Co-Author of ‘Will It Make The Boat Go Faster?’, Associate Director at ‘Will It Make The Boat Go Faster?’ & Renowned TEDx Speaker With ‘Make ‘Em Laugh’
Harriet Beveridge is a performance coach, stand-up comedian, keynote speaker and Associate Director at ‘Will It Make The Boat Go Faster?’. She leads transformational programmes for individuals and teams, using humour, scientific insight and storytelling to help people perform with clarity, focus and resilience. Harriet’s blend of coaching experience, stage presence and practical tools makes her uniquely able to engage audiences, challenge norms and help people unlock what truly matters.
Harriet began her professional career as a consultant at a major firm, working on strategy and operations. She later moved into roles as Performance Coach and Principal at RogenSi, supporting leaders to raise their impact. She served as Executive Director at Talking Talent, focused on inclusive workplace culture. She co-authored ‘Will It Make The Boat Go Faster?’ (with Ben Hunt-Davis), translating Olympic rowing strategies into business performance. Harriet has performed stand-up comedy, appeared at Edinburgh Fringe, WOMAD and Bath Comedy Festival, and was a Funny Women Award semi-finalist. She is a trained Mental Health First Aider with qualifications in CBT, ACT, mindfulness, and she is working towards a MSc in Psychology & Neuroscience of Mental Health. She has also raised over £100,000 for charitable causes.
Harriet is co-author of ‘Will It Make The Boat Go Faster?’, which connects high-performance principles from sport to life and work. Her TEDx talk “Make ’Em Laugh” draws from her experience in comedy and performance to explore resilience, identity and change. She has been featured in podcasts, leadership forums, media interviews and mental health panels, bringing both humour and depth to conversations about wellbeing, performance and purpose.
Why Hire Harriet Beveridge?
Booking Harriet Beveridge gives audiences a rare fusion of comedy, science and psychological insight. She makes big ideas accessible, memorable and actionable. Her keynotes combine laughter, vulnerability and evidence-based tools so that participants leave with clarity, courage and renewed energy to perform at their best — in work and life.
To book Harriet Beveridge to speak at your event, call SpeakOut on +44 (0) 20 8914 8966. Alternatively, complete our contact form to begin your enquiry.
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“This is the second time we have used Harriet Beveridge as a keynote speaker, and yet again she was brilliant. She is engaging, funny and can connect with any audience.”- Flo McAleese, NEXT, Conference for the Warehouse & Distribution team
“Harriet was great to work with and a breath of fresh air as a speaker. She left our teams feeling inspired and full of ideas on how to improve culture and performance” – Johnathan Wall, Director, BBC Sounds
“Her presentation could not have been received more positively, leaving 1000 audience members inspired, energised and with key tools to support them for the rest of their lives!” – Ed Rusling, CEO, Woundcare Today
“Harriet has an incredible way of blending together humour, inspiration and knowledge-sharing in her speech. When you can remember the key points that a speaker has made well after the event, this shows how much her words can make a positive impact. I can’t recommend Harriet highly enough.” – UK Research organisation
Harriet’s presentation was excellent and very much enjoyed by everybody. The real value of the presentation is that people keep using phrases (like ‘will it make the boot go faster?’ ) – It is having real take away value. – Werner Knoblich, Chier Revenue Officer. Global Sales Kick-Off for 850 staff
“Harriet was fantastic from start to finish, from engaging and scoping ahead of the event, making sure we were in sync, to the delivery on the day. Wouldn’t hesitate to have her back!” – Mike Woolfrey, CEO, Vixio, all company event.
“Thanks so much for an incredible session. There was a real buzz, and I heard so many positive comments about how you came across, very funny, so personable and super engaging. Safe to say it went down well with the crowd.” – Global Software Company. UK conference (NDA signed).
“10 out of 10! Delighted to recommend.” – Nick Bray, Chief Financial Officer, Travelport, global conference for the Finance Team.
“A very inspiring and entertaining keynote that inspired action. We enjoyed the evening with Harriet very much.” – Janina Geiger, Marketing, Mercedes-Benz Switzerland, client event.
“Thank you for your session yesterday. The energy in the room was fantastic, and the content really complemented the themes of the day. And most importantly, we’ve also had so much positive feedback from the group. Hurrah!” – Janine, Head of Marketing, BBC Online
“Full of praise for the energy and inspiration that you injected” – Mars
“Her sense of humour shone through, she is a wonderful personality and applied her content to fit our audience so it was highly relatable” – Castleton
- Will It Make The Boat Go Faster? Olympic-winning strategies for everyday success
This talk brings to life the most powerful strategies from Harriet’s bestselling book (100,000 copies sold). The tone of Harriet’s talk is peer-to-peer rather than guru-on-a-mountaintop: she started from the point of view of a huge sceptic (she is NOT sporty!) who’s been won over by hard evidence. Learn how the GB men’s rowing eight went from disaster in 1998 to Olympic Gold just two years later. You’ll walk away being able to use the self-same strategies to build a high performing organisation which is aligned around a bold ambition. You’ll be equipped with simple methods for building belief, bouncing back from setback and continuous improvement.
- Laughable: achieving absurdly great results in ridiculously challenging times
Harriet shares lessons from the world of comedy and humour for achieving serious results in business and life. Audiences will leave the session equipped with practical strategies to navigate uncertainty. This is not a keynote about how to ‘be funny’, this is a masterclass in the transferable strategies: how to think radically differently to spot opportunities where others see only obstacles, how to feel resourceful in the most uncomfortable of situations, how to connect with others to bring them with you.
Harriet shares laugh-out-loud stories from her experience vanquishing hecklers as an Edinburgh Fringe comic. She underpins her practical tips with scientific rigour – her Neuroscience and Psychology MSC dissertation explored humour as a stress-coping mechanism. You’ll walk away buzzing with energy and with a toolkit of fresh approaches to achieve exceptional results in the face of change and challenge.
- Stand Up and Thrive: how to build the resilience for sustainable performance under pressure
This laugh-out-loud, thought-provoking talk is a refreshingly left-field look at wellbeing and resilience. Harriet uses her standup comedy skills (Funny Women Award semi-finalist, Edinburgh Fringe regular) to deliver a uniquely engaging guide to achieving exceptional results whilst also thriving.
Harriet draws on her experience as a mental health practitioner (e.g. Mental Health First Aider, ex Samaritan Befriender), her expertise as a corporate coach helping professionals achieve excellent results, and her neuroscience studies (MSc with distinction). She explode the myth that we have to choose between either peak performance or sustainable mental health and shares the practical strategies for attaining both.
Delegates will walk away feeling connected and supported, with a renewed spring in their step, tools in their mental health toolkit and a fresh ambition to smash their targets out of the park.
The cost of hiring Harriet Beveridge depends on your event format, location, duration and any travel requirements. For an accurate and tailored quote, please contact a SpeakOut booking agent for expert guidance.