Frances Edmonds

Frances Edmonds is a best selling author, broadcaster and an expert in cross cultural communication, longevity and lifelong learning. In the world of business, she helped to create a successful London-based construction company, Eaton Gate, and to grow the UK’s most prestigious business development network, D Group.

A modern linguist with humorous tendencies in four languages, after graduating with a Masters Degree in Modern Languages from Cambridge University, Frances began her professional career as an international conference interpreter at the European Commission in Brussels. She then worked all over the world for major international organisations including the European Union and United Nations.

She went on to interpret for the world’s leading heads of state and government at their annual World Economic Summits where she witnessed the dual arts of diplomacy and duplicity being played out at the highest level.

Trained to perform under pressure, Frances transferred her facility with languages and her ability to master complex issues swiftly to her subsequent career in radio and television broadcasting. It is precisely these skills which she deploys when hosting demanding conferences and delivering high impact keynote speeches.

Her first foray into publishing, a diary of the notorious England cricket tour to the West Indies in 1986, created media uproar. The first book on this hallowed sport ever written by a woman, Another Bloody Tour was an hilarious account of machismo, mismanagement and mayhem. It shook the male-dominated bastions of English sport to their foundations and became an overnight best-seller.

A media career beckoned, and Frances went on to work in broadcasting for the BBC and independent radio and TV channels as well as pursuing her writing career.

In 1989, Frances wrote Members Only, a search for signs of independent, intelligent life in the Houses of Parliament. She found few. Her subsequent novels, Samson and Delilah, Star of Heaven and Games were all greeted with international critical acclaim. Her book, Winning The Game of Life (HarperCollins, 2001) suggests tools for personal success and motivation and embraces techniques employed by many of Britain's foremost captains of industry and sportsmen and women.

Frances Edmonds has wide experience on radio and television, hosting programmes as diverse as Women on Top, Men Behaving Sadly, A Game of Two Halves and The Greatest and appearing on programmes as different as Question Time and Question of Sport.

Elected an honorary fellow of the British Association of Women Entrepreneurs for her promotion of British business interests, she also appears as a news reviewer for BBC TV's Breakfast with Frost and is a regular contributor to a wide range of publications including The Times, The Sunday Times and The Evening Standard.

In the springtime of her senility, Frances was awarded a Fellowship at the prestigious Distinguished Careers Institute at Stanford University, citadel of Silicon Valley start-ups and Dragons’ Den of disruption. Her latest book, Repotting-The Art of Moving on and Branching Out, draws on her research at Stanford and on insights gleaned during a lifetime of continuous personal and professional transformation.

And all this, in five different languages...

Enthusiastic, often controversial and always thought provoking, Frances Edmonds’ strong academic background, combined with her unrivalled broadcasting, professional speaking and communication qualifications make her an ideal choice for a conference moderator, awards host and business speaker.

Conference Moderator & Business Awards Host
Frances’ ability to assimilate complex briefs swiftly and to encapsulate and communicate complicated massages clearly was honed during her time spent working as an international conference interpreter. In addition, her experience in broadcasting, combined with her own professional speaking skills, allow Frances to support and encourage fellow speakers she may be called upon to interview or introduce whilst hosting an event.

Fifteen years of negotiating at the highest international level taught her invaluable lessons in the art of cross-cultural communication and consensus creation. Frances builds on these insights to deliver powerful messages on the challenge of leadership and team building in today's richly diverse and constantly changing corporations.

She believes that a genuine interest in other people and their issues is as crucial to interviewing as to the successful hosting, chairing or moderating of any award ceremony or conference.

Frances has a reputation for working closely with the event organiser both before, during and after the conference to ensure that client’s desired outcome is achieved. She prides herself in being considered an integral part of the conference team.

Keynote Speaking
An international keynote speaker and an acknowledged expert in the area of cross-cultural communication, Frances Edmonds’ gift is to inspire audiences of diverse cultural, national and social backgrounds to recognise and transcend their differences in pursuit of higher, common objectives. She is a much sought-after keynoter by multinational and multicultural organisations who are rising to the challenges of innovation and change.

In her capacity as a businesswoman who has helped create a prestigious specialist construction company, Frances believes that outstanding customer service is based on clear communication and on cohesive, motivated teams. For her commercial success in this venture and for her efforts in promoting the interests of British female entrepreneurs in the UK and abroad, she was elected an Honorary Fellow of the British Association of Women Entrepreneurs.

In addition, whilst researching her acclaimed motivational book, Winning the Game of Life, Frances discovered the tools for personal and professional success employed by world-class performers in the worlds of business, sport, education, politics, the arts, science and not-for-profit. In her keynotes, she draws on this accumulated wisdom to suggest strategies for personal and professional well-being, success and fulfilment.

After Dinner Speaking
Frances Edmonds was voted Britain’s most entertaining female after dinner speaker in a recent survey by The Times.

She is a founder member and award-winning Fellow of the UK’s Professional Speaking Association, who consistently receives top ratings for her humorous and more informal after dinner speeches.

As an after dinner speaker, Frances combines intellectual curiosity about her audience with her own brand of wit and flair to create truly memorable events of lasting resonance for her clients.

Motivational Speaking
A gifted, multilingual communicator, Frances also uses her linguistic, creative and broadcasting skills to deliver relevant, inspirational and, above all, realistic strategies for personal and professional development.

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Clients often ask about purchasing books for giveaways and delegate packs. Below you’ll find a selection of products by Frances Edmonds. Click the images to view on Amazon's website. For bulk orders, please speak with your Booking Agent.