Ed Darling

Speaker, Trainer, and founder of Project Charisma. I went from anxiety, to acting & speaking on stage. Now I help business leaders to speak with charisma.

[Ed Darling @edwardrhd]

Slow your sentences + emphasise more words, and people will put more value on what you say.

When I was younger, I learned to be a fast talker. If you grow up in a big family or friend group where everyone interrupts each other, you learn it’s the only way to get a word in edge ways.

But in a professional setting, that habit of rushing signals: “I’m used to people not listening”

- You use more filler words
- Important information gets missed
- People pay less attention to what you’re saying…

Because if YOU don’t value your words enough to say them properly, why should anyone else?

FYI: If you want to speak with credibility, I train individuals and teams. It’s often a missing piece of the puzzle for people who are expected to speak, but never had professional training.

[Ed Darling @edwardrhd]

@NotionHQ I love you, but do I have to update my app EVERY other day?

[Ed Darling @edwardrhd]

When I couldn’t speak without overwhelming panic, it’s because I was doing these 3 things…

1. Trying to bottle-up my nervous energy which only increased the pressure, because what you resist, persists.

2. Letting my body language slip into squirrel mode (IYKYK 🐿️) making me look — and feel — even more uncomfortable.

3. Focusing on what *I needed* from the audience (applause, acceptance, approval) rather than what *they needed* from me.

Now I get paid to speak at events, train teams, and coach leaders — all while:

1. Connecting with people authentically.
2. Feeling comfortable in the spotlight.
3. Sharing as much value as possible.

Speaking with confidence isn’t a gift you’re born with, it’s a skill that anyone can learn.

But it helps to get the right training.

Over to you…

[Ed Darling @edwardrhd]

@KemiBadenoch Well handled Kemi. Great to see a politician saying it how it is.

[Ed Darling @edwardrhd]

"Luckily, public speaking is something I've mostly managed to avoid."

I hear some version of this almost every week.

It usually comes from people who've:

- Climbed the corporate ladder
- Built successful businesses
- Made a name for themselves in their field

They’ve achieved so much – yet they’ve carefully sidestepped public speaking.

But as their careers grow, so does the gap between the confidence they think they should have and how they really feel: awkward, inexperienced, and nervous.

They’ve got the expertise, the experience, and the results. It’s just the speaking to a group part that holds them back.

The good news? There’s a solution:

- Get the training you’ve never had.
- Develop the skills you’ve put off.
- Face the fears you’ve avoided.

Do that, and you’ll not only build the confidence you deserve — you’ll actually learn to enjoy the spotlight!

[Ed Darling @edwardrhd]

@Healup__ @AlpacaAurelius Beer has a fair amount of B vitamins.

[Ed Darling @edwardrhd]

My highlight of 2024?

Running our first "Charisma Live" speaking event.

The goal was simple:

Challenge our members to deliver a professional keynote:

🎤 Fully prepared.
🎤 To a live audience.
🎤 & a room full of cameras.

While giving them the best chance of success:

→ Guided practise & rehearsals.
→ Supportive environment.
→ Friends in the room.

The result?

Everyone massively stepped up to the plate!

Skills were honed.
Confidence increased.
Powerful keynotes created.

Whatever you want to achieve in 2025, get around people pursuing the same goals. Because the right environment will supercharge your results.

Can't wait to run our 'Charisma Live 2025'! 😁

[Ed Darling @edwardrhd]

"I've met several Zen masters in my life. All of them cats."

Pets can be great teachers. Take Slim here — he's had a rough week of cat-flu, yet as he basks in the sun, he's the epitome of calm.

Could you sit completely still right now, and spend a few minutes quietly listening to the world?

Or would a barrage of mental noise take over?

Part of my work is helping people to have "stage presence" — being composed and charismatic while addressing an audience.

But the truth is, there's no stage presence without *actual* presence.

If you can't focus your attention right now, how will when the pressure's on?

So pause.
Breathe deeply.
Relax your shoulders.

& for a few moments, be a human-being (not a human-doing.)

Calm is a skill, practise it.

[Ed Darling @edwardrhd]

5 things you'll be JUDGED for when speaking in public.

Please, make sure you're not doing this... 😶

[Ed Darling @edwardrhd]

@recusant_raja @AndyBurnhamGM @KateGreenSU I watched and shared your 10-minute interview, Raja. Let's hope some mainstream channels finally give you airtime.

[Ed Darling @edwardrhd]

Ever walked away from a presentation wishing you’d done better?

I've certainly been there. 😬 If you're considering public speaking training in 2025, this short article might be useful.

Let’s clear up some common myths, and explain what it *really* means to work with a public speaking coach.

https://t.co/NcCSBPSazj

[Ed Darling @edwardrhd]

@Bushra1Shaikh Even if all this were true, the rape-gang victims are at least being heard. That's more than they've had from anyone else.

[Ed Darling @edwardrhd]

@danmurrayserter @owenjonesjourno Morally bankrupt.

[Ed Darling @edwardrhd]

@ben_kew Didn't Rory ask Elon to guest on their podcast about 2 weeks ago? They must've been ghosted.

[Ed Darling @edwardrhd]

@DrewPavlou Well said. When things are ignored and denied, it causes vastly more problems, and hands power to the extremes.

[Ed Darling @edwardrhd]

@benonwine Coward.

[Ed Darling @edwardrhd]

Something truly sickening is happening the UK.

I read the Oxford child grooming report yesterday, and haven't been able to think about much else since then.

There's plenty of evil in the world to be outraged by - but when it's happening right here in our towns & communities - I feel compelled to speak up.

I'm not sure what I find more horrific.

The industrial scale of abuse that's been allowed to happen (1,400 children groomed in Rotheram alone, likely tens of thousands of nationally).

The individual trauma of each of these children - nearly all vulnerable, working class white girls, often living in care - who have undergone the most depraved and sickening abuse.

Or, the fact that these horrific crimes have systematically denied, ignored, and actively covered up by police, councillors, families, communities, child services, and high profile labour politicians.

The most vulnerable children, left to the most evil abusers, and let down by those meant to protect them.

This is the biggest crime in modern British history. Everyone complicit must be held accountable.

We need a full, national enquiry.

[Turning Point UK 🇬🇧 @TPointUK]

Exclusive: Anti-grooming gang campaigner Raja Miah (@recusant_raja) details how the Labour Party covered up the industrial rape of white working class British girls, in order to secure votes from Muslim communities.

"Labour are at the centre of the grooming gang cover up."

[Ed Darling @edwardrhd]

@jordanbpeterson Perfectly put as it applies to overcoming the fear of public speaking.

[Ed Darling @edwardrhd]

@VictoriaDarragh @robprogressive I imagine some of it is getting a 'big name' to sell more tickets?

Certain people will happily pay big prices, not to hear an amazing speech, but for proximity to the speaker.

[Ed Darling @edwardrhd]

I just published 7 Signs You Might *Not* Be Ready for Public Speaking Training. https://t.co/dkCuYGQEzg