Communication that drives business results
Resistance to change. Attracting and retaining talent. Engaging customers. These are some of the biggest challenges facing organisations, and for more than 20 years influential leaders have turned to Ian Hawkins to help address them through one fundamental capability: communication.
Ian approaches communication as far more than a “soft skill”. As the Storytelling and Speaker Coach for Netflix and a trusted advisor to cabinet ministers, CEOs and international speakers, he shows how the way leaders communicate can translate into bottom-line results. His approach is grounded in his view from inside high-level business conversations where decisions are made, ideas gain momentum and leadership has tangible consequences.
Book speaker Ian Hawkins for your event to explore how authentic communication can help organisations make change and transformation an inevitability rather than a slog, identify and elevate leadership potential, and attract and retain high-value talent through a compelling shared story. His approach is designed to stop the erosion of time, money and focus that happens when communication fails to connect people with a clear purpose.
Human leadership in the AI era
AI may be everywhere, but Ian Hawkins argues that technology without human leadership is nothing. As organisations adapt to rapid technological change, his keynotes are a battle cry for leaders to become more authentic and unlock the full potential of the people around them.
At the heart of Ian’s work is a clear idea: how leaders communicate now is everything. Technology can transform processes and capabilities, but people still need stories they can believe in, leaders they can trust and reasons to commit their energy to change.
Ian helps audiences explore how to:
- Make change and transformation an inevitability rather than a prolonged struggle
- Identify, develop and elevate leadership potential within an organisation
- Attract and retain high-value talent through an authentic, shared story
His perspective connects leadership, storytelling, talent and transformation, giving audiences a human framework for navigating an increasingly AI-driven business environment.
From BBC comedy to the boardroom
Ian Hawkins has been speaking and presenting for 20 years and is the author of the Amazon bestseller Insider Secrets of Public Speaking. His understanding of communication, however, has been shaped by a career that stretches far beyond the keynote stage.
After leaving university, Ian wrote for BBC comedy shows including The News Quiz and Loose Ends. He later became an agent at the UK’s largest speaker bureau, where he closed two of the company’s five biggest deals. That experience gave him an early insight into what makes speakers connect with audiences and what organisations expect when communication really matters.
Alongside speaking and coaching, Ian worked as a professional stand-up comedian, appearing on both sides of the Atlantic. He also studied improv at the UCB Theatre in New York. These experiences developed an instinct for audiences, timing, spontaneity and storytelling that continues to inform his work with leaders and speakers today.
Stories from around the world
Ian’s career has also taken him behind the camera and across international borders. As a business journalist, he worked on films for BBC World, Reuters and CBS, with assignments taking him to locations including Nicaragua, Morocco, Sweden and the United States.
Working across journalism, comedy, business and live events has given Ian Hawkins a distinctive perspective on how people communicate, listen and make sense of complex ideas. Whether he is addressing leaders, coaching speakers or guiding a live conversation, storytelling remains central to his approach.
Today, Ian is also an in-demand moderator for conferences and events across the UK, US and Europe. He is resident Quizmaster at The Ivy Club and is gaining a following on the storytelling circuit, bringing together his experience as a writer, performer, journalist, coach and presenter.
A life beyond the rule book
Ian’s willingness to challenge conventional thinking has a deeply personal dimension. He is a long-term survivor of a rare congenital heart condition, an experience he credits with giving him licence to rip up the rule book and explore all of life’s extraordinary possibilities.
That perspective feeds directly into the energy of his work. Ian Hawkins speaks about communication as something fundamentally human: the ability to connect people with ideas, give meaning to change and create stories that others genuinely want to be part of.
For organisations dealing with transformation, leadership development, talent retention or the growing influence of AI, Ian brings together decades of communication experience with insights from high-level business conversations and the craft of professional storytelling. Book Ian Hawkins for your event to give leaders and teams a fresh perspective on authentic communication, human leadership and the stories that turn intention into action.
