Who we are
Forte James was established by our founding coach Jemma Forte.
Jemma has been a professional presenter for nearly thirty years. Her presenting career began at Nickelodeon and the Disney Channel where she was an anchor for five years. She has since gone on to present on BBC1, ITV, Channel 4, Talk TV and Sky TV. Currently Jemma represents luxury, global brand Molton Brown, on shopping channel QVC, and is a regular panellist on Channel 5's Popular current affairs show, Jeremy Vine. She co hosts the satirical news podcast, The Trawl, writes for The Times and pops up on Sky News, BBC Papers, LBC, GMB and Talk TV.
At one point Jemma was a coach for Inner Drive where she worked with schools across London, teaching workshops on how to perform under pressure during particularly stressful times in young people’s lives.​
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It was through Inner Drive that her interest in coaching began. Then, one evening, in a moment of lovely serendipity, Jemma was at a friend’s house for dinner and met a highly successful, intelligent, driven individual who worked for one of the big banks. It fascinated Jemma to discover how much the thought of having to be on camera – for company webinars or external presentations - panicked him. She began to wonder if there were others in the same boat.
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It was through Inner Drive that her interest in coaching began. Then, one evening, in a moment of lovely serendipity, Jemma was at a friend’s house for dinner and met a highly successful, intelligent, driven individual who worked for one of the big banks. It fascinated Jemma to discover how much the thought of having to be on camera – for company webinars or external presentations - panicked him. She began to wonder if there were others in the same boat.
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Of course, it turns out there are and this fact, coupled with Jemma’s passion for getting the best out of people, inspired Forte James.
Jemma leads the majority of sessions herself and likes to keep the team relatively small so that she only ever pairs clients with coaches who have deep and proven and current experience in presenting across mediums.
Testimonials
'It was an absolute pleasure for us to see you in Malta. Thank you so much for coaching the team and having so much fun in the process.We all found the coaching extremely useful. It gave everyone the understanding that their character and the way they communicate is one of the most important tools they have in their arsenal! I now have great hopes for them all in the future!'
CEO Helicopter Services Malta Ltd
'When my team told me I had to do media training I was dreading it. I thought it would be boring like going on a speed awareness course. But it was brilliant. Jemma was lovely and I really enjoyed it and found it so interesting.
International DJ and Reality TV Star
Jemma has a wealth of experience with presenting and public speaking, from the outset I knew I would be in safe hands. With both of us talking through my script and Jemma listening out for problem areas, I was able to improve the presentation and by doing so, increase my levels of confidence for the event.
With great tips on so many areas, her words of wisdom really put me in the right frame of mind for addressing a packed room of 150 people. I wouldn't hesitate to call on Forte James' services again and 100% recommend them to any companies looking to perfect their presentation skills.
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Alex Boucher
Sales and Business Development Manager in the Gaming Industry
'Last week was one spent well! We all got so much from the sessions and I think it brought us closer as a group and to feel more confident in the art of presentations.'
Heather Pearey
Chief of Staff HSML
Working with Forte James was such a worthwhile investment. Not only did I learn a great deal more about presenting and skills which I can use in every area of my career, but it also gave me the confidence to audition for a role as a guest presenter for QVC - which worked out well as I will be starting within the next few months!
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Charlotte Dormon
Nutritionist and well- being expert.
I was recently up for a significant promotion and as part of the interview process was asked to prepare and deliver a 10 minute presentation. Having never had to do anything like this before I felt really anxious about it so I enlisted Jemma Forte's help. Jemma helped me structure my presentation properly and also equipped me with the skills and confidence to deliver it. To my amazement I ended up actually enjoying the experience and have taken away many valuable lessons which I know I will use in the future. I could not have done it without her. Oh, and I got the job!
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Aideen Carmichael
Virgin Atlantic
Clients include
Quilever - Unilever - Tate Impellam
Referees on Request