I believe we all deserve to be felt and heard.
Most presentations inform. Fewer connect. The difference isn’t clearer information, it is deeper emotional connection.
I’m Illiya Vjestica, Founder of Felt & Heard™. For 14 years, I’ve worked at the intersection of story, visuals, and human connection, supporting speakers and leaders to close the gap between what they know and what their audience actually receives.
I’ve shaped visual narratives for Nobel Prize-winning scientists, global executives, and purpose-driven founders. My work has reached the Google Campus, the Houses of Parliament, and the TED stage. What I’ve learned is the slides rarely define the moment. It’s how the audience connects to the ideas that matters most.
‘If you speak from the heart, the head will listen.’
The people who made me feel seen along the way.
It began in a lecture theatre studying accountancy.
I was sat in a lecture theatre at university when I looked at the lecturer’s slides and cringed. He was an engaging speaker, but you couldn’t understand any of the information on the slides (even if you had 20/20 vision). I noticed there was a disconnect.
It was at this time I discovered Garr Reynolds’ blog, Presentation Zen, and I took my first steps into learning about presentation design and storytelling.
Starting a presentation business in a pub.
In 2010, age 24, I decided to start my very first business in digital marketing, but my heart wasn’t in it. It failed.
Two years later, I was sat in Whitelocks, one of Leeds’ oldest pubs, with former work colleagues and one of the organisers of a local conference I’d spoken at. He told me I had a skill for making engaging presentation slides and set me a challenge to get the website live and it was here in 2012 that The Presentation Designer was born.
14 years later, I’ve worked with speakers, companies and executives all around the world, including Nobel Prize-winning scientist Dr. Elizabeth Blackburn on the TED stage.
What 14 years working on presentations taught me.
Studying hundreds of TED talks and working with speakers and experts over many years, I kept seeing the same pattern. Most presentations inform but fewer connect. The ones that do? They are the talks were the presenter opens themselves up and lets the audience in.
I’m driven by understanding human connection and communication, how we connect with each other on a deeper level. That’s what my work has always really been about.
The moment that I became Felt & Heard.
I was visiting some dear friends in Europe, where I felt a time had come to make a change. We were talking about our businesses, the future, and for the first time in a while, I felt truly heard by others. Not just listened to, but heard.
That was the moment I knew this business had to come alive.
Felt & Heard™ was born because I found myself working with speakers and leaders feel that on stage. I’ve spend my life wanting to be felt and heard by others, sometimes feeling like the best kept secret with my work and I truly want to help others shine, so their ideas can impact millions.
Want to see my work in action?
Grounded in
Yorkshire hills.
Outside of work, you’ll find me in the Yorkshire countryside with a camera. My love of nature keeps me grounded, and the stillness I find there shapes how I think about presence, connection, and what it means to truly pay attention.
My landscape photography has been seen by over 53 million people on Unsplash.
What it’s like to
work with me…
“When it comes to speaking deck advice, Illiya’s an absolute savant. He intuitively knows what will make people lean in, feel something, and actually take action.”
“What started as an uninspiring PowerPoint was turned into a presentation that truly has impact. I KNOW I will feel ten feet tall standing in front of this deck.”
“An audience member to my presentation immediately hired me after watching my talk. Working with Illiya definitely helped me win that work.”
“Illiya has an incredible ability to extract the most important points and craft a narrative that flows seamlessly. I felt confident and prepared on stage.”
“I felt like the universe was speaking through me on stage. From start to finish, this was one of the most helpful sessions I’ve had with a professional in quite a while.”
Where is your presentation losing the room?
Take the free quiz and find out exactly where the gap is between what you know and what your audience receives.