Available to book
Dave James
Transform workplace wellbeing and communication with Dave James, mindfulness expert and TEDx Editor's Pick. Dave equips leaders with practical stress-reduction techniques and emotional intelligence strategies for high-pressure environments. Former NHS healthcare professional who transforms workplace wellbeing through evidence-based mindfulness practices.
Dave James helps people communicate with confidence, clarity, and calm — on stage, at work, and in life. A TEDx Editor’s Pick speaker and former NHS healthcare professional, he brings together insights from mindfulness, psychology, and performance to help audiences reduce stress, build resilience, and speak with genuine presence.
With a background as an A&E nurse and podiatrist, Dave knows what pressure feels like and how to stay composed under it. His personal journey through trauma and burnout led him to mindfulness and coaching, giving him a deep understanding of how mindset and communication shape wellbeing. Today, he works with leaders and teams to build confidence, authenticity, and connection through both speaking and self-awareness.
Dave speaks on managing stress, avoiding burnout, and building trust and human connection as AI changes how people communicate. He draws on mindfulness, personal stories, and humour from hosting stand-up comedy nights to make his ideas practical. Alongside his talks, Dave runs workshops that help people communicate with impact and manage speaking anxiety, including one for leaders and business owners who want to speak confidently in meetings, at events, and on stages.
Audiences leave Dave's presentations with immediately applicable tools for stress reduction, clearer communication strategies that improve relationships, and practical methods to respond thoughtfully rather than react impulsively. His blend of science-backed techniques and relatable humour makes complex wellbeing concepts accessible and actionable.
Book Dave when you need a speaker who transforms mindfulness from abstract concept to practical reality, helping your team find calm and clarity in today's demanding world.
Topics, sessions and talks
Dave James explores what it really means to live and work with presence, purpose, and positivity. Drawing on personal experience and humour, he shares five practical pillars that help reduce stress, prevent burnout, and improve emotional balance. With an emphasis on small, actionable shifts, he helps audiences understand how to build resilience and rediscover joy in the everyday.
Combining insights from leadership, wellbeing, and communication, Dave James shows how to create happier, more productive teams. He shares practical tools to improve collaboration, confidence, and connection, while addressing common causes of workplace stress and disengagement. His approachable style and sharp humour make serious topics feel refreshing and achievable.
Through personal stories and grounded insight, Dave James unpacks how mindfulness can help men manage pressure, build emotional awareness, and strengthen resilience. Speaking candidly and with humour, he normalises conversations around mental health while offering simple, practical ways to stay centred and in control in high-stress environments.
Nerves keep many leaders and business owners quiet in meetings and uneasy on stage. Dave James, a TEDx Editor's Pick speaker and speaking coach, shows how speaking anxiety can be managed rather than avoided. He draws on mindfulness and his own experience of working under pressure as a former NHS nurse, with humour running through the session. It covers meetings, events, and stages. Participants leave with practical tools to settle nerves, structure their message, and speak with confidence.
As AI generates more of what people read, write, and say, trust depends on the human voice. Dave James explores how speaking builds trust and connection when so much communication is automated. Drawing on his coaching work and his experience hosting stand-up comedy nights, he shows how humour and presence help people connect in a room. Audiences leave with a clearer sense of what makes a speaker believable and practical ways to bring more humanity to how they communicate.
Dave James combines healthcare expertise, mindfulness practice, and comedic insight to help professionals build confidence and speak authentically, transforming how teams approach communication and wellbeing in high-pressure environments. Book Dave to equip your team with practical mindfulness techniques that reduce stress, improve relationships, and create a calmer, more productive workplace.
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frequently asked questions
Something we've not covered here?
To book Dave James, email dave.james@getapeptalk.com or call PepTalk on +44 20 3835 2929 (UK) or +1 737 888 5112 (US), and one of our speaker agents will contact you within hours to confirm Dave's availability and speaking fee. If you can, please include your budget upfront – it helps us fast-track your request. It’s also helpful to know the date, format (virtual or in-person), location, and about your audience.
No. PepTalk adds no booking fee, so you pay the speaker's fee and nothing beyond it. The service, from shortlist through to contracts and event-day logistics, is included. For repeat or multi-event bookings, PepTalk can agree preferential rates with your procurement team.
Share your event date, audience, format, objectives and budget, and PepTalk sends a hand-picked shortlist within 24 hours. Each suggestion comes with a profile, a fee and a recommendation on the strongest fit. Once you choose, PepTalk handles contracts, travel and logistics through to event day.
The typical fee range is the speaker's standard in-person fee in their home market, shown in their local currency. It moves with format, location, date and session length: virtual sessions and shorter slots usually cost less, while international travel and peak dates cost more. Send your brief to PepTalk and the team will confirm the exact fee in your currency.
Not all of them, and it makes no difference to your booking. PepTalk's network of 15,000+ speakers covers talent the team works with directly alongside speakers represented by agents and agencies worldwide. PepTalk approaches the speaker, negotiates the fee and handles contracting either way.
Three to six months ahead is comfortable for most events, and 12 months is better for large conferences, peak-season dates or one specific in-demand speaker. Shorter timelines are workable, and PepTalk regularly fills last-minute and replacement bookings within days. Availability is the constraint, so get in touch as soon as you have a date.
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