Karl James

“Karl is a brilliant blend of deep empathy, whole-self listening, wide experience, bravery in conversation, and application of huge expertise. He has a knack of transforming how people communicate by helping them see themselves and their audience (whether that be an individual, a team or a large group of people) more clearly, and he does it with great humour, and greater humanity. Conversations of all kinds are just richer, broader, and more meaningful whenever Karl is in the mix and he gets there standing shoulder to shoulder with those involved as a natural and forever welcome extension to the team. He is simply one of my go-to people.” - Tom, Managing Director, Waitrose

“Karl revolutionised my confidence, helping me to move from speaking to smaller intimate audiences to the bigger stage. Specifically helping with the build-up to an event, how to manage anxiety, confidence, clarity in narrative, how much to rehearse and prepare, building structure and confidence on the journey there and on the day itself. Karl has a talent for quickly understanding how people function and is able to hone in on what’s controllable. Cutting out the things that either don’t matter or can just be noise. It’s been a pleasure to work with him. Karl created a genuinely massive shift from where I’ve been, and I owe him a massive thank you.” - Tom, IGD

“Karl combines his deep experience of working in theatre, sound and film with real expertise and insight into effective conversations. He demonstrates his knowledge through rich, concise and often moving storytelling and cuts through with individuals, teams and much larger audiences. Karl has made a real difference to influencing how we talk and listen to each other. The result is a much more empathetic and engaging way of communication, firmly rooted in a clear recognition that we are (after all) all human beings!" - Ian, Communication Director, Tesco CE

“I’ve been lucky enough to know and work with Karl for more than 15 years – at Unilever, then Tesco and TSB. Whatever the challenge, Karl has always stepped up and delivered– which is why he has been so ever present in my career. The projects we’ve worked on together have been varied – from coaching leaders to perform at stadium conferences to supporting leaders to have braver one-to-one conversations to coaching storytelling to team communications. Karl brings the freshest of thinking and real creativity to the driest of subjects. Unshackled by the conformity of a corporate background but drawing on his experience as a performer as well as being an intense listener, he can help you dig deep for what’s really of interest to your audiences and how to articulate it in a memorable and bold way.” - George, Communication and Corporate Affairs Director, TSB

“Every interaction with Karl is a magical and incredibly moving experience! He has an extraordinary gift for always seeing the possibility in bringing people together to connect and understand themselves to spark a new kind of bravery. He does this by being an incredible and compassionate listener, with a rare ability to ask the most pertinent questions that get beneath the surface of what people actually feel and need. Karl then combines this deep insight with his wealth of creative expertise and imagination to spark memorable and brave spaces that really move people to tackle those big, challenging conversations and surface new beliefs and ideas that lead to real positive change.” - Wendy, Unilever

“Karl is an exceptional communicator. With his creative and human style, he tackles big, complex, and brave topics in an accessible, engaging and humorous way. He creates a rich dialogue through his natural curiosity and generous listening skills, making the audience feel heard and understood. Whether in an intimate setting or at a large scale event, his content is memorable, applicable and always makes an impact!” - Beth-Marie, People Director, Marks and Spencer