What I Learned Running a Corporate Wellbeing Workshop

Most people associate my work with corporate events, conferences, trade shows and after-dinner performances.

So when First Response Finance approached me about delivering part of their internal wellbeing programme, it immediately caught my attention because it was something completely different.

Not just another performance.

A workshop.

And honestly, that excited me.

A Different Type of Enquiry

I had originally met First Response Finance’s New Business Operations Director, Matt Dickie, while performing at a wedding at Colwick Hall in Nottingham the previous year.

Like many corporate enquiries, the initial conversation centred around entertainment for a business event.

But when we eventually met in Nottingham to discuss ideas further, the conversation quickly evolved into something much more interesting.

Rather than simply performing for staff, Matt wondered whether there was a way to take some of the techniques and psychology used within mentalism and adapt them into something more interactive and educational.

That instantly sparked ideas for me.

Because while audiences often experience mentalism as impossible or mysterious, underneath it all sits something very real:

human behaviour.

Observation.

Attention.

Communication.

Decision making.

Confidence.

Reading people.

All skills that naturally overlap with workplace interaction.

Creating the Workshops

We eventually decided on two workplace wellbeing workshop days for the company’s offices in Leigh and Nottingham.

The structure would be very different from a traditional corporate performance.

Instead of one large audience, the day would be split into several smaller workshop groups, allowing sessions to feel more relaxed, practical and conversational.

I remember feeling genuinely excited beforehand because, despite years of performing professionally, this was the first time I had ever attempted to blend:

- live mentalism

- audience interaction

- psychology

- and practical workplace exercises

into a workshop format.

There was definitely an element of stepping into the unknown.

Part Performance, Part Workshop

At the beginning of each session, I explained to the staff that what they were about to experience sat somewhere between a performance and a workshop.

I wanted them to first experience the feeling of mentalism before we explored some of the psychological ideas underneath it.

That distinction turned out to be incredibly important.

Because once people relaxed and became emotionally engaged, the learning side became far more natural.

Very quickly, some of the groups completely forgot they were technically attending part of a training day.

The atmosphere became:

- conversational

- competitive

- curious

- and surprisingly energetic

which was fascinating to watch develop in real time.

Teaching “Poker Tells”

One of the core exercises involved teaching simple observational techniques based around behavioural tells.

The exercise itself was deliberately straightforward.

One participant would secretly place a coin into either their left or right hand while their partner attempted to identify the correct location using physical and psychological cues.

Essentially:

a simplified version of reading poker tells.

To make the challenge more interesting, I taught two different observation approaches to separate groups throughout the day.

And interestingly, the second technique consistently outperformed the first.

That became a fascinating talking point in itself because it highlighted how small shifts in attention and observation can dramatically influence confidence and decision making.

What interested me most though was how quickly people became invested once human behaviour turned into a game.

Watching Team Dynamics Change

One of the most rewarding parts of the workshops was observing how people interacted differently once they became engaged in the exercises.

Some employees who initially appeared quiet or reserved suddenly became highly competitive.

Others emerged as natural communicators or observers.

Certain people instinctively focused on logic.

Others relied entirely on intuition.

You could visibly see teams relaxing and opening up as the sessions progressed.

And because the exercises revolved around observation and interaction rather than formal “training,” the atmosphere stayed enjoyable throughout.

That balance mattered enormously.

Because workplace engagement activities often fail when they feel forced.

A Wellbeing Day Done Properly

The wider wellbeing event itself was also incredibly well thought out.

Alongside my workshops, staff had access to:

- yoga sessions

- gong baths

- art therapy

- drumming workshops

- cooking demonstrations

- and healthy food experiences

The entire day felt genuinely focused on helping staff reset mentally and emotionally rather than simply ticking a corporate wellbeing box.

And honestly, it was refreshing to be part of an event where people’s wellbeing was clearly being taken seriously.

What I Took Away From It

Looking back now, the workshops taught me something important:

people love learning about themselves.

Especially when the learning feels experiential rather than instructional.

Mentalism naturally creates curiosity because it sits right on the edge between psychology, perception and human behaviour.

Once people begin recognising subtle patterns in communication and observation, they quickly become fascinated by how much information we unintentionally reveal to one another every day.

That curiosity creates engagement naturally.

More Than Entertainment

What started as a corporate enquiry eventually became something far more interesting than a standard performance booking.

It became a reminder that live interaction, psychology and shared experiences can still bring people together in meaningful ways inside modern workplaces.

Especially at a time when so much communication now happens through screens and emails.

And while I still love performing at conferences, trade shows and awards dinners, experiences like this reminded me that sometimes the most rewarding events are the ones that challenge you to do something completely different.