Martin Brooks

Maximum Performance

Martin Brooks

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Overview

Martin is an experienced and highly respected course facilitator. Following a successful career in sales and sales leadership, Martin set up his own communication consultancy in 2002. Since then, he has helped senior leaders across the world increase their effectiveness on a variety of “soft” skills including sales, presentation, leadership, negotiation and influencing.

Martin has a particular interest in helping leaders communicate with greater confidence, credibility and charisma by harnessing the power of their body language. A study cited in the Harvard Business Review in 2019 showed a 12% increase in the interest an audience had in a speaker when their communication was supported by body language.

Martin’s expertise and research into how to use body language better in business became published work when, Body Language Decoder, was published in 2021.

Martin’s international work includes working with leaders in Europe, The USA, the Middle East, Asia, Australia, Russia and even Kazakhstan.

Martin runs his courses in partnership with Salford University, The Chartered Institute of Marketing and Henley Business School. Martin’s expertise is frequently used in the media analysing public figures. He has appeared on the BBC, The Discovery Channel and LBC radio. He has also appeared in The Daily Mirror, The Times and analysing the deception tells of the Celebrity Traitors on the BBC for The London Standard.

Martin channels his expertise into helping leaders convince, influence and motivate their audiences at a higher level. His workshops are always well-received as they give their participants relevant and useable tools that participants can apply with confidence back in the workplace.

Martin is an expert at helping clients to improve their skills when:

Presenting
Pitching
Managing meetings
Reading deception

Courses:

Fluid training presentation masterclass

This small-group course is designed for senior leaders aiming to enhance their presentation skills. Martin’s “fluid training” approach means there is no fixed agenda. Instead, the topics covered are tailored live to meet the key requirements of the attendees. Participants arrive with a short presentation, which they deliver to the group. Martin facilitates peer feedback and provides his insights, allowing the feedback to determine the tools and techniques taught that best align with the group’s most pressing needs.

Body language for leaders

This course explores how leaders can leverage body language to enhance their effectiveness. Participants will learn techniques for presenting, leading meetings, and fostering trusting relationships. Additionally, the course addresses skills essential for effective remote communication.

Deception detection

Detecting and responding to deception is crucial for identifying workplace performance issues early and making informed, evidence-based decisions when collaborating with external suppliers. This course provides insights into the science of deception detection and equips participants with the communication skills necessary to address it effectively.

Coaching:

Martin has extensive experience working 1-to-1 with senior executives to enhance their communication skills.

Whether the goal is to generally improve communication or to focus on a specific project, Martin’s observations, feedback, and suggestions help clients identify the necessary changes for improvement.

He has successfully assisted clients in winning jobs, securing new contracts, and attracting investment by making their pitches and presentations as compelling as possible.

Additionally, Martin collaborates with pitch teams on live projects to ensure their group communication is equally compelling, providing them with a competitive advantage.

Martin is based in St Albans.

'Martin brought some very relevant and actionable insights to our workshop. Certainly, stirred some thoughts and left the group with many useful tips.'

‘Martin delivered an exceptionally engaging and thought-provoking training session for some of our top talent at IBM iX. His session left me a valuable insight into better communication, particularly via improved body language to evoke certain reactions. Martin was incredibly engaging, a great coach and extremely knowledgeable about his field.’

‘I attended a course which Martin ran at Henley Business School and Honestly best course I have been on for ages! I Loved it - I will definitely put everything I learnt into practice moving forward.’

'I attended a seminar of Martins and was extremely impressed. The session was interesting and really gave me some skills to take back to the office and implement. I would whole heartedly recommend Martin.'

‘Martin delivered a masterclass to the Yorkshire Leadership Group and it really was a masterclass. With good humour and many exercises all participants learned much about self-presentation and how to decode the body language of others with whom they are communicating.’

‘I was recently lucky enough to attend a public speaking course delivered by Martin Brooks, and I can’t recommend it highly enough. Martin is a master of his craft. If you get the chance to attend one of his sessions—take it.’

‘Martin is always a pleasure to work with. An expert in his field - he is professional, dedicated, curious, and committed to the success of his clients.’

‘Martin worked with my teams multiple times and always brought energy, inspiration and insight to individual and group coaching. He has a laser focus on improving individual impact and business outcomes.’

‘I would highly recommend Martin. His coaching of senior executives to increase our impact and influence is second to none and is needed now more than ever as we need to rely on increasingly virtual and hybrid ways of connecting with our teams and audiences.’

‘We had the pleasure of working with Martin Brooks on a major project proposal, and his expertise in communications was invaluable. He possessed a unique ability to refine our messages, enhance our delivery, and ensure that our presentation was clear and impactful. His knowledge of nonverbal cues and persuasive communication enabled us to present our ideas with greater confidence and precision.’

‘Martin Brooks was instrumental to helping our senior leaders prepare for our key commercial meetings. His expert advice and guidance helped our speakers to deliver concise and engaging presentations. Martin has the ability to encourage and provide valuable feedback to enable our speakers perform at their best. I would highly recommend Martin.’