Experienced Business Consultant teaches strategic scaling and operational systems for service-based companies. Helping founders from solo-practitioner to established organisation.

James has been helping me with my public speaking for the last few months. I was so happy with James's training techniques this is not something I have really done before and I found myself buzzing and excited after every lesson! I have learnt so much in terms of building my self confidence and learning about my imperfections and correcting them! I feel so much happier with myself and I can finally say I did my first public speaking speech which I was so pleased with and really over come a huge fear of mine! I am looking forward to working more with James in the future and honestly if you are thinking of doing a course with him I highly recommend! Thank you so much for all your help James

James is an excellent elocution coach and takes a friendly approach to teaching. He explains clearly and concisely the techniques I needed to improve my speech and pronunciation. His lessons were tailored to my own needs and well structured so at the end of my course I was really confident in my progress. The exercises he gave me between lessons and for once the course were finished were effective but never felt monotonous.

I'd highly reccomend using James for any areas of speech.

James has really boosted my son's confidence. His homework is well planned and lessons enjoyable.

I have no hesitation in recommending James. He is a knowledgeable professional and will work with you to identify and address root causes in order to overcome and/or improve your technique. His approach is both personal and pragmatic with techniques developed to suit your individual requirements. Thank you for your help James!

I have been working with James for a few months now to improve my speech, diction and presentation skills to help with live poetry performances and public speaking events. His depth of knowledge shines through. The sessions are challenging, yet very enjoyable and fulfilling. Friends and business associates have commented on how they have noticed increased clarity and confidence in my voice. I would heartily recommend James.

I was under the impression that learning is inversely related to age till I met James. James is full of enthusiasm and is in love with his work to assist willing people to discover their best voice. His deep understanding of complex composition of distinct layers of a person inseparably connected to voice is extraordinary. He gently let you discover your hidden potential and leave you with a genuine voice that demands self-expression.

James has been working with my son, who is at a notoriously difficult age of 13, on improving his elocution. James has always been able to keep him engaged and interested in the topics / exercises at hand. His instruction is clear, and his homework for our son spot on. We have had to stop with the lessons during the school year, but will be restarting during the holidays.

James is a wonderful, experienced and friendly elocution coach who’s got such a great passion into what he does. I’ve improved a lot since I started his sessions for over a year ago and he’s taught me many techniques to reduce my accent and get closer to RP. He’s a accent expert and examines the voice very precisely.
I’d highly recommend James if you’re looking for a coach who can help you reduce your accent.

James is a great coach, personalising each session to my need and learning style. We initially started with coaching sessions about elocution and accent reduction and then explored other topics i.e. public speaking and presentation; he shows great knowledge in all these areas.
I am happy to recommend his professionalism.

James is an amazing tutor! His elocution classes are helping me a lot soften my accent and have a clear speech.
The classes are focus on your needs and are helping a lot to build my confidence when speaking English.

James is a wonderful, experienced and friendly elocution coach who’s got such a great passion into what he does. I’ve improved a lot since I started his sessions for over a year ago and he’s taught me many techniques to reduce my accent and get closer to RP. He’s a accent expert and examines the voice very precisely.
I’d highly recommend James if you’re looking for a coach who can help you reduce your accent.

Being born with glue eye, a condition which resulted in temporary loss of hearing in both ears, my early development in speaking was slightly impaired. Early loss of hearing, being dyslexia and other challenging life events have cumulatively compromised my ability to communicate effectively. Although written communication has improved drastically since childhood, I felt my ability to present ideas orally still needed improving. Improvement in oral communication has become especially pertinent since starting a graduate position at Santander, where I will be expected to contribute regularly to different senior stakeholders. Searching for elocution coaches, I found James’ professional website and instantly inquired for a free consultation.

From the first instance of our first zoom call, James has been professional, pleasant and engaging. We discussed my motivations for why I wanted his services, and from there James gave an overview of what he could offer and potential steps moving forward. After our first zoom call we met in person so James could carry out a voice assessment which allowed James to curate a personalised plan which fitted my personal areas of improvement.

My particular programme has been tailored to improve articulation and dictation, removing my Northampton accent, generally making my speech crisper and improving both vocals and public speaking. Each lesson has been engaging, making the hour fly by. At the end of each session, James has provided simple homework, which strikes the perfect balance of being effective without being too time-consuming. It has been evident after each lesson the improvement in my speaking from work put in homework and assignments. At the end of our 12-week session block, I am on track to give a talk to 30 people at his up and coming public speaking master class. I have every confidence this will go well with James guidance and a giant leap for my self-development.

If you are considering improving your public speaking for professional reasons such as myself, or want to reduce your accent, I would not hesitate to recommend James. You would have wished you started sooner.

I would like to thank James for his patient and perseverance helping me through this journey for better pronounce and better presentation skills. It has been quite enjoyable to learn and change completely how I look things in order to get a better. He is amazing, very professional and passionate for what he does. I guarantee you won’t be disappointed at all as each sessions is completely tailored to you! Jessica G

‪I wanted to better my articulation and confidence in public speaking. We started from the basic sounds of the English language, followed by words, sentences intonation and stress. Every step of the way, James was able to point out my mistakes, sometimes very subtle ones, and made me understand how to produce the correct sounds and intonation.

James's knowledge and passion for this craft inspired and motivated me to give 100% effort during our sessions. I was thrilled to have a tool box of techniques which I could use in terms of breathing, emphasis and pace. And equally as important, the confidence to present myself in front of a crowd.

I highly recommend James for anyone who wants to better their articulation skills and or boost their confidence in public speaking.

★★★★★

★★★★★

★★★★★ Helpful, reliable and fun :)

★★★★★ I enjoyed working with James. He is very pleasent, engaging and enthusiastic teacher. I suffered a stroke and somedays I had difficulty sitting or suffered with various aches and pains. James tolerated my distress and he did not show pity,

★★★★★ I have had two sessions with James so far and I am satisfied I made the right decision to contact him. He's attentive and a good tutor who takes time to explain the subject.

★★★★★ I would highly recommend James! He has helped me with my preparation for my drama school auditions and has been nothing but supportive! James always arrives to lessons promptly, is very easy to communicate with and open up to and learns what kind of student/actor you are to give you the best advice and help possible.

★★★★★ James is friendly, enthusiastic and knowledgable guy. He tailors each session to you and provides homework to do on your own in between sessions. He is also flexible with sessions if you are busy to fit in around work which I have found helpful. I would recommend to anyone looking to improve their communication skills and elocution.

★★★★★ I am delighted to have James as a drama tutor for my daughter. He is an engaging and effective tutor who communicates his knowledge and enthusiasm for the subject with skill and invention. James has a lively and dynamic presence, is quick to put the student at ease and is always very encouraging - drawing the student into dialogue and thus into active participation. This is so important because it makes the student valued and, in my opinion, is the hallmark of a good teacher...

★★★★★ We have utilised James voice coaching/elocution services for my eldest son & my daughter's boyfriend, both of whom were keen to improve their speech/diction. So far they have both had two, one hour sessions with James which they have been delighted with. James has proved to be very knowledgeable, reliable, engaging & focused on helping the boys overcome their speech challenges. I would have no hesitation in recommending him to others.

★★★★★ I can not possibly recommend James Percy- any higher! From the moment I approached him regarding elocution and speech lessons for my 11 year old, he has been extremely informative, reliable, prompt in his communication, very thorough in answering all my preliminary question and a pleasure to deal with. My son was delighted to have his first lesson last Saturday - James was absolutely amazing with him, very professional, very knowledgeable, very productive, yet fun! My son enjoyed every...

I can not possibly recommend James Percy-Smith any higher! From the moment I approached him regarding elocution and speech lessons for my 11 year old, he has been extremely informative, reliable, prompt in his communication, very thorough in answering all my preliminary question and a pleasure to deal with. My son was delighted to have his first lesson last Saturday - James was absolutely amazing with him, very professional, very knowledgeable, very productive, yet fun! My son enjoyed every minute of his lesson and is looking forward to his next one! We feel very lucky to have come across a wonderful and capable person like James! Would recommend to anyone!
Tags: Dorking Elocution teacher, Dorking Acting / Drama teacher, Dorking Beginner Elocution teac