The return
What speaking on stage gives you
Getting paid is only part of it.
Sharper positioning
You get clear on what you stand for and what you sell. That lands on a stage, and in every pitch and conversation after it.
Consulting work
Organisations invite you in for deeper strategic work off the back of a keynote.
Advisory and board roles
Your expertise gets valued at a different level, by people who make appointments.
Business exposure
Podcast invitations, press requests, broadcast. Authority compounds.
A stronger network
The people you meet through speaking become some of the most valuable in your career.
Gravitas and credibility
Clients, boards and the people around you have another reason to take you seriously.
Better in every room
The craft that makes a keynote land also makes your board updates and client pitches land.
And a fee
Speakers command four-figure fees for a keynote, and five figures as their name builds.
Most members are not trying to become full-time speakers.
They are trying to be the person their market already knows.
Sound familiar?
You are not short of expertise. You are short of a stage.
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You have ten years of hard-won expertise and a solid track record in your career.
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You have spoken before informally. Panels, town halls, the occasional webinar. It went well but nothing much followed it.
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You are not short of credibility. You are short of visibility and being known.
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You have watched people with less experience than you take the stages you should be on.
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You have tried the other routes to bringing in more business (content, ads, referrals) and found them slow, crowded, expensive or time-consuming.
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You want speaking to build your brand and bring in additional opportunities: advisory roles, board conversations, inbound leads and exposure.
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You would also like it to actually pay properly, at a fee.
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You do not yet know how the industry works in practice: who books, how bureaus operate, what to charge, where to position yourself, or how to be found.
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You have two to five hours a week to give this, and you would rather be handed the system than work it out alone.
The gap
Being a good public speaker is not the same as being a paid, bookable one.
The skills that made you an expert are not the skills that get you booked. Organisers are not buying your CV. They are buying a clear position, a keynote they can sell to their committee, and someone they trust to deliver. All three are learnable, and that is what these five weeks are for.
How it works
Five weeks, built around a busy diary.
9
Nine recorded masterclasses
Released twice a week. Every lesson stays open for the rest of the programme, so you can work at your own pace, around your own schedule.
4
Four live sessions with Niluka
Opening & Goal Setting, Speaker Positioning, the Keynote Hot Seat, and Speaker Tactics & Q&A. Each has something to bring and something you leave with. All at 12:00 GMT. Not recorded, the room is private.
1
One-to-one with Niluka
Available on request, for those that need it. A 30-minute call on your positioning, your keynote, your fee, or whatever you want direct feedback on. Eight places in total, subject to availability.
2
Two halves, in order
Part One takes you from good to exceptional as a speaker. Part Two is the practical, tactical half: what stops people getting booked, and exactly how to get booked.
2-5
Two to five hours a week
Designed around a real job. Masterclasses land twice a week and stay open, so you fit them around your week rather than the other way round.
PART ONE ยท MASTERCLASSES 01-04
The Craft of Keynote Speaking
From good to exceptional: who you are on a stage, why you are there, how you earn the room and how you hold it.
01
Positioning Your Expertise as a Speaker
Who you are on a stage, before you write a word. Experience, pattern recognition, point of view, and the intersection of credibility, relevance and clarity that makes a booker choose you.
02
Creating a Great Speech That Gets You (Re)Booked
Purpose before content. The four core purposes and why chasing all four dilutes all four. Designing around what the room should think, feel and do.
03
Authority-Led Storytelling, Structure & Credibility
Why story is the last true differentiator. Ethos, pathos and logos, and why leading with logic loses the room. Openings that command and endings that decide how you are remembered.
04
Delivery That Signals Authority (and Justifies Your Fee)
The audience decides whether to trust or listen to you in the first thirty seconds. Listenability, pace, the two kinds of pause, repetition, posture, eye contact, stillness.
Part Two ยท Masterclasses 05-09
The Business of Keynote Speaking
The practical half: what stops people getting booked, how to build a keynote that sells itself, how to be found, how to approach organisers and agencies, and what to charge.
05
06
07
08
09
Common Keynote Mistakes That Stop You Getting Booked
Most speakers are not rejected. They are forgotten. Fourteen mistakes across positioning, visibility, momentum, content and the commercial blind spots.
Choosing & Positioning Your Signature Keynote
Your signature keynote is a product. Clarity, relevance, outcome. Naming and framing it so an organiser understands it in five seconds and can present a business case that gets you booked.
Building a Speaker Brand That Attracts Opportunities
Your positioning is useless if nobody sees it. Your LinkedIn as a landing page. Why positioning is a distribution decision, not just a branding one. The MVSW (Minimum Viable Speaker Website) and what to include to get booked. Plus content that builds authority, not just admiration.
Getting Booked: Outreach, Agencies & Strategic Networking
Three practical outreach strategies to get in front of organisers who already buy speakers like you. What to write, where to look, and how to follow up. When to approach agencies, which tier first, and why not to sign exclusive early.
Pricing, the Snowball Effect & Long-Term Leverage
Real fee ranges and what moves them. Three negotiation principles, starting with asking their budget before you name yours. When speaking free is strategic and when it costs you.
Live with Niluka
Four sessions where your own material is on the table.
These are working sessions, not catch-ups. Each one builds on the masterclasses released before it. They are not recorded. The room is private, so people speak freely about their own work.
12:00 GMT
01 Opening & Goal Setting
You meet the people you are going through this with, and you set a specific target you are working towards.
12:00 GMT
02 Speaker Positioning
Your positioning under pressure. What you want to be known for, and which rooms you should be trying to get into.
12:00 GMT
03 Keynote Hot Seat
You pitch your signature keynote (title, central idea, promise) and it gets examined in front of the cohort. This is the session people join for.
12:00 GMT
04 Speaker Tactics & Q&A
Each of you presents three conferences you have targeted and why. We pressure-test the list together, then open the floor for whatever is still in the way.
THE SHIFT
What changes across five weeks.
Before Gravitas
- Ad-hoc opportunities, if any
- Underselling your expertise
- Good in the room, forgotten after it
- Hoping to get noticed
- Uncertain positioning
- No idea what to charge
After Gravitas
- A pipeline of stages you are pitching
- A signature keynote that gets you rebooked
- A delivery that sets you apart
- A brand that brings opportunities to you
- One clear, ownable position
- A floor fee, a standard fee and a stretch fee
Who is teaching it
Learn it from someone who has actually done it.
Niluka Kavanagh is an international keynote speaker who has presented to rooms of eight and rooms of eight thousand. She knows what event organisers look for, because she has spent seven years being the person they book.
- International keynote speaker, rooms of 8 to 8,000, in person and virtually
- Named by MSN as one of ten speakers to follow in 2025
- Signed with five global speaker agencies, including Speakers Corner
- Featured by Business Insider
- Helped 500+ individuals present with authority through HelpMePresent
- A following of 30,000+ across platforms
- Ex-KPMG LLP: knows what companies buy, not just what conferences book
THE INVESTMENT
Everything you get
Nine full recorded masterclasses
Released twice a week, yours to watch back.
Four live sessions with Niluka
All at 12:00 GMT. Not recorded, so the room stays private.
One-to-one with Niluka
Available on request. A 30-minute call, eight places.
Introduction lessons and activities
Alongside every masterclass.
A cohort of senior peers
Doing the same work, at the same time, deliberately small.
A ninety-day plan
So you finish with a sequence to run, not a certificate.
FOR CONTEXT
What keynote speakers are paid.
Early stage, building proof
ยฃ1,000 - ยฃ3,000
Traction, clear positioning and social proof
ยฃ3,000 - ยฃ15,000
In demand, national or international profile
ยฃ15,000 - ยฃ40,000+
Indicative starting points, not guarantees. Fees vary by market, audience, seniority and profile, and are covered properly in Masterclass 09.
HONESTLY
This is not for everyone.
You are in if
- You can already hold a room and want to be booked for it
- You have two to five hours a week to give this
- You want the brand as much as the fee
- You would rather be handed the system than work it out alone
You are out if
- You want a beginner's guide to public speaking
- You want a course to watch rather than a programme to act on
- You are hoping to be discovered without doing outreach
- You cannot make any of the four live sessions
BEFORE YOU JOIN
Questions people ask.
I have never been paid to speak. Is this too advanced?
No, but it is not a beginner's public-speaking course. It assumes you can already speak to a decent level. If you have presented to boards, clients or teams, you are in the right place.
I don't want to become a full-time speaker. Is this still for me?
Yes. Most members aren't. They're consultants, founders and senior leaders who want speaking to build their profile and bring work to their business. The mechanics of getting onto the stage are the same. Whether you take a fee, and how much speaking you do in the long run, is your choice.
How much time does it actually take?
Two to five hours a week. Masterclasses land twice a week and stay open for the whole programme, so you fit them around your diary rather than the other way round.
What if I cannot make a live session?
They are not obligatory. They are also not recorded, as the room is private so people speak freely about their own work. You will get far more from being there, particularly once you have completed the prior masterclasses and done the work.
Do I need to know my topic before I start?
No. Masterclass 01 and the first live session exist precisely to settle it. Most people arrive with a rough idea and leave with something a booker could actually buy.
Will this get me booked?
It gives you the positioning, the signature keynote, the brand and the outreach system, and Masterclass 08 gives you concrete strategies for building a target list. The bookings come from putting everything into place and actioning the programme.
Do I have to take the one-to-one?
No, it is only there if you want it. There are eight places in total, subject to availability, so ask early.
Is it live or recorded?
Both. Nine full masterclasses are recorded and watched when it suits you. The four live sessions run at 12:00 GMT with Niluka and are not recorded.
What happens when the five weeks end?
Masterclass 09 closes with a ninety-day plan, so you finish with a sequence to work with.
Can my company pay for it?
Yes. An invoice can be issued to your organisation if you prefer that to the online payment link. Many members expense it as leadership or business development. Payment must be made before applications close.
Do you offer refunds?
No. Payment is made in full up front and places are non-refundable. The cohort is capped and places are first come, first served. Your space is only guaranteed with payment. What the programme produces depends on you completing it, doing the activities and being proactive.
Your expertise deserves a stage.
Each cohort is deliberately small. Five weeks from now you could be pitching your signature keynote to the rooms you want to be in.
Nothing on this page is a promise of results. What you achieve depends on the work you put in, your market and your existing experience. Fee ranges shown are indicative industry figures, not earnings you should expect.