Speakers Institute

Do not recommend. I attended one of the free sessions and signed up and paid the same day. The in-person workshop I had prepaid for was later cancelled, and I was offered an online version (with none of the in-person perks) or wait until a later date for the in-person. The dates offered were not suitable, and they refused to refund my money.… Read more

Apparently, the company doesn't do refunds. I've asked for a copy of the terms and conditions - never arrived. Takes weeks and continuous emails to receive a response. Complete scam.

I invested $9,885 into the Speakers Institute Protégé program in November 2024, trusting what was sold to me as a transformational, high-touch experience—including live, in-person intensives, U.S.-friendly session times, and ongoing community support. These were not just marketing points—they were core to my decision, emphasized directly in a… Read more

conversation with Sam Cawthorn, before enrollment.

What I received was the opposite.

In-person events—core to the program’s value—were canceled with minimal notice and replaced with inadequate virtual substitutes. Most online sessions were offered in Australia and Singapore time zones—completely inaccessible for U.S.-based clients. Communication was disjointed, unclear, and often completely unresponsive. I was passed from person to person with lack of follow-through, missed deadlines, and zero accountability.

I have spent months trying to resolve this directly and professionally—offering clear solutions, flexibility, and multiple chances for them to make it right. Instead, I was met with vague promises, contradictions, avoidance, and silence. Even my final notice—outlining specific accommodations and deadlines—was completely ignored.

This company continues to promote its success overseas while failing to deliver anything close to that experience in the U.S. It’s not just disappointing—it’s deceptive. I have since connected with multiple others who’ve had similar experiences. What’s happening here isn’t a one-off oversight. It’s a pattern.

If you’ve been misled by this program too, I’d like to hear from you @ SpeakersInstituteComplaints@gmail.com.

Beware the lack of communication and follow through on their end. If you have attended or are interested in attending any of their highly marketed events be careful what you register for and what you expect to get. Hoping that sharing my experience will potentially keep others from ending up in my frustrating situation. I went to an event in… Read more

February of this year that was put on by Speakers Institute. It was a good event and I was interested in attending their weekend Bootcamp that would also be held here in San Diego this June. I registered for the event and paid the full tuition up front. Then the trouble began. I was told that someone would reach out in the next 3 days to give me an overview of what to expect and how to prepare for the weekend training. No one ever called. Then I logged into the web portal and notice it didn't have my information about being registered for the June event I had elected to attend. I submitted 3 online contact forms with no response so then I just started responding to all the sales emails I was receiving, hoping that something would get a response. Finally one of my attempts got a reply from a nice person named Crissy who stated she would personally follow up to make sure I got taken care of... never heard from her again. Then I got a super suspicious email from one of the Speakers Institute team members with a bunch of fake info about me.

At this point I really wished I had never signed up but due to their stringent Terms & Conditions I really didn't have an option to cancel my tuition for the event. I was determined to make the best of it and keep a positive outlook for when I would finally be there in person and could put the poor communication behind me. Finally it was the week of the event but I had not gotten anything with the specific location details, ie. Hotel Name and address. So again, I reached out through multiple channels. It was Tuesday and the event was meant to start Friday. I got a reply on Wednesday saying the the event was actually cancelled but I could attend a virtual event or they planned to have it rescheduled for November. (Yeah no problem, wait 4 months and open up a 3 day weekend during the holiday season with the hopes that the next event actually happens and I get the details from them without having to send a bunch more emails... Not a chance!) This was the final straw. I have no interest in the virtual event for a few reasons 1) The main selling point was the 6 minute professional video they record of me in front of the group giving my speech (after spending the weekend fine tuning it) 2) The second selling point was that the event would be local so I could meet people in my area with similar interests and build meaningful contacts with like minded people. 3) I am not an online learner and do not want to tune into my computer from 10 am to 8pm for three days. I requested a refund since the cancellation/change was on their end and not mine. They are saying that because it is past the 1 week refund timeframe they will not refund the tuition. I am now investing more time and effort to continue to find someone in their organization that will refund my money, filing complaints with the AG, any other business compliance organizations I can find, sharing here on social media and anything else I can find.

I can understand offering other solutions first but refusing to refund my money is not good business practices not to mention illegal in the state they sold the event in.

Speakers Institute as an organization has been tremendously life-changing and not only my life but many others. The content and level of experience and coaching that all the staff brings is second to none. If you are somebody that wants to grow in presenting with confidence, become a better communicator, keynote speaker, or just an overall better… Read more

communicator In your everyday workplace, you should definitely be involved with the Speakers Institute.

There is absolutely a reason why they are the best Speakers Training Institution in the southern hemisphere and I am proud to be a part of them.

I attended the 3 Day Bootcamp in Austin Texas in April of 2025 and was pushed way outside of my comfort zone and in the end the growth and transformation was stellar.

From the moment I walked into the room it felt like a world class experience. What blew me away was the way they host people and deeply care about every single person. In all my experience in high performance sport and corporate training I have never seen transformations occur so fast and with such impact as what Speakers Institute achieve over… Read more

the 3 day bootcamp. I was so impressed I stepped up and invested in the Protege advanced program. I highly recommend it for anyone who wants to accelerate their career, present with confidence or influence people to take action.

My experience with Speakers Institute was amazing , I love the inclusivity and warmth of the team and crew, I got so much value from the course. Getting clarity around the message I want to share with the world has given me confidence to step into my future in Public speaking.

I have been with Speakers Institute for almost 2 years now and my life was never the same. I love every minute working with Speakers Institute and what is more fulfilling is that, a lot of people's lives are being transformed. The company is super generous with opportunities and really have your back.

I did Bootcamp in 2019 and it was world class. It was so professionally run. The best part was the quality feedback from the coaches I received when I presented multiple times. I also got clarity on my message. The whole team was so caring.I went onto become a Facilitator and Senior Coach and have now coached hundreds of our students all around… Read more

the world. It's been the best thing I've ever done in mu life. The global community is so supportive. I have friends in every corner of the world because I made a decision to invest in myself and back myself.

Being at Speakers Institute for the past 13 years and seeing the lives impacted over the years has given me hope that this company does exactly what we say we do. With many staff and volunteers around the world and seeing thousands of lives transformed by upgrading our voice, it's exciting to see the possibilities with every new person that makes an investment into our Program.

Horrible - Deceptive practices and sleazy salesmen! – Deceptive practices and sleazy salesmen! It's a shame that they operate in such a sneaky and unethical manner because I actually got some great tips from their free session. But besides the constant sales pitching (which doesn't stop once you've signed up), they clearly have 0 care about customer service. They moved the dates suddenly on me, and… Read more

then stated that because I couldn't do the new dates I would not receive a refund as it was past the 7 day cooling off. When I sent the ACCC legislation showing that I have to agree to significant changes they have gone cold. I'd be lucky to receive a response every 3 weeks and they keep offering the same solution of "waiting until the next seminar and using my credit then". The way they handle themselves is sneaky/deceptive and has made me wish I'd never signed up or attended the seminar, such a terrible experience, I hope I can get my money back (I still haven't been to the 3 day session and they're refusing to refund).

2/5 stars says it all – Perth 4 Hour Free Training Seminar. This is what I got out of it apart from an email 2 hours later with a further $1000 off the course fee given I wasn't interested. You will either spend or waste 210 minutes filled with the following: 1. You will be asked to make the decision to buy the $6000 training course that has a duration of 3 days. … Read more

$2000 a day and some 6 months of occasional this and that support.

2. Training part of this Workshop is 10 minutes of speaking skills that are about using body language. All likely regurgitated from others courses but no credit to who taught him. All the body language skills can be found in a book.

The rest of the 200 minutes was selling the course. $2000 a day course. But if you buy right now, you get xxxxx discount and xxxx deposit required and a signed book forthcoming LOL. Be careful with the deposit issue. There is a reason why you couldn't record anything......

3. 200 minutes of Self aggrandisement of how great the speaker and the course is and how lives were changed (and yes they may have been but, you get the same odds with Lotto)

4. Generally a skilled salesman who may interrupt, get fired up and loud but remember, he did admirably overcome the disabilities, regrets and maybe lots of other self admonishments to now successfully selling this "how to speak in public" course.

May need to reflect on his tonality, own body language and what comes out of his mouth given some people were offended during the small session.

Went there as flex day off work and left wanting my time back. This is one of many courses for influencers, money hungry people or those with poor confidence, lost in life, not knowing who they are, angry at missed chances and those still seeking superficial symbols of success.

There's a sucker born every minute. Make sure you do your research.

This changes everything – I attended the free half day workshop and I've been in professional sales so I was pretty sceptical but I decided on the day that I was going to invest in myself and I'm very Happy I did. I've just completed the boot camp and WOW! This is full on experience. I now understand why investing in yourself is the best thing you'll ever do. Throw your fears and doubts aside and leave the negative people behind.

bad experience with free workshop – very bad experience, rather than teaching and enhancing audience skills, they just focus on telling other people stories. In their free workshop, they waste people time and just try to manipulate people and kind of pushing people to buy their 3 day course which is hell expesnsive. A wise person should understand if a person is wasting other time for selling his product what he will do after taking money. Show details

Don't be deceived – I attended the free event on 20 March 2023 in Sydney. [Name Removed] stated to the audience that to secure the special price all you have to do is to pay the deposit (your standard sales pitch right). But what actually made me to take the step was his next sales pitch of them taking the risk right out of it by giving you a 7 day cooling off… Read more

period. That was it. So the audience is led to believe you can get your money back. As I got to the actual paying of the deposit - No Ts&Cs were provided or offered on the day or at the time - literally as I was putting in my pin code I'm told that no, there is no refund on your deposit and the 7 day cooling off period only applies to the people who pays in full on the day. As I walked away and mentioned what just had happend to my friend that came along she herself was upset for me as she also believed that the message we got was not aligning with what they had said during my payment. Well that was strike one for me. Then the cascade of emails started flooding in and my invoice email from [Name Removed] 3 dys later. This was the first time I was provided with a terms and conditions enclosed in the invoice email - AFTER THE FACT and definately not aligning with what [Name Removed] had said on the day. I did not act within the 7 day cooling off period as I thought (as I was told) that it did not apply to me. But I felt that I was mislead whether intentionally or unintentionally. So I decided to reply to [Name Removed] (as she so enthusiastically states in her email should I have any questions). I stated my case only to be given the "We are sorry you felt this way and it's certainly not our intention to mislead or misguide anyone. We pride ourselves in the integrity of what we say and even have specific recordings of what was said on stage" - now if the "recordings" statement is not a passive intimidation I don't know what is.. and basically insinuating that I am lying. That was strike 2. Pls DO go listen to that recording I say. So I replied to her email yet again and that is where all communication stopped from their end. It has now been 2 weeks since and no acknowledgement of my 2 emails from [Name Removed] nor from the general hello@speakersinstitute.com.au email adress. I called the quoted phone number on one of the emails they sent (same as what is on their facebook page) and the number doesn't even ring. I called at 10:40am to the number on their website (sydney office) to be met with "hello you called outside of our bussiness hours" yet no bussiness hours are stated neither on the website nor in the message bank. Left a message with my phone number to call me back - nothing. As last resort I tried sending a message via the messanger option on their website - I am yet to get any reaction from there. Strike 3.

I guess you are just a number here, automatically defaulted to being the person in the wrong. I've read these google reviews and all the 1 star reviews get the standard "we are sorry you felt this way... it is not our intention..." Well I think it would be very beneficial for speakers institute to look at all those 1 star reviews and see what the common themes are. You might not have the intention as you say for these negative things to happen , but they are and even though you are a global institution there is always room for improvement - especially when it come to living up to the integrity you say you have. At the very least one would expect to be able to get in contact with you or have one's emails replied to or acknowledged.

I'm sure you have helped thousands of people reach their public speaking potential and by the looks of it those are the only clients that matter. I have not gone further than paying a deposit and even at this stage I cannot recommend Speakers Institute. I (the audience) was told by [Name Removed] I can get a refund and that seems to not be the case. I was deceived - that is disappointing. Update: 2 hours after I left this non-glowing review on Google reviews all of a sudden I finally get to speak to someone the man himself [Name Removed] called me and yet the same "sorry to hear that" and we pride ourselves in our integrity etc. Through the conversation he (said in so many words) he couldn't possibly remember with many session he does who shared why they were attending the day (an activity on the day) sitting down or standing up as he does too many of them, but somehow it is very clear in his memory that on stage he said that the deposit is only applicable to full paying customers on the day (this after he had to establish at the start of our conversation who actually presented the session on the day, him or someone else. ) Again I was subtly intimidated by the fact that they have recording of what was said on stage and then I asked for the recording to be sent to me. . He mentioned that he could send me just the snippit of that part for privacy reasons. Even though I knew the snipit I would be sent could be taken from any session that had been delivered. Well.. I guess the lack of integrity of this company is stemming from the founder himself as 2 weeks later I am yet to receive that recording snippit. I conclude that this company has zero communication, zero integrity,and is quite deceitful .

Unfair business practices – My experience with Speakers Institute: I did the 3-day Online bootcamp in November (26th-28th) 2021, and I really enjoyed it, despite being presented on Zoom. I would have preferred to attend face-to-face, but unfortunately, at the time, they had no face-to-face dates available). I paid 1,277$ for it, and I felt it was fairly priced. Like in… Read more

most events, there was an upsell; I was expecting it, as I knew they offered a protege program. [Name Removed] (CEO & Founder) is great at selling, and he sold us the protege program very convincingly and persuasively. I was looking for a program like the one he was supposedly offering, but coming out of lockdown, I wasn't interested in an online program. If I was going to do it, I wanted to do it face-to-face.

I was told by [Name Removed] and other Speaker Institute volunteers and employees that the intensives were going to be offered face-to-face in Sydney several times during the year and that protegees could do their intensives face-to-face by paying an additional fee of 97$ per intensive. I asked and was assured several times they had face-to-face intensives in Sydney before committing and making the payment (6,465$, which I made in full).

Protege included nine intensives, weekly coaching with a mentor (mentors are people who previously completed the program and volunteer their time to coach, they don't get paid), 12 online self-directed modules, access to a video library and masterclasses, and a strength session with [Name Removed] (Director). The main reason I signed up for the program was the opportunity to attend face-to-face events, as after the lockdowns, I was looking for more face-to-face interaction.

After the holidays, on Monday, January 24th 2022, I received the protege log-in details. A month later, on February 20th 2022, I emailed support@speakersinstitute.com.au as I tried to access the Facebook group to find a mentor a few weeks before, but my request was still pending. I also contacted support from the protegee portal to know if there were going to be some intensives face-to-face in Sydney, but I didn't receive an answer. I finally got access to the Facebook group (where you find a mentor) and contacted a mentor who put me on a waiting list. I had the onboarding meeting with [Name Removed] in March 2022. Shortly after that, I experienced some health problems that lasted until June 2022, so I contacted Speakers Institute in June 2022 to pause my program (offering to provide a medical report from my GP). I was granted a three months extension to complete the program. I also asked again about any face-to-face intensives.

In August 2022, I had my first mentoring session with [Name Removed] (whom I have to say is a fantastic coach from whom I learned a lot).

In August 2022, [Name Removed] told me that Live One Day Intensives in August were cancelled, and they did not have any live intensives scheduled.

I had my 1:1 Strengths Coaching session with [Name Removed] in August 2022, which was nice. In October 2022, I contacted [Name Removed] again, enquiring about if there were any 1-day intensives coming up in Sydney and was told that none was scheduled.

In January 2022, I contacted [Name Removed] again, enquiring if any 1-day intensives were coming up in Sydney, and she sent me a pdf calendar showing that some intensives were programmed for April and May in Sydney. In February 2023, I emailed again as I tried to book the face-to-face intensives on the protegee portal, but none was available. She told me they were rescheduled again.

I shared my frustration with my mentor Karina (who was lovely), and she suggested I send an email to [Name Removed]. So I did on February 18th 2023. A month went by, and I didn't hear anything back. I followed up on March 20th and finally received an answer on March 23rd, where she suggested I book an online intensive.

Disillusioned, I stopped hoping for face-to-face intensives and booked an online one on Presentation and Stagecraft that was supposedly going to happen on May 9th. I took a day off from work, and as I didn't receive the confirmation email with the Zoom link, I emailed [Name Removed] on May 8th asking whether the intensive was going to happen. I received no response, so I jumped on Facebook, where there was another protegee asking the same thing. On March 9th, 4 hours before the starting time, [Name Removed] said that she was going to look into it. Then, 2 hours before the starting time, Julia said that the event was cancelled and could be rebooked for July 7th. I have been patient and understanding, but at this point, I am annoyed. Not only was I constantly misled into believing that face-to-face intensives were coming, but when I went ahead and booked an online one, taking time off from work (which comes at a cost), the intensive got cancelled two hours before starting time. Julia could sense my frustration and called me later that day. We had a conversation where I told her I wasn't happy with the program, and she told me that [Name Removed] was going to call me before the end of the week to discuss. Three weeks went by, and as [Name Removed] didn't get back to me, I wrote this.

I feel scammed. There wasn't any face-to-face intensive available on the Speakers Institute Protegee booking system for more than a year. Also, none was mentioned on the Facebook group. Despite this, by email, they told me that they were scheduled and cancelled for low numbers (obviously, there wouldn't be high numbers if the face-to-face ones were never announced on the protegee portal or the Facebook group!). This makes me think they were never seriously planned in the first place.

Had I known about the poor integrity of this company or that the program was only delivered online, I would have never made such a big investment because online delivery was not what I was looking for.

On top of that, when I bought the program, we were told that the intensives' content was exclusive to protegees. Visiting speakersinstitute.com, I found out that the general public can attend the online intensives for 197 $ each. Total 1773$ for the 9 intensives when they were sold to us in a 6,465$ package. Also, for the general public, face-to-face intensives are offered at 297$ (a total 2673$ for nine intensives), and to protegees are offered at 97$ each (an extra 873$ on top of the 6,465$ already paid!).

Update:

After writing about my detailed experience in an email, I asked Speakers Institute for a refund. Unfortunately, as expected by their behaviour, they referred to their ‘terms and conditions’, even though businesses' policies and terms and conditions in Australia don't override or void consumers' rights. For more information, read the Australian Consumer Law guide Avoiding unfair business practices: A Guide for Businesses and legal practitioners. Misleading or deceptive conduct goes against various ACL Sections, including sections 18, 29, 34, and 61.

Clearing my schedule for an online event, which I was told was cancelled only two hours before its start date, was the straw that broke the camel's back for me. I am sure other protegees share my feelings and frustrations but perhaps haven't complained.

As I said to [Name Removed] and [Name Removed], I understand that business structures can change and that having events on Zoom reduces costs significantly. Nonetheless, when I bought the program, I was told there were going to be several face-to-face events in Sydney throughout the year (the reason why I bought the program), when in fact, there has been none in the past year. Coming out of lockdown, I wasn't interested in an online program. If I had known that the program was only delivered online, I would have never made such a big investment because online delivery was not what I was looking for. I find selling something and delivering something else very unethical. I have a business myself, and if I were to sell a package of sessions to a client saying that they could see me face-to-face or online, I would offer a refund if, due to a change of circumstances, I wouldn't be able to see them face-to-face.

Furthermore, [Name Removed], [Name Removed] and [Name Removed] have told me that the face-to-face intensives were cancelled due to low registration. I have been saying that the face-to-face intensives were not being advertised on Protege Central since August 2022 in several emails. Also, if they were really scheduled, why were they not advertised on the Facebook group? This makes me think they were never really planned in the first place and makes me feel deceived. Till now, no one from Speakers Institute has been able to answer this question, and I suspect that it is because answering it would inevitably involve an admission of deception.

Don't be another number – Currently on a payment plan for an event I have not even attended due to covid-19 however this company continues to withdraw money from my account even though no one predicted this pandemic to occur and is not willing to issue a refund or a stop payment. Its like paying for groceries for a few years but never receiving them. Didn't realize there… Read more

are these types of people left in the world but I guess I found a whole company full of them.

Don't expect any empathy or ethics to be applied, no matter what happens your just a number that will be taken advantage of at any cost which they will happily take money from and sell unvalued events for an over cost price.

Even if you try to cancel, get a refund, etc. This company will take more than a month to even communicate back to you in any way, minus continuously sending you promotion emails hope to take even more money from you. I have also hear other people have this type of experience with this company and they pay people to put up good reviews on google (they have to "pay" people for good reviews).

Very sneaky company, watch out!!!

Don't become another number!!!