About You

You’ve probably come to this page through a word of mouth recommendation, and it’s likely you’re here because some of this sounds familiar to you:
“Our conference/meeting is a bit dry. We need a speaker who can break it up with something entertaining and valuable.”
“We know that our product/service has a lot of value, we’re just not good enough at communicating that value consistently.”
“Our pitches and presentations are not getting the results we need.”
“We really need to be better at networking. We’re not making enough connections, and we’re not following up well on the ones we do meet.”
“Like it or not, presenting is now an essential part of my role. I need to become more confident and credible in my presenting.”
“Our technical knowledge is great, but our ‘people skills’ need some work”
“We need to get better at selling. Oh, and negotiating.”
“When people say ‘what do you do?’, we don’t have a good answer. I kick myself at all the opportunities we’re missing because of this.”

How we can help:

At the heart of Invisible Advantage is a simple idea – great communication is the key to business success.
It doesn’t matter how great your service is, how brilliant your solution or how hard your team have worked. If you can’t communicate the value of what you do, nobody will be interested.
People who can communicate clearly, confidently and persuasively will always be valuable.
If you can present well, sell well, build a trusted network and a credible word-of-mouth brand, you and your business will be successful.
‘Invisible’ was founded by Lee Warren and James Harwood to bring the skills of magic, theatre and psychology to help businesses succeed, and since 2010 we’ve built an enviable reputation helping people improve their business by improving their communication.
Each project and need is different, but we spend most of our time helping with presentations, pitches, sales, networking and client engagement. We work with a number of SMEs, especially in the fields of technology, professional and financial services, digital marketing and real estate. Our larger clients include Deloitte, GE Capital, HSBC, Shell and Barclays Capital.,
We love our clients, and we know that we only succeed when our clients do (that’s not just a cliche, it’s a commercial reality!).
As with all businesses, there are some clients we partner with better than others, and here’s what we’ve learnt…
Our Ideal Clients:
Already have a great solution, service or product, but need to find ways to communicate their value simply and memorably.
Understand that skills, technical knowledge and qualifications are important, but ‘people skills’ are also crucial.
Are focused on business outcomes, and are more driven by results than process.
Know that entertainment and education go hand-in-hand. They realise that when you entertain people, they’re more likely to learn and act on what they’ve learnt.
Value their time and understand that we value ours, and like to get straight to what matters. They value simplicity and can handle honesty.
Like to work collaboratively, understanding that client/supplier roles are ‘so 20th century’.

 About Us

Why ‘Invisible Advantage’?
It took us two years to find our company name! We realised that, when you work with us, you get a  significant advantage. However, that advantage is ‘Invisible’. We believe that it is only the results of working with us that should be obvious, not the work itself. We all know people who’ve been to talks and training courses who emerge sounding like robots, or with a bunch of notes that just get thrown into a drawer. We never give scripts, or rules. We change people’s behaviour by inspiring them to think differently – so, ‘Invisible Advantage’!
Our methodology is based on some simple, but extremely effective ideas:
Entertainment and education go hand-in-hand. Every seminar, talk, workshop and training session should entertain at the same time as instruct. It’s the most fool-proof way of influencing people to take notice, to learn and to change their behaviour.
The best teaching is easier to remember than to forget. We give people new experiences that will stay with them. Traditionally, delegates have been seen as passive receptacles for knowledge. We don’t believe this is effective – if you were only told how to ride a bike, you’d never learn, however once you’ve experienced riding a bike – you can never forget! On our courses, sessions and talks, attendees are active participants – engaging in learning ideas through enjoyable games, intriguing tasks and strategic exercises that make learning unforgettable and easy to apply.
The best learning occurs when someone is presented with challenges, but in a supportive environment. We understand that taking on new ideas is an activity and does take effort, and this is difficult enough without added stress. Our content is carefully designed to become increasingly demanding while keeping the atmosphere fun, stimulating and ‘light’.
Everything has to be related to the ‘real world’. Our way of working is designed to give people new skills and ways of thinking that are immediately useful. We keep theory to a minimum, and design our work around real-life role-play scenarios. Instead of talking about networking, we’ll re-create a networking event. Instead of discussing negotiation, we’ll get people negotiating. Instead of ‘presentation skills’ we’ll work with a real presentation. Working in this way means that people immediately see the relevance and are keen to try out their new skills.
All the senses have to be engaged to create a rich learning experience. Learning really ‘sticks’ when someone enjoys it and is fully involved. Everyone learns in their own way, some people respond well to text, some to visuals, some to listening and reflecting, and some to getting up on their feet and trying things out on their own. We ensure that everything, from the invitations, through to the sessions and the follow-up, stimulates attendees in all these ways.
Self-awareness is the key to change. If we want to develop, in any sphere, we have to know what we’re doing now – how we’re talking, how people react to us, how persuasive we are, how confident we appear, etc. Once we can see that clearly, we begin to see how to change. Woven throughout all of our work is the skill of developing self-awareness: physically, vocally and psychologically.

Lee Warren

Lee is co-founder of Invisible Advantage and delivers most of the public speaking engagements. He has spoken all over the globe at conferences, association events and internal meetings for many of the world’s largest organisations. He is the author of ‘How to Persuade Anyone To Do Anything (well, almost!)’ and ‘Grown-Ups Don’t Use PowerPoint’, two eBooks designed to help people who need to communicate more effectively in business. He’s currently working on a new book aimed at business presenters, due to be published in 2017.
Lee has a strong background in sales, and is one of the U.K.’s most popular magicians – Prince William described him as ‘absolutely amazing’. He’s also a qualified Alexander Technique teacher and theatre writer. He’s written for The Almeida Theatre, The Royal Opera House and The Aldeburgh Festival. Lee is fluent in Spanish and good at playing the piano badly.

Lee Warren

“I’m passionate about the power of public speaking to create change.

When I present, I try to bring the very best of the worlds of magic and business together to deliver something amazing that will also get results by speaking your language.

I work hard to make sure that my sessions work for you. Starting with the outcome, I work backwards to design talks, seminars, keynotes & training sessions that are interactive, amazing and inspiring.”

 James Harwood

James Harwood

James was a co-founder of Invisible Advantage, and remains a Senior Associate. He advises on larger projects and strategy and delivers some of our training sessions and workshops. As well as a busy corporate trainer, James has been a professional West End actor and a teacher of The Alexander Technique.

Matt Boardman

Matt Boardman

Matt is a presentation coach based in Madrid who also works on business development for Invisible Advantage. We’re convinced this makes us a global company!

Matt is a graduate of Cambridge University, and was a leadership consultant at Deloitte. For five years he has delivered training in public speaking, building relationships and influencing techniques to charity volunteers in the UK, Kenya and Uganda. In his spare time he performs stand-up comedy.

Our Associates

We’re very lucky. Although we’re a small company, we’re connected to many of the leading experts in the fields of communication, PR, media, networking and sales. All of our associates are skilled at combining their subject knowledge with strong delivery and energy, which means that they can deliver the results you need through authentic, credible advice, delivered in a way which works. Our associates can work 1-2-1, with small groups or sometimes outside a learning environment – such as through Skype, teleconferencing and on-site presentation support.