Speakers Prepare — Confidence is a byproduct of competence.
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Presentation training · Amsterdam · EN/NL

Confidence is a
byproduct
of competence.

Built on 9 years of formal actor training and the proprietary PASS Method. A method that guides you from the moment you know you need to present, to the moment you walk off stage.

Dylan Smith holding the Speakers Prepare workbook
Dylan Smith · Founder
9
years of formal actor training, with a master's degree from the Royal Central School of Speech & Drama, London
21+
years on stage as performer, presenter and trainer
7
years researching how speakers actually reach their potential
3
years as expert Claude & LLM operator — since launch, not since hype
Trusted by Teams
"This session challenged us in new ways — helping us uncover both our individual habits and the common pitfalls we all fall into. Honest feedback, small tweaks, and a lot of learning." — Back Digital "His approach is clear, practical and focused on results. He has developed his own framework for giving presentations, which is practical and relevant for a wide range of situations." — Wouter Krul, Project Manager at KROHNE "Dylan's guidance was invaluable in preparing for my recent presentation. His encouraging and practical approach helped calm my nerves, and his structured method transformed my fragmented content into a coherent and engaging narrative." — Dr. Phebe Kraane, Psychiatrist "What I appreciated most was the way he created a safe environment where I felt comfortable trying new techniques, while still providing honest and constructive feedback. I feel more confident and better prepared when presenting." — Wouter Krul, Project Manager at KROHNE "This session challenged us in new ways — helping us uncover both our individual habits and the common pitfalls we all fall into. Honest feedback, small tweaks, and a lot of learning." — Back Digital "His approach is clear, practical and focused on results. He has developed his own framework for giving presentations, which is practical and relevant for a wide range of situations." — Wouter Krul, Project Manager at KROHNE "Dylan's guidance was invaluable in preparing for my recent presentation. His encouraging and practical approach helped calm my nerves, and his structured method transformed my fragmented content into a coherent and engaging narrative." — Dr. Phebe Kraane, Psychiatrist "What I appreciated most was the way he created a safe environment where I felt comfortable trying new techniques, while still providing honest and constructive feedback. I feel more confident and better prepared when presenting." — Wouter Krul, Project Manager at KROHNE
The Problem & The Solution

Most presentation training fixes the wrong thing.

Smart people stand up with material that hasn't been pressure-tested. They've rehearsed by reading their notes. They've optimised the slides instead of the message. The audience feels it instantly.

What's actually broken is preparation — the part nobody trains.

  • Tips and tricks (Z-pattern eye contact, hand positions, "find your voice")
  • Slide design tips that don't fix the underlying message
  • Confidence trainings that bypass the actual content
  • One-off sessions with no system to take into the next talk

Speakers Prepare fixes the preparation.

One proprietary methodology built on a small number of core principles — easily learned, easily remembered, easily applied. Each principle builds on the last. Once you have them, you carry them into every talk that follows.

Practical. Repeatable. Built so you don't take a whole book on stage hoping something sticks.

  • Core principles you actually remember while you're speaking
  • Skills that compound — each one makes the next easier
  • A handbook to write in, return to, and reuse
  • The same methodology, applied to every talk you'll ever give
Dylan reading the Speakers Prepare handbook
The methodology & the handbook

From the moment you know, to the moment you walk off stage.

The PASS Method takes you by the hand through three phases — ideation, writing, and delivery. Whether you've never presented before or you've done a hundred, four hours later you'll know the talk you're about to give.

The Speakers Prepare handbook is the methodology made portable. Designed to be written in. Used in every engagement, included with every workshop, available standalone for anyone who wants the system.

Designed to be used. Designed to be written in. Designed to be the system you take into every talk that comes after.

The PASS Method, at a glance

Four steps that turn preparation into performance. Used in every Speakers Prepare engagement. Written into the handbook every participant takes home.

Plan

Plan your prep

Commit to real preparation in the time you actually have. Not aspirational schedules — the minutes that exist.

ToolThe 80/20 prep map
Analyse

Analyse with MASTR

The five questions that decide whether your talk lands: Big Idea, Audience, Structure, Tactics, Role.

FrameworkMASTR
Simulate

Simulate to perform

Train preparation into performance. Effort × Messaging × Contrast — multiplied by Mindset.

EquationA = EMCm
Serve

Serve the audience

Concentrate on one action. The mindset shift that makes the stage feel like service, not survival.

PrincipleCo1a
What participants say

This session challenged us in new ways — helping us uncover both our individual habits and the common pitfalls we all fall into. Honest feedback, small tweaks, and a lot of learning.

Back Digital
Team session · Amsterdam

His approach is clear, practical and focused on results. He has developed his own framework for giving presentations, which is practical and relevant for a wide range of situations. The sessions were engaging and full of tips I could use straight away.

Wouter Krul
Project Manager at KROHNE

Dylan's guidance was invaluable in preparing for my recent presentation. His encouraging and practical approach helped calm my nerves, and his structured method transformed my fragmented content into a coherent and engaging narrative. Thanks to Dylan's expertise, my presentation was well-received by the audience.

Dr. Phebe Kraane
Psychiatrist

What I appreciated most was the way he created a safe environment where I felt comfortable trying new techniques, while still providing honest and constructive feedback. Thanks to his guidance, I feel more confident and better prepared when presenting.

Wouter Krul
Project Manager at KROHNE

This session challenged us in new ways — helping us uncover both our individual habits and the common pitfalls we all fall into. Honest feedback, small tweaks, and a lot of learning.

Back Digital
Team session · Amsterdam

His approach is clear, practical and focused on results. He has developed his own framework for giving presentations, which is practical and relevant for a wide range of situations. The sessions were engaging and full of tips I could use straight away.

Wouter Krul
Project Manager at KROHNE

Dylan's guidance was invaluable in preparing for my recent presentation. His encouraging and practical approach helped calm my nerves, and his structured method transformed my fragmented content into a coherent and engaging narrative. Thanks to Dylan's expertise, my presentation was well-received by the audience.

Dr. Phebe Kraane
Psychiatrist

What I appreciated most was the way he created a safe environment where I felt comfortable trying new techniques, while still providing honest and constructive feedback. Thanks to his guidance, I feel more confident and better prepared when presenting.

Wouter Krul
Project Manager at KROHNE
Video testimonial coming soon.
This will play here when uploaded.
Worth remembering

"If it scares you,
it's probably a good thing."

— Seth Godin
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Dylan delivering a Speakers Prepare workshop
About Dylan

Not a presentation trainer who took a drama class. Nine years of formal actor training — including a master's from Royal Central — and a methodology built around what that training actually teaches.

Dylan trained for nine years at performing arts academies, completing a master's degree at the Royal Central School of Speech & Drama in London. After 21+ years on stage and seven years researching how speakers reach their potential, he built the PASS Method — the structured, repeatable preparation system now taught in every Speakers Prepare engagement.

Bilingual EN/NL. Based in Amsterdam. Working with teams across legal, digital, marketing and AI-transitioning sectors.

Read Dylan's full story
Common questions

Before you book.

Individual sessions are open public events — anyone can join, you share the room with others, the price is per seat (€89). Business engagements are tailored, in-house, with content built around your team's real talks. Different formats, different value, different price.
Workshops run best with 4–10 participants. Smaller groups mean more individual coaching time per person. For larger teams (12+) we split into parallel cohorts or run a keynote-format session followed by coached breakouts.
Both. Sessions can be delivered fully in English, fully in Dutch, or bilingually depending on your team. Most international Amsterdam-based teams choose English; Dutch-language teams often prefer Dutch for deep coaching work.
In-company at your office (Netherlands and Europe) or off-site at a chosen venue. The monthly individual crashcourses run online. Travel costs apply for in-person sessions outside the Randstad.
The session itself, all preparation and customisation work, the Speakers Prepare handbook for every participant, and follow-up support depending on the format. The 2-Day Intensive includes two weeks of async support.
Three things. The focus is preparation — the part nobody trains. The methodology (PASS, MASTR, A=EMCm, Co1a) is proprietary and structured, not improvised tips. And it's built on nine years of formal actor training, so the performance side is grounded in real craft, not motivational coaching.

Ready to prepare differently?

15 minutes. No pitch. Tell me what you're working on. I'll tell you whether Speakers Prepare is the right fit — and what would actually help if it isn't.

Book a free intro call