We were pitched a guest for the Women Talking About Learning podcast last week.

With AI transforming the workplace, a highly competitive jobs market and growing pressure on employees to prove their value, I wanted to offer a global negotiation and workplace communication expert as a podcast guest.

Named one of the Top 10 Negotiation Professionals in the World by Global Gurus, they’re a bestselling author, experienced broadcaster and host of their own podcast with an audience of more than 130,000 subscribers. Their advice has featured across BBC Radio, The Guardian, Stylist, Entrepreneur, The Mail and Forbes.

They can offer practical, accessible commentary on a range of workplace and employment stories, including:

• How to negotiate at work: from pay rises and promotions to flexible working and job offers.
• Why human skills matter in the age of AI: communication, influence, negotiation and relationship-building.
• How to stand out in a competitive jobs market: why simply sending applications may not be enough.
• The workplace confidence gap: how to speak up, ask for what you want and create opportunities.
• How to handle rejection and uncertainty: through job hunting, changing career or facing redundancy.
• What employers really value: why adaptability and communication can be as important as qualifications.

They can also react to breaking employment and workplace news, making them a flexible expert. 

They will be in London from 11^th – 12^th October and available for in-person podcast recordings during this time, as well as remote recordings at other times.

The answer was, of course, no.

But why, Andrew? Surely they’d be able to add so much?

Tim is a man. That’s on our website and in every episode, so I’m not sure what research went into this pitch. The show also doesn’t take guests through PR agencies, and this text reads as promotion of an expert and his platform rather than a practitioner talking about their own experience.

But the bit that really caught my attention was this:

The workplace confidence gap: how to speak up, ask for what you want and create opportunities.

That’s an individual confidence framing of a structural and organisational issue, which is something the show deliberately tries to avoid.

Women aren’t short of a voice.

Having a man explain how to use it is the wrong way round.