Richard Shorter

Richard Shorter has found great success as a Conversation Architect for Non-Perfect Dad, delivering a variety of courses on parent engagement strategy support in sports. Having worked with three national governing bodies, including the England Rugby U18 Boys and Girls, Richard empowers parents to manage expectations, reinforce the importance of character, develop mindset and shape resilience. In addition to parents, Richard’s expertise translates powerfully into the corporate world, emphasising that the same dynamics that shape successful athletes also shape a professional – communication, collaboration, mindset and culture. 

Richard’s early career was a diverse mission to support those around him, including roles as a youth worker for the local authority, lecturing at several universities and being a Church Minister for Church1v23. Richard was also educated with an Honours Degree in Community and Youth Studies and a Diploma in Life Coaching from A R Training. Such education fuelled his passion for supporting youth, and thus he became a parenting coach. Richard has now delivered parent engagement strategy support for the likes of England Hockey U16 and U18 Boys, the England Cricket Board, and the academy system of Saracens, Essex County Cricket and Somerset County Cricket, to name but a few.

Understanding that the world of sports is a high-pressure environment, Richard uses his skills to cover challenging issues that parents and sports coaches alike face. When hired as a speaker, Richard aids parents in managing expectations in nonlinear talent development, reducing conflict, and shaping the resilience and mindset needed to navigate the highs and lows of personal development. Such expertise translates to the corporate world, with Richard sharing how to have meaningful and constructive conversations, listen for change, handle high-pressure moments and see past bad calls to focus on what you can control. Richard has shared his expertise in his book, Conversations for the Journey: 40 Ways for You to Build a Sporting Character. 

Richard Shorter is now hired as a leading keynote speaker for corporate events, drawing lessons from his extensive work with parents, coaches, children and elite sports organisations. In his speeches and courses, Richard explores how effective communication builds trust, how mindset shapes results and how performance thrives when people feel valued and understood. Richard is commended for being engaging, honest and practical, challenging audiences to reflect on how they lead, listen and respond. Whether addressing leadership teams, company-wide events or a school hall full of parents and their children, Richard equips people with the tools to communicate more effectively, strengthen relationships and perform at a consistently high level.