He not only brings out the best in you when you talk, but he looks inside your soul when he does it. And he helps you see things you don’t want to see, you can’t see, but it’s things you need to see to make you the best that you can be. Watch more

“It was a tremendous pleasure to work with John Bates on my TED Talk. I went back in time to my upbringing in Sweden and the troubled relationship I had with my father. The segment we did ‘On Healing and Forgiveness’ was a very special experience for me. With John’s help I also seem to have touched others. The Youtube version, where I show a more vulnerable side of myself than in my films has had over a million views and counting. The other week an LAPD officer came up to me, shook my hand and said: “I like your movies, but I loved your TED Talk more.” There was a soft glint in his eye that revealed an upbringing not very different than my own. I learned so much from John and anytime I face a challenging speaking situation I certainly know whom to call.”

….you have really tapped into the neuroscience and the neurobiology of who we are and how we communicate and how people persuade people and so forth and I was very impressed. I’m sitting here thinking, ‘I need to take that guy’s workshop, and have you as a consultant.’ So, I’d take time to work with him, to check out his work. He’s quite an amazing guy and he can help you be more amazing too.

John, I can’t thank you enough for working with us here at NASA. You were so engaging and gave my team great tools and inspiration to take our communications to the next level. We look forward to continuing our relationship.

I’ve never seen so many Estonian people get that enthusiastic, and that engaged and passionate about public speaking.

Nah, I really don’t need a speaking coach”, I was thinking as Johnson & Johnson introduced me to John Bates. The coaching was part of JNJ’s support to prepare my pitch for one of their QuickFire Challenges. I wasn’t being arrogant. It’s just that after making hundreds of presentations and many speeches over my 37-year career in Life Sciences, I thought I didn’t need a coach. I was self-taught and spent time reading about effective speaking and even took a course on “How to present like Steve Jobs.” I had been pitching my company, Prapela, for about 6 months and had recently won the “Best Overall Presentation” award at a big event in Boston. Surely my time would be better spent on something else. Still, my conscience and my respect for JNJ told me to take the course along with the other participants in the Challenge. I completed each online training session and then participated in a few video conference calls with the class and John.”

Wow, John and his course was a game changer for me and Prapela. John’s course is way beyond the basics of slide content, posture and delivery. You learn the importance and the skills of connecting with your audience. For me, I discovered how my traditional emphasis on facts and putting everything in chronological order got in the way of being authentic. And I also met a terrific, positive person – John is simply a great coach and his course is flat out fun. “Yeah, I really did need a speaking coach”, I was thinking as I held the Winner’s trophy for JNJ’s Next-Gen Baby Box Challenge. Thanks to John and Johnson & Johnson, Prapela is raising funding and on a pace to introduce the Prapela SVS next-gen baby box in 2018.”

John taught a 3 day executive speaking course at my company that was extremely beneficial! He is extremely knowledgeable in how to connect with audiences and he has a relaxed approach that can be tailored to any group’s need. Although it was executive speaking, the class was also part sociology and part physiology. Amazing stuff! John is great and I’ve already given multiple presentations and talks using his tips!

…and afterwards, my wife and daughter said, ‘You should meet with him every week, because you’re obviously learning great things.

Working with John Bates on… how to best communicate and convey some key ideas about the work that we’re doing, to a much more broad audience, in a way that makes our story translatable and exciting to people who may not understand the specifics of the science we are working on.

John Bates understands communication on a very deep level. He knows how much importance it plays in being someone who has credibility and respect in the way that you want to convey your ideas.

I saw John Bates give a presentation in Boston on authentic leadership in 2017. His focus was on public speaking. The talk was one of the best I have seen on the subject. John’s recommendations were clear, useful and easy to remember. What impressed me was not just the content he shared but the way he delivered it. John embodied his advice. The entire talk mirrored his recommendations making it both easier for us in the audience to figure out how to implement and also proving the usefulness of his suggestions. If you do any public speaking you will benefit from seeing John in action. I’m still putting the core ideas from his presentation to work in my public speaking almost a year later.