Arnold Geerdts

Guest Speaker Arnold Geerdts is a product from Springs on the East Rand and as a journalist, started broadcasting on radio and television as well as public speaking 44 years ago. He has broadcasted and commentated on 11 Olympic Games, more than 100 golf majors, anchored five Comrades Marathon broadcasts, almost a hundred rugby tests, more than a century of cricket tests, 500 Super rugby matches and seven Tours de France. The list is endless!

He has interviewed and worked with the great Nelson Mandela, actor Arnold Schwarzenegger, Tiger Woods, business mogul Richard Branson, Queen’s Freddy Mercury, Arch Bishop Desmond Tutu and the greatest of them all, Muhammed Ali. Olympic and world champions, winners and captains of industry from right around the globe….thousands of high profile sportsmen and women as well as the common man. Arnie has a best of 2 hours 29 minutes for the marathon and eleven Comrades medals – the last two silvers at age 48 and 49 and has just clocked up 200 thousand kilometres in training and racing.

More important to him though is his family. He is married to his lifesaver, Lily and they have four children. In recent years, Arnold has discovered a passion for teaching, preaching and facilitating. From coaching public speaking and television technique to facilitating for large corporates on effective communication with Lego to time management and sales techniques.

He has just completed a four month programme for Heineken where employees were taught how to “Use alcohol responsibly.” His “Effective Communication Workshop with Lego” gives new meaning to the phrase “Serious Play” which exposes a lack of clear communication, illuminates the how-to and sends teams away with a new vision of the operative and practical use of talking and speaking. And that’s where all institutions and companies can get a whole lot better – almost overnight!
His self-esteem “clinic” helps people to work on something that is never taught in any way shape or form and gives insight into why people, corporations and organisations are not successful: it starts way down there, with self esteem.

He has facilitated for blue chip companies and organisations such as Isuzu, Tsogo Sun, Nashua, Putco, The SA Reserve Bank, Pink Drive, First National Bank, Toyota, Dunlop, Heineken, Nike and many more.

Arnold keeps his hand in with what has been his springboard to teaching: broadcasting and weekly hosts sports programmes on Kyknet and Groot FM 90.5. “There are no such things as soft skills, they’re all just skills.” Simon Sinek.