Full day, 12 to 30 people
Team workshop
Each participant builds a case from their own work, presents it, and is questioned on it. They leave with a structure for any argument and a well-prepared answer to the question they most expect.
Workshops for teams
Conversations that move good ideas forward
Your people know their material. I help them make their case clearly, answer questions with confidence, and bring colleagues, boards, and stakeholders with them.
PhD in politics from the University of Otago, and author of Whataboutisms in International Politics (Palgrave Macmillan). I also run Walk & Talk Auckland, a walking discussion community of more than 5,000 members. More about me
Who it is for
Teams who have to persuade people outside their own expertise. No background in rhetoric is needed.
- An analyst or policy team ready to take a business case to the executive table.
- Specialists who present to boards, regulators, select committees, or public consultation.
- Managers who need a decision from people who do not report to them.
- Any team that wants its disagreements to end in decisions everyone can stand behind.
Past clients include universities, vocational and adult education providers, professional associations, and an international NGO.
What participants say
What Dmitry taught us was not only the theoretical frameworks of how to communicate more effectively, but he also gave us the safe space to fully explore ourselves and our potential. His personality is so infectious, memorable, and inspiring.
This course will help you to come out of the bubble and connect with people confidently. Being an immigrant, this class gives us the space to connect with people and gain confidence and understand that people want to collaborate.
Three more participants speak on camera on the feedback page.
Three formats
Each is rewritten around your own material and quoted at one fixed fee.
Half or full day, 6 to 12 people
Senior team preparation
For executives and specialists preparing for a board, a regulator, or a select committee. We rehearse the questions they will actually be asked, so that they walk in prepared and composed.
Ninety minutes to a full day
Facilitated forum
For an important question that deserves a proper conversation. An independent facilitator, room for every view, and a written record of what was said.
Also available: a four-week version of the workshop, one-to-one coaching on a single argument, and keynotes and panel chairing.
Selected past work
Conferences and professional associations
- ADCET Universal Design for Learning Symposium
- CLESOL, the Conference for Community Languages and ESOL
- New Zealand Political Studies Association
- New Zealand Vocational Education and Training Research Forum
- Rhetoric Society of America
- Skills Education Forum
Universities, providers, and organisations
- academyEX
- AUT Law Students' Society
- Institute for War and Peace Reporting
- RMIT University
- Skills Group
- Skills Institute
- University of Colombo
- University of Otago
Join a walk or a forum, free
Walk & Talk Auckland, which I founded in 2024, is a free weekly walk on which strangers talk as they go, and it now has more than 5,000 members. The Civic Room is where that conversation sits down: a facilitated public forum run on the same method I use with clients. Both are open to anyone, so you can see me work before you commit to anything.
Tell me what your team needs to make the case for
I will tell you honestly whether I can help. The call takes thirty minutes, costs nothing, and commits you to nothing; if we go ahead, you receive a fixed-fee proposal and, after the session, a written summary within a fortnight.
The questions page covers how fees are set, group sizes, and how far ahead to book.