“I trained as an actor at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA), where I learned that presence isn't something you perform, it's something you inhabit.”

“I started MOVESPEAK because I believe now, more than ever, we need to regain connection, with ourselves and with one another, through effective communication.

In a tech-obsessed, switched-off world, this needs to be taught practically, not passively.”

I trained as an actor at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA), where I learned that presence isn't something you perform, it's something you inhabit. Since then I've worked as an actor nationally and internationally, in Theatre, TV, Film, Voiceover and as a budding playwright; always drawn to how storytelling can make the ripple for change. I'm also a diploma-qualified yoga teacher, which taught me the importance of maintaining a healthy relationship with the body and mind which in turn has influenced my overall craft as a performer.

I've worked as a communication skills coach with organisations including the NHS, HMRC, DWP, Stanley Black & Decker, Rolls-Royce, Savills, Barclaycard, Sony, and Lionsgate.

I started MOVESPEAK because I believe now, more than ever, we need to regain connection, with ourselves and with one another, through effective communication in a tech-obsessed, switched-off world, this needs to be taught practically, not passively. We've limited our attention spans and our awareness of our own bodies through technology. We all know it, the brainrot. That's an actual word in the dictionary now. AI can write what you want to say, but it can't own your words for you.

In the room, in the moment, it's always going to be you and your audience. People still invest in people.

The movespeak backstory

Lizzie Mounter | Founder of movespeak

This is usually the “brochure speak” section but if you prefer a bit more of a story and something more human, you’re in the right place.

It was 2018 and I was meeting my Dad for lunch. Through a mouthful of sandwich and his Yorkshire accent, I caught: "Libby" (my Dad, for reasons unknown, is the only one who calls me Libby) "I've got this person at work who's a right bloody pain and I don't know how on earth I can work with them, but I have to." I coached him through this, leaning into behaviour types. A little later he came back with a work presentation: "I've got to get these younger people on board, what do you recommend?" The real question, it turned out, was: what do you want your audience to feel?

That's when it dawned on me, a lot of people in my life had been coming to me with these kinds of questions. My sister with difficult colleagues. Friends with relationship troubles. Colleagues wanting help with presentations. A teacher struggling to communicate with his students. I knew I had acquired skills that could translate into the corporate world. They just needed translating. So I wanted in, but where to start?

Later that year, I was on my first West End show. On our first morning off, I found out a corporate group was coming in to use the theatre, it was Barclaycard who were in for Personal Impact Training. I thought: I want to be involved with that training and that's where the journey really began; from leading warm-ups, to role-player, coach, co-facilitator, lead facilitator and now founder.