About Elia
Elia Nichols is an American-born, Italy-based Public Speaking and Communication coach, a TEDx and Keynote Speaker, and an actress. Elia possesses a unique ability to unlock the potential within individuals. Drawing upon her extensive experience as a stage and screen actress, she empowers others to harness the power of their voice and body to captivate audiences and communicate with charisma.

Coaching
Elia coaches speakers and professionals in business, leadership, and other high-stakes environments to perfect their presence and communication skills, whether onstage, in the courtroom, classroom, boardroom, or onscreen.
Elia’s unique method blends theatre, improvisation, and comedy in an engaging, hands-on learning experience. Elia first teaches the theory behind her method, and then asks clients to immediately apply that theory by getting on their feet and practicing with their own speeches, presentations, and real-world scenarios. The result? Immediately improvement and growth!
TED Talks and Keynote Speeches
Elia is also a TEDx and international keynote speaker.
Elia’s TEDx talk How to Look Confident Even When You’re Not: Secrets from an Actor, TEDxOltrarno 2024, has been selected by TED.com as an “Editor’s pick.” It will be published on TED.com very soon!
Elia has also personally coached over 25 TEDx speakers to success on the red dot, and has been the official speaker coach for multiple editions of TEDxOltrarno and TEDxFiesole in Florence, Italy.
In May 2025, Elia will be returning to the red dot as the Emcee of TEDxFiesole 2025!
Elia has given keynote speeches on the various topics:
- The Art of Engaging Public Speaking
- Think on Your Feet: Improv Skills for Business & Entrepreneurs
- Mastering Confident Body Language
- Unlocking the Charismatic Voice
- Executive Presence that Inspires
- Present Like a PowerPoint Pro: Slides that Impact not Distract
Business & Academia
Elia Nichols is a trusted advisor to international companies and a professor at top universities.
Elia has held high-level jobs in Public and External Relations as well as Learning and Development, which gave her insight into both the academic and business environments. In addition, she has been a professor of Public Speaking and Communication courses at renowned academic institutions such as the European University Institute, Syracuse University, the European School of Economics, Istituto Lorenzo de’Medici and the University of Texas at Austin.
Back Story
Elia was born for the spotlight. After seeing Othello onstage at an early age, Elia decided that acting was for her. She remembers watching television as a kid and wondering why the people on TV didn’t sound like her. From that point on, she chose to lose her Louisiana accent and adopt the Standard American one so that she, too, could be on TV.
When she was 14 years old, she travelled to Italy with her father, fell in love with the Italian language and the country, and declared that she would learn the language and come back. She did just that, and studied abroad in Florence, Italy, which has always felt home to Elia.
After getting her undergraduate and Master’s degrees in Acting and a short stint in Los Angeles, Elia returned to her beloved Florence, Italy, where she founded an English-language theatre company and began to work internationally in tv and film. The love of her craft and of coaching individuals led her to want to take her body language, voice, and presentations skills to new horizons. She officially opened her Public Speaking and Communication coaching business in 2019. Since then, she has worked with individuals of all walks of life from politicians to lawyers, to writers to entrepreneurs, to so many CEO’s that she can’t keep count. She has 2 adorable children, one amazing husband, and she loves what she does.
You can do it too
Gain confidence and create lasting impressions
I’ve helped thousands of students around the world find their confidence in their voice and leave lasting impressions. My methods are a culmination of over two decades teaching and coaching speakers, leaders, managers and other professionals to become better speakers.