Speaking Matters Privacy Policy
Speaking Matters respects your privacy and is committed to protecting your personal information.
This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use and store personal information when you visit this website, contact us, make an enquiry or book a private coaching session.
Speaking Matters is operated by Ian Brown and is based in Perth, Scotland.
For privacy enquiries, please contact:
Ian Brown
Speaking Matters
Email: ianthomsonbrown@gmail.com
Telephone: 01738 565003 / 07548 809838
Information we collect
We may collect personal information when you contact us by phone, email, contact form or any other enquiry method.
This may include:
Your name
Your email address
Your telephone number
Your location or general area
Details about the coaching or support you are looking for
Information you choose to include in your message
Booking details, if you arrange a session
Payment or invoicing details, where relevant
We may also collect basic technical information about how visitors use the website, such as pages visited, browser type, device type and general website traffic information.
How we use your information
We use your personal information to:
Respond to your enquiry
Discuss your coaching needs
Arrange private one-to-one sessions
Provide public speaking, presentation, wedding speech, voice, elocution, speech and drama coaching
Send information connected to your enquiry or booking
Manage our business records
Improve the website and services
Meet any legal, tax or accounting obligations
We only use your information where we have a valid reason to do so.
Lawful basis for using your information
Under UK data protection law, we must have a lawful basis for using personal information.
We may use your information because:
It is necessary to respond to your enquiry before entering into an agreement
It is necessary to provide a service you have requested
We have a legitimate interest in running and improving Speaking Matters
We need to meet legal, tax or accounting obligations
You have given consent, for example where optional marketing or non-essential cookies are used
You can withdraw consent at any time where we rely on consent.
Contact forms and enquiries
If you send an enquiry through the website, we will use the information you provide to respond to you and deal with your request.
We do not sell your personal information.
We do not use your enquiry details to send unrelated marketing unless you have clearly agreed to receive it.
Bookings and coaching sessions
If you book a session, we may keep information needed to manage the booking, prepare for the session, communicate with you and maintain business records.
This may include notes about the type of support you are looking for, such as public speaking, wedding speech preparation, business presentations, speech and drama, voice production or elocution.
Please avoid sending highly sensitive personal information unless it is necessary for your enquiry.
How long we keep information
We only keep personal information for as long as necessary.
General enquiries may be kept for up to 12 months after the last contact, unless there is a clear reason to keep them longer.
Client and booking records may be kept for longer where needed for business, tax, accounting or legal reasons. UK Government guidance says self-employed business records must generally be kept for at least five years after the relevant Self Assessment deadline, while limited company records must generally be kept for six years from the end of the relevant financial year.
Sharing your information
We may share your information with trusted service providers who help us run the website, email, hosting, analytics, booking systems or business administration.
These providers should only use your information as needed to provide their service to us.
We may also share information where required by law, regulation, tax authority, legal process or professional adviser.
We do not sell your personal information.
Cookies
This website may use cookies or similar technologies.
Some cookies are essential for the website to work properly. Others, such as analytics or marketing cookies, should only be used with your consent.
Cookies may help us understand how visitors use the website, improve performance and provide a better user experience.
You can control cookies through your browser settings. If the website uses non-essential cookies, you should be given a choice before they are set.
Third-party services
This website may use third-party services such as website hosting, analytics, spam protection, email systems, booking tools or embedded content.
These services may process personal information according to their own privacy policies.
Before publishing this policy, add any services actually used on the site, such as:
Google Analytics
Google Search Console
Google reCAPTCHA
Meta Pixel
Mailchimp
Calendly
Stripe
PayPal
WordPress plugins
Website hosting provider
Your rights
Under data protection law, you may have the right to:
Ask for a copy of the personal information we hold about you
Ask us to correct inaccurate information
Ask us to delete your information in certain circumstances
Ask us to restrict how we use your information
Object to certain uses of your information
Withdraw consent where we rely on consent
Complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office
The ICO says individuals should be told about their rights, including access, rectification, erasure, restriction, objection and data portability where applicable.
Complaints
If you have any concerns about how Speaking Matters uses your personal information, please contact us first so we can try to resolve the issue.
You also have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office, the UK regulator for data protection.
Changes to this policy
We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time.
Last updated: July 2026