For Organisations
Your team knows their subject.
So why won't they speak up?
The UPGRADE Programme is a structured seven-phase virtual journey combining workshops, coaching sessions and a practice clinic to address the psychology of speaking anxiety before it
teaches a single technique. Built for organisations who want lasting change, not a one-day training fix.
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Why Organisations Commission UPGRADE
Speaking anxiety is not a personal problem.
It is an organisational one.
Speaking anxiety is not a personal problem.
It is an organisational one.
When talented professionals hold back in client meetings,
stay quiet in leadership conversations or avoid presenting
altogether, the cost lands on the organisation. Missed
relationships. Slower decisions. A leadership pipeline that does not reflect the capability available to it.
Most speaking training addresses the wrong thing first. It teaches technique before it addresses the reason people
freeze in the first place. It tells people to practise more, breathe differently and stand up straight.
None of that works if the mindset is not addressed first.
The UPGRADE Programme starts where other programmes stop. Before any technique is introduced, participants work
through the psychological barriers that are keeping them
silent.
The A.C.T. framework - Accept, Create, Transform -
is the foundation. Every phase builds on it.
The result is not a team that has learned to perform
confidence. It's a team that has understood why they
were holding back and what's possible when they stop.
Seven phases. Three formats. One outcome.
The UPGRADE Programme combines three delivery formats across seven phases. Each format serves a distinct purpose and the sequence is deliberate. Mindset first. Skills second. Sustained practice third.
Coaching Sessions
Group coaching woven through the programme to support individual progress. Participants are not left to implement new thinking alone.
The coaching element is what makes group learning stick.
Workshops
Facilitated group sessions to work through the UPGRADE phases. Each workshop is 3.5 hours, delivered virtually.
Each session ensures every participant
receives individual attention within the group.
Practice Clinic
A dedicated half or full-day session (based on cohort size) focused entirely on delivery. Participants run through their content receiving structured feedback and refinement.
The practice clinic is the bridge between learning and performing.
What participants move through.
What participants move through.
UPGRADE
After working with anxious speakers, we developed the UPGRADE methodology. A 7 phase framework that addresses glossophobia systematically:
Unblock: The starting point for every genuine transformation. Participants identify and begin to address the root cause
of their speaking fear using the A.C.T. framework. No technique is introduced until this foundation is secure.
Focus: Mindset
Prepare: Participants develop a personal preparation practice that works for them, not a generic warm-up routine. Confidence rituals built and embedded. Woven throughout the programme.
Focus: Mindset
Grasp: The shift from self-focus to audience-focus. Participants learn to understand who they are speaking to and what those people need from them. The foundation of every effective communication.
Focus: Mindset
Relate: The art of storytelling. Participants identify their own stories and case studies that connect to audience needs.
Speaking with evidence and emotion, not just information.
Focus: Skills
Adapt: Content structured for impact. Participants learn to build communication that achieves a goal rather than showcases expertise. Structure, flow and the discipline to leave things out.
Focus: Skills
Deliver: Stage presence, body language and connection with an audience. Two full run-throughs per participant. The session ends with every participant delivery-ready.
Focus: Skills
Evolve: Participants leave with a clear plan for how to continue developing as speakers and leaders. UPGRADE does not end at the final session. This phase ensures long-term growth continues.
Focus: Sustained excellence
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The Speaking Confidence Index
The change is measurable, not assumed.
Every UPGRADE Programme includes the Speaking Confidence Index (SCI), Amarkai's psychometric assessment tool.
Participants complete the SCI at three points:
Baseline
Before the programme begins. Establishes where each participant is starting from and what is driving their anxiety.
Mid-Programme
At the halfway point. Tracks early shifts in mindset and confidence and allows facilitation to be adjusted where needed.
Post-programme
On completion. Documents the transformation and provides the organisation with a clear, evidence-based picture of what has changed.
The SCI gives organisations something most training providers cannot offer: a credible, structured record of return on investment. Not anecdotal. Evidenced.
Investment
Built for organisations. Priced by cohort.
Built for organisations. Priced by cohort.
Every cohort receives the full seven-phase programme. Pricing is based on cohort size.
Tier 1
Up to 12 participants
From £18,500
Includes:
All seven UPGRADE phases
Coaching, workshops and a practice clinic
Speaking Confidence Index at baseline, mid and post
Session workbooks and between-session challenges
Lead facilitation by Anthea Armar
Onboarding for all participants
Best for: Teams or departments where speaking confidence is noticeably affecting contribution, client relationships or career progression. Small enough to go deep.
Tier 2
Up to 18 participants
From £24,000
Includes:
Everything in Tier 1
Second facilitator across all sessions to ensure individual attention across the larger cohorts
Best for: Organisations bringing together participants from multiple teams or departments, or running a
communication initiative at divisional level.
Tier 3
Up to 26 participants
From £32,000
Includes:
Everything in Tier 2
Full co-facilitation throughout
Expanded capacity for larger cohorts
Best for: Organisations where speaking confidence is a strategic priority. Leadership teams, graduate cohorts, high-potential programmes or any group where communication
capability directly affects business outcomes.
Best for: Teams or departments where speaking confidence is noticeably affecting contribution, client relationships or career progression. Small enough to go deep.
Best for: Organisations bringing together participants from multiple teams or departments, or running a
communication initiative at divisional level.
Best for: Organisations where speaking confidence is a strategic priority. Leadership teams, graduate cohorts, high-potential programmes or any group where communication
capability directly affects business outcomes.
Small Print
All fees are subject to VAT where applicable.Bespoke pricing available for organisations requiring multiple cohort cycles or a customised delivery model.
Why Amarkai
Anthea doesn't just talk about speaking fear.
She's lived it.
Amarkai Group was founded in 2016 on a single belief: that reshaping how people think changes everything that follows. When Anthea began addressing her own fear of speaking in 2021, the A.C.T. framework was born from that work. By 2022 she was on stages, and the professionals she was meeting told her the same story she had lived. Most support taught technique before it addressed mindset, but she believed it was the other way round. That is the gap Amarkai exists to close.
With over 20 years in learning and development and four years focused specifically on public speaking anxiety, Anthea has worked with professionals across financial services, rail, technology and the public sector.
75%
of UK professionals report anxiety about public speaking.
Source: YouGov, 2023
1 in 4
avoid career opportunities due to speaking anxiety.
Source: Chartered Management Institute
A.C.T
Psychology first. Mindset before technique, every time.
Amarkai Methodology
The SCI gives organisations something most training providers cannot offer: a credible, structured record of return on investment. Not anecdotal. Evidenced.
What others are saying
Traditional training is important to improve public speaking, but not before addressing the root cause.
"Anthea helped me unlock the confidence within me—not only to speak up in meetings and engage in public speaking when needed but to actively seek out opportunities to do so."
Steven Lynch-Barry, LCT International
"Anthea's session at the Youth Leadership Programme inspired our students with practical advice on speech crafting and confidence-building."
Kim Nguyen-Quan, Deputy Head, Leigh Academy Halley
Getting Started
A discovery call is all it takes to begin.
Four steps:
Step 1: Book a 15-minute call
We discuss your organisation, your team and what you want to change. No pressure, no pitch. A conversation to
establish whether UPGRADE is the right fit.
Step 2: Scoping and proposal
If there is a fit, Amarkai puts together a proposal covering cohort size, delivery format, timeline and investment. A follow-up call is scheduled to discuss and agree the detail.
Step 3: Onboarding
Once the programme agreement is signed, all participants are onboarded, complete their SCI baseline assessment
and receive relevant programme materials ahead of Session 1.
Step 4: Delivery and impact
The programme runs across the agreed timeline. The SCI tracks progress throughout. At the end, the organisation
has a team that communicates differently and the evidence to show it.
Next Steps
Your team has the knowledge.
UPGRADE gives them the voice to use it.
Your team has the knowledge.
UPGRADE gives them the voice to use it.
If speaking confidence is affecting how your people show up in client relationships, leadership conversations or high-stakes presentations, let's talk about what the UPGRADE Programme could change.
Or email [email protected] with your organisation's details and we will come back to you within 2 working days.
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