Win the room.
Land the idea.
Leave a mark

For business teams

Choose from four practical workshops for teams who want sharper thinking, stronger delivery and deeper human connection

Half-day and full-day workshops delivered on-site.
Away-day and live comedy experiences also available

Especially relevant for: Sales Directors, Strategy Directors, Creative Directors, Heads of Client Services, HR Directors, L&D Leads, Chief People Officers and anyone responsible for how their team thinks, communicates and performs under pressure

Why this works

25 years in the toughest communication environments on earth

Alfie Noakes is the founder of We Are Funny Project and the reason the work is different from anything else in this space.

Before building 'The Project', Alfie spent 13 years in television, radio and broadcast journalism. He worked as a BBC reporter, TV producer and documentary director, working alongside talent including Bill Bailey, Tess Daly, Johnny Vaughan and Dr Brian Cox.

That career gave him a deep grounding in storytelling, structure, editorial judgement and how to shape ideas for an audience.

Alfie then spent 15 years in live comedy. He produced around 1,800 shows and MC'd more than 1,000 of them. He produced more than 10,000 comedian slots across that period, shared stages with James Acaster, Sindhu Vee, Stewart Lee, Josh Widdicombe, Marcus Brigstocke and many more.

He personally observed approximately 7,000 performers, including more than 500 on their very first night, watching many of them grow from nervous beginners into confident stage presences.

That front-row seat to how people develop confidence, recover from failure, manage nerves and learn to connect with a room under pressure is the foundation of everything Alfie teaches.

No other communication trainer in the UK combines BBC journalism credentials, television production experience and live comedy at this scale. This is why Alfie produces results that generic presentation training cannot replicate.

WHY THIS MATTERS NOW

The tools have changed.
Human skills still make the difference

Teams have more ways than ever to prepare, draft, and structure.
What still separates the teams that win from the ones that do not is what happens in the live moment.

The pitch where the room never quite warmed up.

The sales calls where rejection residue quietly accumulated across the day.

The meeting where a strong idea failed to land.

The team that never quite gelled despite everyone trying.

These are not tools problems.

They are human skills problems.

AI can help people prepare, develop ideas, and summarise.
What it cannot do is read the room, build genuine rapport with a stranger in just seconds, recover composure when a tricky question arrives, or make a client feel genuinely heard in real time.

It cannot notice when the energy in the room shifts. It cannot use humour to lower a defensive prospect's guard. It cannot hold its nerve when the conversation goes somewhere unexpected.

These are human moments. They require human skills.

Skills that are learnable, practicable and measurably improvable.

For sales teams specifically, this is where the return on investment becomes measurable.

When someone recovers their composure faster after a difficult call, returns to full energy sooner and maintains consistent performance across a high-volume day, conversion rates improve and pipeline stays healthy.

That is not a soft outcome. That is a commercial one.

That is what these workshops are for.

And that is why they matter more now than ever.

Here is what the transfer looks like in practice

stand-up skills info agency business attention resilience
Live performance demands clarity, timing, adaptability and human connection. So does every high-stakes moment at work

Four workshops. Four different needs

Each one tackles a specific problem.
Choose the right fit for your team, or talk to Alfie and he will help you decide

Confident Client Engagement

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For pitches, presentations and high-stakes client rooms

Helps teams show up with more authority, build trust faster and communicate with greater composure when it counts. 

Managing nerves, leading and reading people, recovering from curveballs, sounding natural under pressure. The things no deck and no AI tool can do.

Developing Stronger Ideas

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For improved thinking before
delivery begins

A practical framework for finding, developing and sharpening ideas so the work is stronger before it ever reaches a room.

Less staring at a brief hoping something occurs. More reliable ways to get there, drawn from the fastest creative feedback loops there are.

Bomb Proof

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For outbound sales teams and rejection-heavy roles

Helps people handle setbacks without carrying them into the next call, stay adaptable when conversations go off-script and keep energy and judgement steadier across the day.

Cold calling is hard. Repeated rejection is harder. This builds the habits that make both more manageable.

The Levity Works

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For culture, connection and more human communication

A workshop on how appropriate levity, warmth and playfulness can strengthen team bonds, reduce defensiveness and make everyday work feel a little more human.

All without tipping into forced fun or the kind of team building that makes people quietly dread the away day.


You can choose one workshop theme for the day, or discuss a more tailored build on a discovery call.

Take the learning somewhere they will never forget

Laugh & Learn brings the workshop into a working comedy venue in East London.

Real stage. Live mic. A setting that changes the energy of the day from the moment people walk in.


Choose a workshop, a private bespoke comedy show, or combine both into a day that develops your team and ends with something genuinely worth talking about.

Professional photographers can capture the whole occasion if you would like individual portraits, group and team shots taken.

Away day workshop

A full workshop delivered on a real stage in a working comedy venue. All the practical value of the core workshops, in a setting that makes the day feel genuinely different.

Private comedy show

A one-off company event featuring professional comedians and bespoke material written around your people, your industry and your culture. The tone is agreed with you in advance.

Combined experience

Workshop by day, unique stand-up show by night. Skills, shared laughter and one memory that will outlast any standard away day.

Not sure which workshop fits best? Start here

Choose Confident Client Engagement if your team needs to present with more authority, hold the room more confidently or communicate with greater credibility when the stakes are high.

Choose Developing Stronger Ideas if the challenge starts earlier and the team needs sharper thinking, stronger material and better ideas before delivery begins.

Choose Bomb Proof: Sales Resilience Under Pressure if people are dealing with rejection, difficult conversations, repeated setbacks or confidence dips that affect performance across the day.

Choose The Levity Works if the goal is better team culture, warmer communication and a more connected, less guarded way of working together.

And if your needs overlap, that is exactly what the discovery call is for.

How it works

Alongside the core workshop formats, it is also possible to discuss longer programmes, multi-session training, 1:1 coaching and more tailored versions for teams with specific goals or recurring high-stakes communication demands.

Step 1: Discovery

A focused conversation about your team, your goals and the communication challenges you most need to address.
From there, Alfie recommends the right workshop, format and level of tailoring.

Step 2: Delivery

The workshop is delivered in person, shaped around your team. Interactive and practical, built around real improvement rather than passive listening.

Step 3: Results

Your team leaves with practical tools they can use immediately. Stronger presence, clearer thinking and better human connection in the moments that matter.

Pricing and formats

Prices reflect a strong baseline version of the workshop.
Tailored content, travel outside London or additional coaching may affect the final fee.

All options include a pre-session conversation to shape the day around your team.

Relevant for Sales Directors, Strategy Directors, Creative Directors, HR Directors, L&D Leads and anyone responsible for team performance and communication

Half-day on-site
From £1,800

A focused, practical session delivered at your premises

Duration: 3 hours

Ideal group size: 8 to 10 people

Best for: a targeted intervention on one specific challenge, delivered with immediate practical takeaways

Style: interactive and practical, built around real improvement rather than passive listening

Result: people leave with tools they can use the next day and a noticeably shifted approach to the challenge

Full-day on-site
Typically £3,000 to £3,500

More depth, more live practice and stronger behaviour change

Duration: 6.5 to 7 hours including breaks

Ideal group size: 8 to 10 people

Best for: teams who want deeper work, more rehearsal time and stronger results that last beyond the session

Style: more room for discussion, extended exercises, individual feedback and applied learning

Result: a team with shared language, shared tools and measurably stronger communication habits

Away-day in a live comedy venue
From £4,250

The full workshop delivered on a real stage in a working comedy venue

Duration: full day


Ideal group size: 8 to 10 people


Best for: teams who want everything in the full-day version in a setting that entirely enhances the event energy


Style: same interactive format as the full-day, delivered on a real stage with a mic in a venue built for live performance and human connection


Result: everything the full-day delivers, in an environment that makes the whole experience feel genuinely different


The away-day workshop is designed for your core team of 8 to 10. If you'd like to make more of the occasion, the evening is an opportunity to bring in a wider company audience for a private bespoke comedy show. Thirty, fifty or more people.

A natural extension of the day that turns a team workshop into a company event. Show pricing is by quote. Ask on the discovery call.


Not sure which format is right for your team?

Start with a 25-minute discovery call.

No hard sell. Just a focused conversation about your goals, your team size and which option makes the most sense.

What clients say about working with Alfie

Across workshops, gigs, one-to-one coaching and online courses, Alfie's work has attracted nearly 1,000 reviews with an average rating of 4.9 out of 5. No other communication trainer in this space has built that volume of verified feedback from real participants.
Alfie delivered a session that was not only engaging and expertly structured, but also genuinely valuable... Feedback from delegates was unanimously positive, with many noting how practical and immediately applicable his guidance was. 
iain
Global Event Co-Founder of ITC, MD of Hair Medic
What makes Alfie unique is his ability to bring the craft of stand-up comedy into the business world without diluting either. His guidance is practical, fast to implement, and confidence building. I left the workshop not only a better speaker but a more engaging leader.
Andrew,
Head of Risk, Controls & TECHNOLOGY, RJ O'BRIEN
If you're in the corporate world and want to become a more impactful presenter, a stronger storyteller or someone who truly connects with an audience, Alfie is quite simply an excellent coach.
CLARE
UK’s leading drama-based training provider
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"In terms of the skills that Alfie gave me, I have used them week after week... Highly recommended."

Rob Mayhew, "Adland's favourite social media star", The Drum

The We Are Funny
Project story

'The Project' began in London’s live comedy scene, producing around 1,800 shows and staging more than 10,000 performers.


Along the way, the work evolved into workshops and coaching focused on the practical mechanics of confidence, creative thinking, reading the room, body language and tone, timing, presence and connection: the skills that determine how ideas land in real rooms.

Alfie later wrote, presented and produced three wonderfully reviewed online courses. 


Today, we bring those lessons into agency and business life, helping teams communicate with more clarity, authority and human connection when it matters most.


Same mission, new context: stronger ideas, stronger delivery, better rooms.

All photos by Steve Best and Gary Manhine

FURTHER READING AND WATCHING

Things worth reading and watching if you got this far

Two pieces from Alfie on why humour at work is a serious business advantage

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WATCH

Humour is a superpower. Here are your witnesses

Rory Sutherland, Malcolm Gladwell, Rick Rubin, Steve Coogan and others make the case. A curated collection of short clips from some of the sharpest voices in business, comedy and creative thinking.

Image courtesy of Nick Fewings via Unsplash https://unsplash.com/@jannerboy62

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READ

How stand-up skills boost workplace performance

What comedians know about communication, connection and creative thinking that most professionals have never been told. Written by Alfie. Eight minutes. Worth it.


Image courtesy of Steve Harvey via Unsplash https://unsplash.com/@trommelkopf

Ready to work out the right fit for your team

Start with a 25-minute discovery call. No hard sell.

Just a focused conversation to work out whether this is the right kind of help and, if so, exactly what that looks like for your team.

Frequently asked questions

Do you offer ongoing coaching or longer programmes?

For teams who want more than a one-off session options include 1:1 coaching, repeat sessions and broader programmes shaped around ongoing communication and performance goals.

Best discussed on a discovery call.

How much does this cost?

Guide pricing starts from £1,800 for a half-day workshop and typically £3,000 to £3,500 for a full day.

Away-day experiences in the comedy venue start from £4,250.

More tailored builds, travel outside London and additional coaching may affect the final fee.

A discovery call is the best place to discuss what the right format would cost for your specific team.

Do you only work with agencies?

No.

Agencies are a natural fit because the work often involves ideas, presentations, clients, pressure and communication that has to land well.

But the workshops also work well for broader business teams, commercial teams, strategy teams, marketing teams, client-facing functions and people-focused teams.

If your team needs sharper communication, stronger thinking, more confidence under pressure or better human connection, the work is likely relevant.

Can the workshops be tailored to our team?

Yes.

Some teams need a strong, focused version of a workshop exactly as it stands. Others need more tailoring around their role, clients, culture or current challenges.

That might mean adjusting examples, emphasis, exercises or format. It can also mean blending elements across different workshops where that makes sense.

The discovery call is where we work out what level of tailoring is useful and what would just be unnecessary faff.

Do you offer half-day and full-day versions?

Yes.

Most workshops are delivered as either a half-day or full-day session.

Half-day sessions are focused, practical and built around one clear challenge.

Full-day sessions allow more depth, more discussion, more rehearsal and more opportunity to apply the learning properly.

There are also options for extended programmes, follow-ups, 1:1 coaching and more bespoke builds where useful.

Is this about turning people into comedians?

No.

The work draws on stand-up, storytelling, live audience psychology, journalism and broadcasting, but the goal is not to make people perform like comedians.

The goal is to help teams communicate more clearly, think more sharply, handle pressure better and connect more effectively.

In other words, the lessons transfer. The job stays professional.

What kinds of teams do these workshops work best for?

They work especially well for teams whose ideas, relationships or performance depend on how well people communicate.

That includes client-facing teams, strategy teams, creative teams, commercial teams, leadership groups, People and L&D functions, and teams who want to strengthen culture as well as capability.

Some workshops are better suited to specific needs than others, which is why the page is structured to help you choose the right fit.

What happens after the discovery call?

You’ll get a clear recommendation on the workshop, format and level of tailoring that makes the most sense for your team.

Sometimes that means one focused session. Sometimes it means a deeper full-day version. Sometimes it means a broader programme or a more distinctive away-day experience.

The aim is to make the next step clear, useful and proportionate, not to push you into more than you need.

How do booking and payment work?

Our standard terms are 50 percent on booking and the balance within 14 days of delivery.

For larger organisations with established payment processes, we are happy to discuss terms that work for both sides. Just raise it on the discovery call.

How far do you travel?

I can travel anywhere.

For sessions outside London, travel costs, time and any required accommodation are factored into the quote and clearly outlined in advance.

Everything is agreed upfront, so there are no surprises.

Which workshop is right for my team?

That depends on the challenges you wish to address.

If the focus is confidence, presence and communication in the room, Confident Client Engagement is usually the best fit.

If the issue starts earlier and the team needs stronger thinking and sharper material, Developing Stronger Ideas is more appropriate.

If people are dealing with pressure, rejection or repeated difficult conversations, Bomb Proof: Sales Resilience Under Pressure is the place to start.

If the goal is warmer communication, better team culture and stronger human connection, The Levity Works is likely the best match.

If you are still not sure, the discovery call is exactly the right place to work it out.

Infrequently asked questions

How many gecko lizards could you comfortably fit into a 2014 Volvo estate?

The 2014 Volvo V70 estate has a boot capacity of 1,600 litres with the rear seats up, expanding to 4,100 litres with the seats folded. For gecko comfort and welfare we will use the full 4,100 litres and assume the seats are down, the geckos are co-operative and nobody is being unreasonable.

The average common gecko is approximately 15 centimetres long and occupies a resting volume of roughly 0.2 litres when curled in a natural position. Simple division gives us 20,500 geckos at maximum theoretical capacity.

However.

Geckos are not liquid. They require approximately 20 percent additional space for personal dignity, climbing instinct and the inevitable disagreements that arise when 20,000 animals share a Volvo. A welfare-adjusted estimate brings us to approximately 16,400 geckos.

This assumes the geckos are not using the ceiling, which they would be, because geckos can cling to any surface including glass. Adding the interior roof, windows and the back of the front seats introduces a further 800 litres of viable gecko space.

Final answer: approximately 17,000 geckos, comfortably.

What is the word for the sound a sword makes when it is pulled from its scabbard?

Schring.

This is the onomatopoeic term used in sound design and some literary traditions, though the more widely recognised technical term is simply the rasp or the draw.

If you ran at the speed of the world's fastest ever recorded sneeze, how long would it take to complete a marathon?

The world's fastest recorded sneeze travelled at 102 miles per hour, achieved in 2016 and verified by researchers who presumably had a very specific grant application.

A marathon is 26.2 miles.

At 102 miles per hour, you would complete the distance in approximately 15.4 minutes.

The current world marathon record, held by Kelvin Kiptum, stands at 2 hours, 35 seconds. You would beat it by one hour and 44 minutes, which would be the most significant athletic achievement in human history.

If competitive queuing were an Olympic sport, which country wins gold?

Great Britain. Comfortably, consistently and with quiet pride.

The British queue is not merely a practical arrangement. It is a philosophical position. It communicates a set of values; fairness, patience, the suppression of individual desire for collective order.

These are traits that other nations intellectually admire and practically abandon the moment a bus arrives.

The technical scoring would need to account for several disciplines. Formation queuing, in which a line assembles spontaneously without instruction, would be dominated by the British, who can produce a geometrically sound queue from an unstructured crowd in approximately eleven seconds.

Queue maintenance under pressure, the ability to hold position and composure when someone attempts to join from the side, would also go to Britain, where the tut and the pointed look have been refined over centuries into a devastatingly effective enforcement mechanism.

The tiebreaker discipline, competitive passive aggression toward queue-jumpers, would not be close.
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