What brought you here won’t take you further.
You got this far on expertise. The next step is turning it into results, and that’s what we work on together.
I'm Donato De Tullio. I work with people who are already very good at what they do (researchers, startups, technical teams) and help them turn what they know into results, with real numbers and a date. Workshops and one-to-one coaching, in English, German or Italian.
Free and no hard sell: you book, you get the link, and we meet online.
Great science doesn't speak for itself.
- The project was solid. The committee funded the one that presented better.
- You said it first in the meeting. Someone louder said it second and got the credit.
- Twenty minutes on your best work, and the room checks out after two.
- You present in your second language, and half of what you know never makes it out.
Nobody teaches this part inside a PhD. You have ten important things and no idea which one comes first. The people who decide see half of what you bring. And what you decided stays on the list. The bill comes later: a project that dies in committee, a grant that goes elsewhere, a career slower than your work deserves.
Three steps, in this order.
- Decide what matters. «I know so much. I don't know what counts.» Three years of results, ten minutes on stage. We pick the one thing the room has to take home.
- Make it clear. «I know what it's worth. Other people don't see it.» What do you need these people to do when you stop talking? Approve it, fund it, give you the lead. We build the talk backwards from there.
- Make it happen. «I know what I should do. It isn't happening.» One priority at a time, a real date, and someone who checks in every week until it's done.
Two ways to work together.
Workshops
Everyone gets on stage with the talk they actually have coming. I record each person at the start and at the end. Nobody recognises their own talk.
One-to-one coaching
For the talk that decides the next two years, the move from expert to group leader, or the project that keeps slipping. Online: I put a concrete moment in front of you, and get you there ready.
Fair doubts, with proof.
«We've already done public speaking training.»
Here everyone works on a real talk and gets a one-to-one session with me. In August 2026 I ran it for Team VPE at BioMed X in Heidelberg. Here is what they wrote in the feedback form:
«A fresh perspective on how to prepare my talk to make it as impactful as possible.»
Dr. Gurdeep Singh · Group Leader · Team VPE, BioMed XYour people leave with their own talk, ready to give.
«Half my team are introverts, or present in a second language.»
«Although I am an introvert, I learned that I am capable of delivering a good speech. I will keep in mind forever that I am the lighthouse for the audience, and that I am delivering the cake for them to enjoy. These analogies stick with me.»
Dr. Ahmad Wisnu Mulyadi · Algorithm Researcher · Team VPE, BioMed XI present in English and German every week, and neither is my first language. I know what they are fighting up there.
«Is this theatre? We do research.»
I'm not an actor. That's the point. I did my PhD in chemistry inside Merck, with publications you can check. In 2026 I spoke and ran a workshop at the Merck Innovation Cup, coached Team VPE at BioMed X, and became an official partner of Curious2027 in Heidelberg, where I'll run a workshop in July 2027.
«I've read the books. I know what I should do.»
It's the sentence I hear in my coaching sessions more than any other. So in a session I don't explain anything: I ask you a question. I ask where you are now, and what needs to happen. From there we pick one thing, with a real deadline, and every week we look at what happened.
And the deal is simple: two sessions, satisfied or your money back.
Hi. I'm Donato.
Business & communication coach. I'm from Bari, and I've lived in Germany since 2014. I came for a PhD in chemistry. After the PhD, and a burnout, I chose a warehouse over a lab and started again from zero, pushing boxes at Decathlon.
From there I worked my way up, to running logistics for eight sites across DACH and Benelux. Briefings where you get ninety seconds, boardrooms where the story has to hold. Whatever I teach, I've tried on myself first.
The questions I get most.
Do you work with non-native speakers?
Yes, it is the norm, and I am one of them. We work in the language your people actually present in: English, German or Italian.
Is this science communication or public speaking?
A bit of both. Science communication teaches you to simplify, public speaking teaches you to perform. Here we start from the decision you need from the room, and build the talk backwards from there.
How long are the workshops?
From one day up to three, built around your team. We settle format, length and language in a free 30-minute call.
Can you run this for a PhD programme or graduate school?
Yes. Workshops for PhD students, postdocs and researchers are a core format, delivered in-house at the university or institute.
Does everyone get individual coaching?
Yes. Every participant gets a one-to-one session with me on the real talk they have to give next.
What happens in the free call?
Thirty minutes online. You tell me what your people have to get approved, or where you are stuck, and I tell you straight whether I can help.
A book about deciding.
Before you can make a room decide, you have to decide yourself. Stay or Leave? is my book on crossing a crossroads with a method instead of fear, on Amazon in Kindle and paperback.
Someone on your team has an important talk coming.
Make sure they walk in prepared. Thirty minutes online: tell me what is at stake, and I'll tell you straight whether I can help.
Not ready for a call? Take the workshop workbook with you: leave your email and the link opens right below.
Just you? Let's have a coffee, or write me an email.
You already know enough. Now let's make it happen.