Hard Chat Masterclass

A leader’s guide to handling difficult emotional situations in business

Take Back Control and Build Confidence


Have the presence for presentations, media, meetings and difficult situations.

Feel and be more confident, open and authentic, knowing the hidden secrets to your body and voice.

Are you an executive, senior leader or emerging leader who finds yourself thinking:

Excellent communication is within your grasp. It's time to elevate your leadership presence, confidence and influence with the Gravitas Masterclass

We’re in a Crisis of Leadership

In the last 3 years, C-Suite Leaders have been under more pressure than ever. With the constant changes in how people work, including working from home, keeping people engaged at work means building trust and connection with them. In fact, according to Forbes Magazine, at any one time, 70% of people are disengaged at work. 

Combined with the overwhelm of information and misinformation, business leaders have the constant challenge of redirecting the narrative. For community leaders and politicians, trust has eroded since 2020. In fact, according to the Edelman Trust Barometer, in some countries, CEO credibility and trust is at an all-time low, including Japan (18 per cent) and France (22 per cent), making the challenge for CEO leaders even more acute as they try to address today’s problems.

As a result, teams, organisations and communities are looking for leaders to lead the way. With around 75% of people having “glossophobia”, a fear of public speaking, one of the biggest challenges for those leaders is to have the confidence to do this publicly and communicate with excellence.

Body: Whilst most think the voice drives what we say, it’s actually our body that has the greatest influence, first and foremost. Our body is driven by our emotions which are driven by our thinking. Once the body is clear on its job, the rest becomes easier!

Voice: Our voice’s range, tone, pitch and volume can tell an audience so many things that can either enforce or deplete a message. Identifying the right voice for your communication can completely change the audience’s perspective of you and your message.

Structure: Whilst it might look like the best speakers wing it, they actually don’t. They have a process and plan that serves them no matter whether they have seconds, minutes, hours, days or years to prepare for their presentation. The more structured they have, the more confidence they exude.

The great news is that once these three are in place, every leader has the ability to have a greater presence, they are actually heard, and they garner greater attention.  The more these are in place, the more confidence a leader has.

Handling difficult emotional conversations is an art that needs clear knowledge of analysing conversation, clear response frameworks and a complete command of your physicality and voice.

Dr Louise Mahler’s award-winning PhD has made her a thought leader in high-stake engagement under fire and in this program she will share her depth of knowledge.

You'll walk away from the Hard Chat Masterclass with:

  • Elevated skills, techniques and strategies to leverage your body, voice, breath and structure to create powerful influence as a leader. 

  • Boosted confidence to answer ‘off-the-cuff’ questions, get your message across under pressure and think on your feet.

  • Increased ability to handle high-pressure media interviews, press conferences, town halls, shareholder meetings and even difficult conversations.

  • Example crisis management presentations to help you deliver under difficult circumstances and relentless pressure

Your masterclass learnings​

  • Tailored diagnostic approach. Embark on a personalised assessment journey exploring your unique physical, mental vocal patterns to craft a bespoke strategy for lasting leadership presence and influence.
  • Pressure-ready preparation. Master the art of preparing effectively under pressure, ensuring your messages are powerfully heard and felt.
  • Psychological insight. Gain a keen understanding of performance psychology to connect with your audiences and navigate high-tension situations with ease.
  • Command with body and voice. Learn the subtle arts of physical and vocal expression to captivate and engage so you can sidestep common pitfalls that undermine leadership impact.
  • Creativity and originality in delivery. Present with flair, originality and agility, leaving a memorable imprint with every word.
  • Versatile leadership scenario. Unpack a suite of strategies for a range of leadership moments, from high-stakes presentations to emotional face-to-face encounters.
  • Continuous feedback loop. Learn how to obtain valuable practice feedback to refine your practice, regardless of upcoming presentations.

This masterclass provides an outstanding leadership opportunity for those leaders who need insight and awareness of their own gestures, mannerisms, and ultimately, communication.

Numbers are strictly limited. You’re guaranteed individual attention from Louise throughout the Masterclass. Her goal is for you to walk away empowered in your leadership communication and in your life with gravitas. And to have fun doing it!

Your Masterclass includes:

This Masterclass is ideal for:

  • Salespeople dealing with objections
  • Executives presenting at challenging town hall meetings
  • CEOs undertaking high-pressure media interviews and presentations
  • Health practitioners and executives

What Participants Say

ABOUT ADJUNCT PROFESSOR DR LOUISE MAHLER

A rare breed as one of Australia’s ‘Keynote Speakers of Excellence’

Louise is recognised as a Top 30 Global Guru in both Body Language and Communication and is awarded Internationally for her contribution to Women in Business. In demand for Adobe in the United States, India and the South Pacific, she has travelled with Gartner to the USA and Europe and is a repeat guest for the elite Million Dollar Round Table in Los Angeles and keynote for the Million Dollar Top Tables in Texas.

Rarely does one find academic insight, observational excellence and a dynamic delivery to shed light on a topic that is critical to us all – ourselves! A foremost expert in body language, voice and human behaviour, Louise has a PhD in Business, and degrees and masters in Organisational Psychology as well as Music that led to the University top award for Innovation in Research. She also holds an Adjunct Professorship at Federation University.

Her skills as a Master Practitioner in Neuro-Linguistic Programming pull together her academic study and a decade of professional performance on the European opera stage to put her in a league of her own. These blended skills bring powerful observation that elicits discernible, positive change to handle presentations, conquer media and glide through high-stake engagements with poise and ease. Her techniques will help you build confidence, instil trust and create influence by ‘being heard’ in every environment you face.

Louise is regular contributor to print, radio and television media, appearing as a regular on Channel 7 and lauded for her expertise and humour. She is ‘on-call’ for many of Australia’s leading CEO’s to deliver in moments that matter.

Get In Touch

Presence & Influence

Be heard in hostile environments

Phone: 1300 097 616

Email:  [email protected]

Interested in booking Louise for an event or enquiring about booking one of Louise’s programs?

Fill out the form, Louise can’t wait to hear from you!