It’s all about communication…

For years we’ve been helping people in business to communicate better, whether it’s in meetings, delivering sales pitches, on stage at conferences or talking to clients. Now the way in which we all communicate has changed completely. Video calls which used to be occasional are now commonplace. Meetings which could only take place in person now happen remotely. For many people, the change has been very difficult. We can help.

Our courses…

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Virtual impact

Our impact workshops have had a fundamental effect on the way our clients see their interactions and relationships. In this session we explore how the principles apply in a homeworking scenario.

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The Power of Stories

Arranging your material so that it’s clear, compelling and memorable sounds like a daunting task. But you do those things effortlessly when you tell your friends a story. We’ll show you how to consciously apply those unconscious skills and explain just where stories get their power from.

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Virtual Presentation Training

Virtual presentation is a different beast from the “public speaking” model of 2019, but the good news is that you don’t need to learn a completely new language.

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Chairing a virtual meeting

Running the room when it’s a Zoom is a subtly different and potentially treacherous ask… but expectations are low, and we can show some simple ways to be better than the norm.

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Negotiating and relationship-building

Reaching an agreement is harder than ever when you can’t physically look someone in the eyes at the start of the conversation or shake their hand at the end of it. But with a few simple concepts you can find those elusive win-wins faster and more often.

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Presentation Coaching

For more senior communicators we are offering Presentation Coaching: 6 x 50-minute sessions as a one-on-one session with an expert.

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Pitch coaching and consultancy

Your team will become more fluent in talking about what they have to offer, and more open in building relationships with the panel, even under “showtime” conditions. Get in touch to discuss how we can help you raise your win-rate.

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Telling your story

Getting your corporate message right can be tricky. What ultimately is the story you want to tell your clients, the world and each other? We will work with your team to uncover and refine it, giving everyone ownership of the process.

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Special large-scale virtual events

For organisations that are missing the big events they used to do we are running very successful networking sessions for large groups of up to 100.

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Our team

Our work is led by Spontaneity Shop directors Tom Salinsky and Alex MacLaren but we also have access to a pool of other talented trainers, speakers, comedians and actors, so don’t hesitate to get in touch if the job you have in mind needs more people.

Tom Salinsky
Tom Salinsky
Tom Salinsky is one of the co-founders of The Spontaneity Shop. With Deborah Frances-White, he is the author of The Improv Handbook now in its second edition. He produces three podcasts for The Spontaneity Shop – The Guilty Feminist, Global Pillage and Best Pick which he also presents.

Tom is also a writer. With Robert Khan, he is the author of five plays including KINGMAKER (“Sharply satirical ****” – The List) and BREXIT (“Wonderful *****” – The Scotsman) as well as numerous audio plays for Big Finish.

His training work covers a wide range of activities from one-on-one coaching to workshop programmes to speaking at large events. He regularly delivers work on all The Spontaneity Shop’s core themes, but his speciality is communication through storytelling.

Alex MacLaren
Alex MacLaren
Alex MacLaren’s work for the Spontaneity Shop investigates team co-operation, personal impact, communication and creativity. He has worked as an actor all over the UK and abroad, taught for RADA and the Tisch School of Arts New York, and worked with business clients since 2002.

His experience in the corporate field ranges from law firms to banks, retail companies to advertising agencies and TV production companies; he has worked with clients at all levels, from new hires to CEOs.

Sara Barron
Sara Barron
Sara Barron is a UK-based American comedian and writer. Since her 2018 debut at the Edinburgh Fringe, she’s starred on shows including Live at the Apollo (BBC), Would I Lie to You? (BBC) and Frankie Boyle’s New World Order (BBC).

A powerhouse live act, Sara’s three stand-up hours, For Worse (2018) Enemies Closer (2019), and Hard Feelings (2022) have sold out at both the Edinburgh Festival and at multiple runs in London’s Soho Theatre. She was nominated for ‘Best Newcomer’ at the Edinburgh Comedy Awards, as well as receiving rave reviews from publications including The Times, The Guardian, The Independent, The Evening Standard and The Scotsman. As a writer, Sara has published two essay collections, People are Unappealing and The Harm in Asking, both with Random House. Her writing has also featured in Vanity Fair and on This American Life.

In the corporate field, Sara has performed for companies including Spotify, Salesforce, and The Women’s leadership forum, as well as hosting various ceremonies including The Greeting Card Retail Awards, The Excellence in Homewares Awards, and The Kent Wedding Awards.

Nat Luurtsema
Nat Luurtsema
Nat started her career as a stand up comedian, she took ten shows to Edinburgh – solo stand up and sketch shows. Her sketch group – Jigsaw – had three sell-out runs, two Radio 4 series and were regulars on BBC’s Live At The Electric.

Nat writes films, TV and books. Her first short film was nominated for a BAFTA in 2014, and since then she has written/directed five more shorts and published five books. She also works as a Senior Creative in social media, coaching and directing talent to make video content for Instagram, Twitter and Facebook. She has two TV series in development and five feature films. Jennifer Saunders has just signed to star in one of them, a comedy about assisted suicide.

She also played Tallulah Bankhead in Florence Foster Jenkins, but didn’t really nail the accent. Live and learn.

And more besides

We also have access to a network of experienced trainers, presenters, writers, actors and teachers whose talents and knowledge we can draw on. We’ve put together large teams of trainers to work on big projects and managed the whole process for our clients, so don’t hesitate to get in touch if your event needs more people.

We can deliver this material in single hour-long sessions, or interactively over a number of days. We can coach your people one-on-one in senior programmes, work with larger groups in a web seminar setting, or we can dial into your web conference or away-day. And we like a challenge so if you have an idea for something and you think we might be right for it, then please don’t hesitate to get in touch.

Deborah Frances-White runs her own practice which covers some of the personal impact material but also specialises in diversity and inclusion.