Tom McCarthy joins Prezent: Scaling business communication coaching with AI avatars

Prezent is entering a new chapter in its mission to democratize great business communication.

Today, we’re excited to announce that Tom McCarthy, one of the world’s most respected high-stakes presentation and communication coaches, is joining Prezent to help bring world-class communication coaching to professionals through AI-communication coaching avatars.

For decades, elite communication coaching has been expensive, exclusive, and largely limited to senior executives. At Prezent, we believe great communication should not be a privilege for a few. It should be accessible to every professional who wants to communicate with clarity, confidence, and impact.

This partnership represents a meaningful step forward in that vision.

Tom’s decades of experience coaching leaders across global enterprises are now being translated into AI-communication coaching avatars on the Prezent platform.Prezent’s interactive AI avatars support professionals with real-time coaching, structured frameworks, and actionable feedback.

We are proud to start with an expert like Tom McCarthy and over time, more expert AI-communication coach avatars will be available on Prezent. Our customers will also have the ability to create their own AI communication avatars, extending expert coaching and best practices across teams and organizations.

Why Tom McCarthy for Prezent

Tom McCarthy is widely recognized as one of the world’s leading authorities on high-stakes communication, leadership presence, and performance. Over more than three decades, he has coached executives, teams, and elite performers across industries including technology, finance, healthcare, and consumer businesses.

What makes Tom’s work especially powerful is his belief that communication is not a soft skill. It is a performance skill that directly shapes outcomes, careers, and leadership effectiveness.

His FIRE-UP methodology has helped thousands of professionals show up with confidence, clarity, and presence when it matters most. That methodology now becomes a foundational part of Prezent’s AI-powered communication coaching experience.

Tom’s early career and progression

Tom began his career in the financial services industry, where he quickly became fascinated with human performance. He realized that the most successful professionals were not always the most technical. They were often the clearest communicators, the strongest storytellers, and the people who could influence others through authenticity and structure.

This insight led him to pivot into training and leadership development. Over the years, Tom built a successful practice advising leaders from Fortune 500 companies, technology disruptors, and high growth organizations. His teaching style blends psychology, neuroscience, and practical communication tools that people can apply immediately at work.

Today, Tom is recognized as one of the most impactful communication coaches in the world.

Tom McCarthy has spent more than three decades helping leaders and teams unlock their most effective communication style. As a performance coach, keynote speaker, and corporate advisor, Tom has trained hundreds of thousands of professionals across the world.

His approach is anchored in the idea that communication is a deeply human craft. Every individual has a unique voice, and that voice can become a source of influence when guided with the right frameworks, practice, and mindset. 

As Tom shared during our conversation, "When people transform the way they communicate, they do not just deliver better messages. They transform the way others experience them."

Tom’s philosophy

Tom believes communication is a service. It is not about what the speaker wants to say. It is about what the audience needs to hear. 

His philosophy is centered on clarity, human connection, and purpose. He teaches that great communication begins with intention and ends with transformation. When a speaker is grounded in their message and fully attuned to their audience, they can create change through words.

Tom’s FIRE UP framework captures this philosophy through principles that help communicators build momentum and confidence. His approach aligns naturally with Prezent’s mission of democratizing exceptional communication.

A message from Prezent CEO Rajat Mishra

“Prezent’s mission has always been to help professionals communicate their ideas effectively,” said Rajat Mishra, CEO and Co-Founder of Prezent.

“Great communication should not be a privilege for a few. Through our partnership with Tom McCarthy, we’re creating AI-communication avatars that will make world-class business communication coaching available to every professional.”
- Rajat Mishra

Inside our conversation with Tom McCarthy

Below are ten questions we asked Tom during our conversation, along with his detailed responses.

Can you share a brief overview of your career journey and the key experiences that shaped your approach to communication coaching and leadership development?

My career unexpectedly led me to communication coaching. It started in investment banking on the New York Stock Exchange, but I transitioned after three years to run sales and marketing for Tony Robbins. I initially disliked public speaking and was quite shy. This forced me to deconstruct the skill. 

I studied the patterns of great presenters and identified three crucial elements: telling a compelling story, having confidence and enjoying the presentation, and being energizing and engaging the audience. 

Realizing that I, a formerly shy person, could master these skills gave me the core philosophy of my coaching: anyone can become an outstanding presenter if they learn and apply these fundamental patterns.

What are the biggest communication and leadership challenges you see organizations facing today, and why are traditional coaching methods no longer enough?

The biggest communication and leadership challenge organizations face is that most professionals settle for being average. They learn communication and leadership by watching what everyone else does, which results in mediocre performance. 

Traditional coaching methods often reinforce this average approach. To be outstanding, you must be willing to "change the game," not just play the standard one. My focus is on identifying and teaching the practices of the absolute best, the "outliers", because simply conforming to the average will keep you average.

How has the rapid rise of AI changed what leaders and teams expect from communication coaching and performance development?

The rapid rise of AI is raising expectations by making expert advice and tools highly accessible. Leaders and teams are increasingly turning to AI for development across many domains. In communication coaching, this means a demand for solutions that help solve complex problems, like the creative challenge of building a compelling presentation story. 

AI tools, such as Prezent's software, are meeting this expectation by helping create high-quality content quickly, which was previously a painful and time-consuming process. We now expect coaching to be available 24/7 and at a fraction of the cost.

What excites you most about AI’s potential to scale high-impact communication and leadership excellence across organizations?

What excites me most is AI's potential to eliminate ineffectiveness and wasted time in the workplace. Our research showed that only 14% of business presentations actually result in an action being taken, and a massive 90% of virtual attendees admit to multitasking. This indicates widespread ineffectiveness. 

AI can help raise the bar by consistently designing and delivering presentations that are compelling, drive action, and keep the audience engaged. By upgrading the quality of communication, we ensure that meetings and presentations are productive, making the entire organization more effective and profitable.

You will soon become a digital communication avatar inside Prezent, what are your thoughts on translating your coaching style, philosophy, and decades of experience into an AI-powered avatar?

I am both curious and confident about translating my experience into an AI avatar. My core mission is to instill the belief that anyone can be an outstanding presenter. The avatar needs to first tackle that belief system. 

Then, it needs to coach on the three key areas: developing a compelling narrative, achieving the right mindset (feeling confident and inspired), and optimizing the delivery for engagement. I believe the avatar can provide instant, personalized feedback and coaching on these specific patterns, giving people the practical knowledge and confidence to truly excel.

Why did you choose to partner with Prezent at this moment in your career, and what about Prezent’s mission resonated most strongly with you?

I chose to partner with Prezent because it provided a solution to the challenge of scaling my expertise globally. While my training has achieved amazing, consistent results in large organizations, I realized I needed a way to help more people in a bigger way, without managing a massive team. 

Prezent’s approach of using AI to codify and distribute outstanding coaching methodologies, including the ability to overcome language barriers through localization, was a no-brainer opportunity for me to increase my impact globally.

What made you confident that your methodology can be effectively codified into an AI system and democratized for millions of professionals?

I was confident because my methodology is based on identifying simple, repeatable, and codifiable patterns used by the world's best communicators. These aren't abstract concepts; they are specific behaviors and structural elements that can be taught, observed, and coached. 

Given the exponential pace of AI improvement, I have no doubt that Prezent's exceptional team can translate this knowledge into a dynamic system that can provide outstanding coaching to millions, making it truly a game-changer.

From your perspective, how does Prezent uniquely solve the communication challenges leaders face today, and what differentiates its approach from traditional coaching or presentation tools?

Prezent uniquely solves communication challenges by focusing on excellence and not settling for average. It combines an easy-to-use, powerful content creation tool with high-impact delivery coaching through the avatar. 

This approach is different because it addresses both sides of the coin: what you say (the compelling story) and how you say it (confidence, voice, body language). By integrating these elements and scaling the best practices, Prezent empowers leaders to drive action and eliminate the rampant ineffectiveness of traditional meetings.

How do you see Prezent and your digital avatar reshaping the future of communication coaching in the AI era?

Prezent and my digital avatar will reshape the future of communication coaching by democratizing excellence. Currently, only a small portion of professionals are great communicators. 

If we can significantly increase the number of people who are compelling, confident, and effective in their communication, it will inject massive amounts of productive energy into the world. Better communication is the number one way we advance humanity and solve problems, making the entire business world more enjoyable and successful.

If you had to summarize the importance and impact of this partnership in one strong quote or message, what would you say?

"The world needs us now more than ever, because the number one way we advance humanity is through improved communication."