John Simonett

John’s charismatic personality and presence, together with his combination of humour, memory and magic – tailored to a client’s specific brief – provides a unique and refreshingly different alternative to the traditional after-dinner speaker. He is comfortable as the opening speaker to start the day with a bang, in the ‘graveyard’ slot to wake them up after lunch, or to close the day on a high, creating a ‘buzz’ that will leave a lasting and memorable impression.  Laughter is one of the greatest aids to communication – as the saying goes – if they’re laughing – they’re listening!

John Simonett is a former schoolmaster and sportsman.  He was a member of the Scottish Rugby Union squad and played in the Gloucester team that won the John Player Cup at Twickenham in 1978.  He holds a first class honours degree from Bristol University.

In 1985 he left teaching to become a professional corporate entertainer and after-dinner speaker and is now firmly established as one of the most original and entertaining speakers on the ‘circuit’.  He has appeared at many conferences and other corporate events, both in the UK and abroad.

John specialises in the ‘tailored’ presentation and requires a full briefing before each speech so that he can personalise his delivery… He is well known for his ability to remember numerous names and details of people in the audience and the nature of their business and is able to refer to these in a positive, non-offensive manner.  His talks often have a motivational theme, and he is able to highlight important messages such as teamwork, leadership, problem solving and personal achievement, depending on the nature of the event.  John’s main objective, however, is always to be funny, clean and entertaining. With the right briefing John can thus reinforce and highlight the key messages from a conference in an entertaining and memorable way, whether these are teamwork, leadership, customer service or personal achievement. In addition, as a Silver Star member of the Inner Magic Circle, John also makes use of some clever magic as a ‘visual aid’ halfway through his talks, introduced gently, as a surprise and which he relates to the theme of the event.  Presented as a demonstration of creative thinking his routines involve the audience in a series of amusing exercises in ‘problem solving’ and the ‘use of logic’.

John regularly appears at many other company events – Golf days, Awards dinners, anniversary celebrations, new product launches, Distributor briefings, incentive trips – in fact at any event which needs to be made memorable!

“Just a quick note to say a huge thank you for your attendance at our Best Practice Awards Dinner last Thursday. The feedback specifically for you has been absolutely excellent.  Everyone was talking about it at the after dinner drinks …Your professionalism and attention to detail was staggering and you are unquestionably the best After Dinner Speaker we have ever had. It will certainly be my intention to ask you to join us again.” The Property Care Association

“Wow, what a fabulous contribution and impact you made to our EMEA conference!  Without exception everyone has said what a brilliant job you did! You truly were the glue that made everything stick together, keeping energy levels high and the momentum going! It was our best ever conference – of that I am convinced – and you played a big part in making that happen!  You have set a high standard for all our future conferences!” Griffiths & Armour Insurance Brokers

“Just a quick note to say thank you for assisting in another great conference. Your professionalism and enthusiasm kept the conference flowing and delivering a highly engaging two days.”  Assurex Global

“John ensured the conference got off to an incredible start with a presentation that had the 200 delegates spellbound, fascinated and crying with laughter. Feedback was brilliant and many will be using some of his techniques in their own training roles.”CCTV User Group