorman

The Executive Communication Programme

12 weeks. 90 minutes per week. Applied directly to your real work. For senior managers who lead in English and want to communicate with more clarity, authority, and impact in the moments that matter.

What changes over 12 weeks

Most communication coaching focuses on technique — frameworks, structures, presentation skills. This programme focuses on something more specific: the gap between what you think and what comes out, in real situations, under real pressure.

Before
  • Point arrives too late or not at all
  • Messages softened when they should be direct
  • Pressure triggers over-explanation
  • Less effective with senior stakeholders
  • Ideas don't get the traction they deserve
After
  • Lead with your point, clearly and early
  • Direct without being blunt
  • Influence instead of explain
  • Hold your ground with senior stakeholders
  • Ideas get heard, challenged, and acted on

How it works

  • 01Book a free 30-minute Executive Communication Review. We identify where your communication is working — and where it isn't.
  • 02If the programme is the right fit, we agree a start date and I send you a simple programme agreement.
  • 03We meet for 90 minutes each week, online. Every session works on real situations from your working week.
  • 04Between sessions, one short applied task — always something you do at work anyway, never additional workload.
  • 05By Week 12, your communication in high-stakes situations is clearer, more direct, and more effective.

What we cover

Every session follows the same structure, but the content is entirely specific to your situation that week. No generic case studies — everything is applied to your actual work.

Week 1
Foundations
How you currently communicate — what's working and what isn't. Identifying your specific communication pattern under pressure.
Week 2
Clarity
Getting to the point — leading with your message, not building to it. Structure that works in real-time, not just on paper.
Week 3
Directness
Saying what you mean without over-softening or over-explaining. The difference between being direct and being blunt.
Week 4
Influence
How to make a point that lands and stays. Framing, sequencing, and the language of influence.
Week 5
Meetings
Leading discussions, managing the room, handling interruption. Getting your point in — and keeping it there.
Week 6
Presence
What presence actually means — and how to build it deliberately. Voice, pace, pause, and physicality online and in-person.
Week 7
Disagreement
Pushing back without damaging the relationship. Holding your position under pressure.
Week 8
Senior stakeholders
Communicating up — adapting without losing authority. What senior people are actually listening for.
Week 9
Difficult conversations
Delivering difficult messages clearly and professionally. Managing emotion — yours and theirs.
Week 10
Decisions
Communicating under uncertainty. Making a recommendation when you don't have all the answers.
Week 11
Integration
Bringing it together across a complex real situation. Rehearsal and live feedback.
Week 12
Consolidation
What has changed — and what to continue. A clear picture of where you are now and where to go next.

What's included

The programme is delivered entirely online, one-to-one. Every session is applied to your real work — there is no generic curriculum, no off-the-shelf content.

  • 12 × 90-minute 1:1 coaching sessions, online
  • Applied homework each week — always based on your real work
  • Session notes and observations after each session
  • Email access between sessions for quick questions
  • Programme completion summary — a written record of what changed and what to focus on next
  • Corporate invoicing and purchase order available on request

Extension modules

After the 12-week programme, some clients continue with focused work on a specific area:

  • Negotiations & Difficult Conversations — 4 weeks
  • Senior Leadership Communication — 4 weeks
  • Advanced Presentation & Public Speaking — 4 weeks
  • Leading Diverse, Cross-Cultural Teams — 4 weeks
€2,500
Full 12-week programme

Paid in full or in two instalments. Corporate clients: invoice and purchase order available on request. The programme begins with a free 30-minute Executive Communication Review.

Book your free review
If it's not the right fit, I'll tell you honestly.
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Head & shoulders · good light · looking at camera
BackgroundUK. Franchise & restaurant management across UK, US, China. Cruise ships. 20+ years in Asia.
Experience20+ years working 1:1 with senior professionals in international environments
ClientsSenior managers, directors and technical specialists working in English across Europe
ApproachApplied, situation-specific — no generic frameworks, no language assessments
FormatOnline, 1:1, 90 minutes per week
InvestmentFrom €2,500 for the full programme

I became a coach by accident.

I started as a language teacher. Twenty years later I realised I'd quietly become something else entirely.

The students who came to me were not struggling with English. They were fluent. But as their roles grew — more responsibility, more visibility, higher stakes — the conversations we had changed. We stopped talking about language and started talking about what was actually happening in their meetings. Why a point didn't land. Why a decision didn't go their way.

I noticed that the most senior, most experienced professionals I worked with were bringing me the gap between what they thought and what came out — in the moments when it mattered most.

"I don't measure success by how many sessions we complete. I measure it by what changes in the room when you speak."

— Colin Dorman

Not a typical coaching background

Most coaches come from an HR or academic background. Before moving into coaching I spent years in franchise and restaurant management — in the UK, the United States, and China. I hired teams, ran P&Ls, built training systems from scratch. One of those systems was adopted company-wide.

I've also worked at sea — on cruise ships — which teaches you more about communication across cultures and under pressure than most classroom environments ever could. That combination of real commercial experience and deep coaching practice is what makes this programme different.

Frequently asked questions

Is this an English course?
No. This programme does not assess your English, correct your grammar, or teach you vocabulary. Every session works on how you communicate in real situations — structure, clarity, directness, presence, and influence. These are communication skills, not language skills.
How is this different from leadership coaching?
Most leadership coaching focuses on strategy, mindset, and general management capability. This programme focuses specifically on how you communicate that leadership — in meetings, negotiations, and high-stakes situations where English is the working language.
I already speak English well. Why would I need this?
Most of the people I work with speak English very well. That is exactly why they come — because they know the issue is not their English. It is the gap between what they think and what comes out in the moments that matter. Fluency is the starting point, not the finish line.
How quickly will I see results?
Most clients notice a shift within the first three to four weeks — specifically in how they structure their point and respond under pressure. The deeper changes — authority, presence, consistent directness — develop over the full 12 weeks.
Can my company pay for this?
Yes. The programme can be invoiced to your employer and a purchase order can be arranged on request. Many clients use their L&D or professional development budget. A programme overview document is available to share with HR or your line manager.
What happens in the free Executive Communication Review?
It is a structured 30-minute conversation focused on your real situations at work — not a language assessment, not a sales presentation. By the end you will have a clearer picture of what is actually happening. I will also be honest about whether this programme is the right fit — if it is not, I will say so.
I've tried coaching before and it didn't help.
The most frequent reason coaching does not work is that it stays too abstract. Every session in this programme works on a real situation from your working week. The test is not whether you understood something in the session — it is whether something was different in the room the following week.
Do I need to prepare anything before sessions?
No preparation is needed for the first session. After that, the only preparation needed is a brief note on one situation from your working week — a meeting, a conversation, a decision — that you want to work on. This takes five minutes.

Ready to close the gap?

Book a free 30-minute Executive Communication Review. You'll leave with a clear picture of where your communication is working — and where it isn't. No sales pitch. No assessment. Just a focused conversation about your real situations.

Book your Executive Communication Review
Investment from €2,500 for the full 12-week programme. If it's not the right fit, I'll tell you.