A coaching manual for the AI Age - to help you command the room when you speak
The manual for speakers, leaders and presenters who need to hold attention, land the message and look like they belong at the front of the room.
Buy PRESENSATIONS
Ask Jon a question
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“I’ve spoken at events around the world together with Jon Briggs over the years. I’ve seen him make magic on stage, and when a
magician shares his secrets, you should listen and learn.
PRESENSATIONS® doesn’t just teach you the tricks of the speaking trade, it’s a manual for how to make your words dance,
auditoriums levitate, and, most importantly people to remember how you made them feel, not just your words and slides.”
Magnus Lindkvist – Author, Speaker & Futurologist
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“As the original voice of Siri, Jon Briggs knows more than most about artificial intelligence. Thankfully, this book is about something far more important: human connection.
Warm, witty, wise, and immensely practical, PRESENSATIONS® is full of the sort of hard-earned lessons that only come from decades of speaking, broadcasting and communicating at the highest level. In a world increasingly filled with artificial voices, Jon shows us why authentic human communication still wins every time.”
Paul Boross MBE – Speaker, Psychologist & Pitching Expert
01 / THE BOOK
Artificial intelligence can research your subject, organise your thoughts, sharpen your argument and even build your slides.
But when the meeting begins, the conference lights come up or someone hands you the microphone, AI stays in your laptop.
You are the one who has to stand up.
You are the one who has to connect with the audience, command the room, hold their attention and make them care.
That is where PRESENSATIONS® begins.
Written by broadcaster, international conference moderator and original UK voice of Siri Jon Briggs, PRESENSATIONS® brings together more than forty years of experience behind microphones, in television studios and on stages around the world.
It is not a book about surviving presentations.
It is about becoming someone people want to listen to.
We Put Your Nerves to Bed…
A huge number of the people we coach are fearful of speaking in public. We can realign your fear and help convert it into the adrenalin you need to stand on stage with confidence.
We End the Evil of PowerPoint
If I can understand what your presentation is about from your slides, then you don't need to be there. We can help you let go of your slide fixation and show you the light…
We Help You Land Your Message…
We explain how even the dullest number filled presentations can be enhanced with the power of Storytelling. You'll be amazed at how simple it is to be memorable…
02 / COACHING
Most presentation advice concentrates on the presentation. PRESENSATIONS® concentrates on the presenter, just like our Workshops
Audiences rarely remember your bullet points. They remember whether you made them think, laugh, feel, understand or act, so that’s what we work on.
When you book a workshop with The Showstealers, you will discover how to:
Command attention before you say a word.
Use your voice with greater authority and impact.
Replace presentation nerves with useful energy.
Tell stories that make ideas memorable.
Use slides without becoming their narrator.
Turn information into influence.
Whether you are presenting to five colleagues, addressing five thousand people or persuading one sceptical client, PRESENSATIONS® will help you become more confident, more compelling and considerably harder to ignore.
Click on the links below to explore more about our workshops and 1-2-1 coaching sessions, or drop us an email to book a workshop now.
A
Open with intention, not apology.
B
Use pace and pause as part of the message.
C
Close with a point people can repeat.
03 / THE BOOKSHELF
No worthwhile book exists entirely on its own.
PRESENSATIONS® draws inspiration and insight from experts in communication, psychology, leadership, storytelling, performance, behaviour and influence.
This bookshelf brings together many of the books quoted, discussed or recommended throughout PRESENSATIONS®, allowing you to explore the ideas in greater depth.
Some will help you understand audiences.
Some will change the way you tell stories.
Some will make you reconsider confidence, influence, leadership or the way people think.
And one or two may explain why perfectly intelligent people continue to put entire spreadsheets onto PowerPoint slides.
Each recommendation includes a short explanation of why the book appears in PRESENSATIONS® and what you may gain from reading it.
Presence by Patsy Rodenburg
Discover how presence
can help you command
the room before you even
begin to speak.
Buy the book
The Right to Speak by Patsy Rodenberg
A practical and inspiring guide to freeing your natural voice, overcoming the habits that hold it back, and speaking with greater confidence, truth and authority.
Buy the book
It's Your Ship by Michael Abrashoff
How one naval commander transformed an under-performing ship through listening, trust and empowering his crew.
Buy the book
The Power of Storytelling by Rob Biesenbach
How to use the power of storytelling to connect with audiences, bring ideas to life and make your message memorable.
Buy the book
Humourology by Paul Boross
How to use humour to connect with people, build trust and communicate more effectively.
Buy the book
Gravitas by Caroline Goyder
How gravitas comes from the balance of knowledge, purpose and passion, and how breath, voice and body can help you project it when it matters.
Buy the book
The Art of Public Speaking by Dale Carnegie
The enduring classic covering everything from preparation and persuasion to voice, delivery and holding an audience’s attention.
Buy the book
Brand You 50 by Tom Peters
A punchy collection of 50 ideas for treating yourself as a brand, standing out from the crowd and building a reputation around what makes you distinctive.
Buy the book
Talk Like TED by Carmine Gallo
Gallo analyses hundreds of TED Talks to uncover nine techniques behind their success, from storytelling and novelty to the 18-minute rule.
Buy the book
Emotional Intelligence by Daniel Goleman
The landmark exploration of why self-awareness, self-control, empathy and social skill can matter more to success than IQ alone.
Buy the book
Speak With No Fear by Mike Acker
7 practical strategies for understanding the roots of speaking anxiety, managing fear and building confidence through preparation and experience.
Buy the book
And Death Came Third by Andy Lopata & Peter Roper
Practical advice, humour and reassurance, helping nervous speakers become more confident and effective.
Buy the book
Confidence by Tomas Chamorro-Premuzic
How a little self-doubt can sharpen self-awareness, encourage preparation and ultimately make us more competent.
Buy the book
The Presentation Secrets of Steve Jobs by Carmine Gallo
How Steve used storytelling, simple visuals, dramatic moments and relentless rehearsal to turn presentations into events.
Buy the book
04 / VOICE CARE + PURMIST
You can replace a laptop.
You can redesign a slide.
You can borrow a microphone.
Your voice is rather less interchangeable.
Speaking for long periods, travelling, dry air, air conditioning and busy working lives can all leave the voice feeling tired or uncomfortable.
Steam inhalation can help hydrate and soothe the vocal tract, which is why many broadcasters, singers, actors and professional speakers make it part of their vocal-care routine.
Jon uses and recommends the Purmist handheld voice steamer, which produces a fine, controlled mist without requiring a bowl of boiling water and a towel over your head.
A considerable improvement for anyone hoping to look authoritative shortly afterwards.
PRESENSATIONS® readers can receive an exclusive discount.
05 / ABOUT JON
Jon Briggs is a broadcaster, journalist, international conference moderator, voice artist and presentation specialist with more than forty years’ experience communicating to audiences around the world.
His broadcasting career includes presenting BBC Radio 5’s Breakfast Show, reporting for BBC Radio 4’s flagship current-affairs programmes and chairing London’s leading weekly political discussion programme on LBC.
As an international conference moderator, Jon has hosted more than 400 events for organisations including Rolls-Royce, Jaguar Land Rover, IBM, Vodafone, Ericsson, Hewlett-Packard and Pernod Ricard.
He has interviewed some of the world’s most recognisable figures, including President Bill Clinton, Sir Richard Branson, Buzz Aldrin, Jack Welch, Sir John Major and Dame Edna Everage.
Jon is also one of Britain’s most familiar voices.
Visit jonbriggs.com
“The best presentations don’t just transmit information. They change the temperature of the room.”
Jon Briggs, author of PRESENSATIONS
He was the original UK voice of Siri, heard by hundreds of millions of people around the world, and spent twelve years as the voice of BBC television’s The Weakest Link, voicing some 1,900 programmes.
In 2026, Jon received the One Voice Conference Voiceover Legend Award, recognising his contribution to the voice industry.
Through The Showstealers, he now shares the techniques, insights and occasional hard-earned lesson gathered during a lifetime spent communicating professionally.
PRESENSATIONS® is the book he wishes someone had handed him before his first presentation.
Although, in fairness, he probably wouldn't have read it until the night before.
06 / CONTACT + BUY
YOUR NEXT PRESENTATION IS COMING…
You can leave it to experience, instinct and another hurried rehearsal the night before.
Or you can discover what makes people stop, listen and remember.
PRESENSATIONS® won’t just help you give a better presentation. It will help you become someone worth listening to.