ABOUT US

Good words well spoken have the power to change the world.

The Heart of Stand Up Be Great

The commitment is to support leaders and speakers who stand at the forefront of transforming workplaces, education, communities and culture. The vision is to provide these speakers with the training they need to confidently and successfully help their audiences imagine a better world and their role in creating it.

TRUSTED BY GLOBAL BRAND & ORGANIZATIONS

Meet The Founder

Nancy is a public speaking coach and a champion for speakers out to make a difference. Her degrees in Speech Communication and Education, combined with her experience teaching hundreds of students make Nancy an expert at easily imparting tools and strategies to her clients that will serve them for the rest of their career.

She’s coached entrepreneurs, non-profit founders and leaders, professors, authors, therapists, and consultants in fields such as social work, prison reform, human trafficking, and DEI.

“One of the best parts about being a speaker coach is working with clients who are doing incredible, transformative work in the world.  There’s also nothing like watching a speaker become more confident as they design and deliver presentations that are true to their voice and at the same time move their audience into action.”

– Nancy Hardcastle

Core Values

Respect

To ensure that everyone is seen and heard.

Equity

To create spaces where everyone has ample opportunity to thrive.

Kindness

To bring a gentle, loving quality to every interaction.

Gratitude

To shine a light on all the good that we have and experience.

  • “Nancy's coaching enlivened my confidence in moving forward with speaking. She is both gentle and strong: a beautiful and rare pair. Her feedback is honest and she is wonderful at helping finetune for focus and clarity. I love working with her and I highly recommend her!”

    Alïta Alison Laurén, Speaker & Author

  • “Since working with Nancy, I've experienced significant improvements in my presentation skills and overall confidence as a speaker. One of the most notable changes is the development of a structured approach for crafting and delivering presentations extemporaneously.”

    Faith Eatman
    Director, Crowned Her Majesty NFP

  • “I’ve been doing this for 29 years, and I’ve done over 300 presentations. I know that if I spend my time with you, it’s not wasted time, and I know we’re going to get straight to the point. And that’s exactly what happened. I am so impressed with my presentation.”

    Celia Williamson. PhD, Distinguished Professor of Social Work
    Executive Director of the Human Trafficking and Social Justice Institute

  • “Working with Nancy was fantastic. She made sure I knew the fundamentals of creating a great speech. With Nancy’s coaching, I found my voice, my craft and my overall points. She even made a daunting task seem almost effortless. I highly recommend Nancy for preparing a speech and will be back for my Ted Talk! ”

    Fritzi Horstman,
    Founder & Executive Director, Compassion Prison Project

  • "Nancy created a space that built upon my current skill set and pushed me to try new things…. As a result, my spring conference season was a smashing success! We’ve seen a significant increase in social media follows, service referrals, consultation requests, and future speaking engagements."

    Megan Lundstrom
    Director of the Resilience Fund, Polaris

  • "Nancy was a lifesaver! I was having trouble creating a concise message from my story while still highlighting the areas that I wanted to focus on. Nancy helped me streamline everything and get out of the rut of saying the same thing over and over. I would absolutely recommend Nancy"

    Rebecca Bender,
    Author and Speaker

  • "I loved working with Nancy. It was amazing! My biggest fear was that I would say the wrong things, but now I feel way more comfortable standing on stage and looking people directly in their faces when I speak. I learned a lot and gained a great associate…I would love to work with Nancy more In the future."

    Deneisha “Niyah” Sheffield,
    Research Assistant

  • "Nancy gave me the tools, techniques, and confidence that allowed me to speak with power and audacity. After her training, I got very positive feedback about my speeches and saw an increase in my bookings and invitations to speak at several events. I recommend Nancy 100%."

    Malaika Oringo,
    Founding Director, Footprint to Freedom Survivor-led Organization

  • "Nancy helped me bring my presentation to life with colorful stories and techniques to capture the audience's attention. She assisted me in recognizing which details actually help my presentation compared to those that hinder it. Nancy is an amazing speech coach and her services are invaluable."

    Tonjala Eaton,
    Consultant

  • "Nancy is so laid-back and encouraging! It was great to work as a team and collaborate on something so close to my heart. Not only was I able to submit my presentation proposal with confidence, but I felt very honored and valued by Nancy throughout the process."

    Frances Carr,
    Survivor Advocate

Master Your Message.
Inspire others.
Change the World.