Give them a toolkit they’re still using next year.
● keynotes ● conferences ● sales kickoffs ● leadership events ●
When the pressure's on, communication becomes the true differentiator.
Booking a speaker is easy. Booking one whose ideas are still in the room a year later is harder. Dominic Colenso spent ten years as a professional actor and fifteen more working with global businesses. Audiences from 20 people to 2,000 leave with tools that stay in use long after the lanyards come off.
AI HAS MADE EVERYONE LOUDER. IT HASN'T MADE ANYONE EASIER TO HEAR.
“Our people need to show up differently.”
Seven words Dominic hears from almost every organisation that books him.
It is almost never a knowledge problem. Your people know their subject. What they are up against is a world that produces more noise every day: more meetings, more updates, more messages, more content generated in seconds. The volume keeps rising. The attention does not.
Whether you need your people to perform with confidence, win more deals, lead more powerfully or tell better stories, Dominic has a keynote or masterclass that can be tailored for your event.
KEYNOTES & MASTERCLASS TOPICS.
➝ CUT THROUGH THE NOISE
How to Stand Out When It Matters Most
Attention is the scarcest resource in business. Whether pitching an idea, presenting strategy or influencing change, clarity beats complexity every time. In this session Dominic reveals the three ingredients of cut-through: simplicity, emotion and energy, so ideas get heard, remembered and acted on.
Strip your message down to the one idea that actually needs to land
Use emotion deliberately, so people remember how you made them feel
Bring the energy that convinces a room you mean it
➝ CREATING IMPACT
Unlocking Star Performance
When the pressure is on, communication becomes the differentiator. Whether pitching, leading or speaking up in the moment, staying clear and confident changes the outcome. Built around Dominic's IMPACT methodology, this session gives audiences tools to manage mindset, strengthen presence and land the message.
Steady your nerves with the breathing techniques actors use in the wings
Read the signals you send before you say a word, and take charge of them
Shape your message in your listener's language so it lands first time
➝ PLAYING THE LEADING ROLE
How to Deliver When All Eyes Are On You
Leadership is a performance played out in moments: the meeting, the presentation, the difficult conversation. What leaders say matters, but how they show up matters more. Drawing on his years as a professional actor, Dominic gives leaders three things to work on: focus, awareness and bravery. Leaders who have all three lift everyone around them.
Know what to hold on to and what to let go of when everything feels urgent
Read the effect you are having on a room while you are still in it
Say "I don't know" with confidence instead of pretending to have every answer
➝ BLOCKBUSTER STORIES
How to Turn Information Into Influence
Information is everywhere. Stories are what people remember. Whether you are pitching a client, leading change or bringing a technical idea to life, shaping information into a narrative is a business-critical skill. In this session, Dominic draws on lessons from film and theatre to simplify complex ideas, create emotional connection and make the message stick.
Find the one idea your audience will still repeat a week later
Turn data and strategy into a story people feel, not a list they forget
Learn simple structures for powerful stories that land every single time
Don't see what you need?
Nothing here is off the shelf. Tell Dominic about your event and he'll shape a session around it.
How Dominic can work with you and your team.
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20 to 60 minutes · Audiences from 20 to 2,000+
Conferences, annual meetings, sales kickoffs and leadership events. High energy, fully tailored, and built to leave the room with something they can use. -
90 minutes to 3 hours · Audiences from 2 to 200
Interactive and practical, with people on their feet rather than in their seats. Works for a leadership team of a handful or a sales cohort of two hundred, with time built in for people to try the tools on their own material before they leave the room.
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Any duration · No limit on audience size
The same session delivered live to teams in different countries and time zones. Dominic has run global virtual programmes for international teams without anyone leaving their desk.
Why book Dominic?
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Dominic has starred in a blockbuster movie, appeared in BBC period dramas, performed in London's West End, directed shows throughout the UK and taught at some of the world's leading drama schools, including the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art. He understands communication and performance. His latest book, Cut-Through, was the winner of Best Business Self-Development Book at the 2026 Business Book Awards.
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Born in 1981, Dominic sits on the cusp between millennials and Generation X and his content is uniquely positioned to help bridge the gap between the analogue and digital age. His insights will help your audience navigate the pitfalls and communicate effectively in the face of the ever changing technology landscape.
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Using skills he honed working as a professional actor for over ten years, Dominic's captivating and energetic style will engage your audience and bring your event to life.
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Keynotes can be overwhelming, long lists of "to-dos" that your people never get around to actioning. The easy to implement techniques Dominic shares let them make rapid changes to their performance that produce a lasting impact.
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As an actor and teacher, Dominic spent the first part of his career immersed in the world of storytelling. He now brings that expertise to each business audience, weaving a narrative to support meaningful changes in behaviour and outcomes.
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During any event, the most important people in the room are the audience. Dominic understands this and works in collaboration with you and your team to ensure that his content is relevant to and resonates with your audience.
FAQs
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Dominic Colenso is a keynote speaker on communication, influence and performance under pressure. He has four keynote topics. Creating IMPACT is about staying clear and confident when the pressure is on, built on the IMPACT methodology from his book of the same name. Cut Through the Noise covers simplicity, emotion and energy, the three ingredients of a message that lands. Playing the Leading Role is about focus, awareness and bravery for leaders under scrutiny. Blockbuster Stories is about turning information into a narrative people remember. Across all four he covers presentation skills, pitching, storytelling, executive presence and communicating through change, for conferences, sales kickoffs, leadership events and away days.
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Dominic Colenso has spoken for organisations across most major sectors, from FTSE-listed businesses and global manufacturers to professional bodies and government departments. In financial services and wealth management: St James's Place, Aegon Asset Management, bFinance, Barclays, Allianz Global Investors, Morningstar, Gallagher, Nedbank Trust, International Personal Finance, UKAR, Janus Henderson, UBP, Muse Advisory, Impact Invest, NextGen Planners and Cape Capital. In payments and fintech: Paysafe and Coinspaid. In pharmaceutical, healthcare and life sciences: Abbott, Benenden Health, Insmed, Rayner and the BHBIA. In technology and software: Anaplan, FocusVision, HERE, SES, Sky Betting & Gaming, Cognizant Netcentric, Datel, Milestone, XL Media and Sinara. In energy and utilities: Drax. In retail, consumer and hospitality: John Lewis & Partners, Co-op, Mars, Kerry Group, dsm-firmenich and the Jumeirah Group. In professional services and consulting: Capita, Kantar Public, CBRE, Carnall Farrar, JPC and Veeva. For membership bodies and associations: the CIPD, the National Sales Conference, APMP UK, Pabasso, the Family Business Network and HR Week Lithuania. And across the public sector, education and international organisations: the British Council, the Department for Work and Pensions, the Investment and Development Agency of Latvia and Leeds University.
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Dominic Colenso speaks at conferences, annual meetings, sales kickoffs, leadership summits, away days and offsites. He is regularly booked as an opening keynote to set up a day, as a closing keynote to send people out with something to act on, and to host or facilitate the sessions in between. Audiences range from a leadership team of a handful to 2,000 people in one room. He works with in-house corporate events, membership body and association conferences, and events booked through speaker bureaus.
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Yes, alongside a speaking booking. Dominic Colenso does not work as a standalone host or MC, but when clients book him to speak he will often host or facilitate the rest of the day as well: acting as master of ceremonies, introducing speakers, chairing panels, running Q&A sessions, leading interactive exercises and conducting fireside chats with senior leaders. Booking one person to speak and host keeps the energy and the narrative consistent, and gives the day a single thread rather than a series of unconnected slots.
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Yes. Dominic Colenso is based in York in the United Kingdom and speaks internationally, with engagements across Europe, North America and Asia as well as throughout the UK. He works regularly with globally distributed teams and delivers live virtual sessions across multiple time zones, so colleagues in several countries can join the same session. Travel and accommodation are quoted separately from the speaking fee.
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Dominic Colenso's keynotes run from 20 to 60 minutes, and he is most often booked for 45 to 60 minutes including Q&A. He also delivers masterclasses of 90 minutes to three hours for groups of between 2 and 200 people. The right length depends less on the agenda than on what you need the audience to do afterwards: a shorter keynote works well to open or close a conference and give the room a shared language for the rest of the day, while a longer session gives people time to practise the tools on their own material before they leave.
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The difference is scale and depth, not energy. Both formats are interactive, and in both Dominic Colenso has people on their feet and working within the first few minutes. A keynote runs from 20 to 60 minutes, is built for a whole conference room, and sends everyone away with a set of tools and a shared language. A masterclass runs from 90 minutes to three hours for a group of between 2 and 200 people, and buys the time for people to work on their own material, practise the tools and get feedback before they leave. All four topics work in either format: Creating IMPACT, Cut Through the Noise, Playing the Leading Role and Blockbuster Stories.
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Yes, and every session is built for the room rather than adapted for it. Nothing Dominic Colenso delivers is off the shelf. Every booking starts with a briefing conversation about your audience, your theme and what you need to be different afterwards. Where possible he will also speak to some of the people who will be in the room, so he hears their challenges in their own words rather than second hand. Their language and their examples go into the session. He tailors to the shape of the event too: an opening or closing slot, a conference theme, a strategy launch or a set of company values all change how the material is framed.
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Yes. Dominic Colenso delivers keynotes and masterclasses live, virtually, and for hybrid events where part of the audience is in the room and part is online. Virtual sessions run to any length and there is no limit on audience size, so a global business can bring people together across several countries and time zones without anyone leaving their desk. The content is rebuilt for a camera rather than transplanted from the stage, and stays as interactive as a live room. Performing to a lens is a different skill from performing to a room, and ten years as a professional screen actor is where Dominic learned it.
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Dominic Colenso's speaking fees vary depending on the location of the event, the format (in person, virtual or hybrid), the duration, and the level of tailoring involved. Travel and accommodation are quoted separately from the fee. For a proposal for your event, use the enquiry form on this page, email info@dominiccolenso.com or call the office on +44 (0)3330 50 40 36. We aim to respond to all enquiries within one working day.
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Most of Dominic Colenso's events are booked three to six months in advance, and dates in the busiest conference periods, September to November and February to May, tend to go first. Short notice is always worth asking about, though. Because every session is tailored rather than written from scratch, Dominic can often take a booking a few weeks out, and he keeps some capacity for exactly that. If your date is close, ask anyway.
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Most communication, sales and leadership speakers teach presentation skills. Dominic Colenso teaches performance. Ten years as a professional actor on screen and in London's West End, then training as a director at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, gave him a craft that most speakers can only describe second hand. Fifteen years working with global businesses turned it into something a sales team or a board can actually use, set out in two books: IMPACT and Cut Through. In the room the difference is obvious. Nobody sits and listens. People are on their feet and working within minutes, and they leave with tools they are still using years later, which is why clients book him again and again.