Programmes tailored to the individual
EXECUTIVE COACHING PROGRAMMES
I tailor each and every programme to suit the particular needs of an individual.
During the initial consultation, I ask you to set out specifically what difficulties you experience whilst presenting. These tend to be a list of symptoms, from which I can pinpoint the underlying cause.
I set out to arm my clients with a toolbox which they can dip into time and again, speech after speech. This is not a quick fix where I apply a veneer of corporate polish to superficially improve presentation and performance. Clients typically need six to eight sessions to begin tackling their issues.
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The initial consultation takes around an hour, after which I tend to cluster schedule the first three or four sessions, with around two lessons each week. Each session lasts 60 minutes and I then provide a written synopsis of the session and outline exercises (if relevant) that should be practised. Apart from this, I am available for a 30-minute video call each week, should you have queries, require clarification, or need reiteration of something covered in the previous session(s). I can also be reached by email or phone, with a 24-hour maximum response time.
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HOW I CAN HELP YOU
Stage Fright and Performance Nerves
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There are so many different causes for stage fright. I can help unpick these with you by identifying and then addressing the underlying cause(s). In general the main cause of stage fright is a sense of being overwhelmed and totally out of control. I am here to put you in the driving seat by giving you sovereignty over your voice (see Voice/Vocal Production) and speech (see Speech Delivery). My mission is to help you be authentically, one hundred percent YOU. Why? Because you are UNIQUE and you must bring YOUR personality, interpretation and truth to the podium to really engage the audience.
“...Because you are more authentic the more you resemble that which you are in your dreams.” Pedro Almodovar, All About My Mother
Stage Deportment and Presence
This will determine how you are perceived by the audience from the moment you arrive on stage or walk towards the podium, so it is an extremely important aspect of stagecraft.
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From your gait, stance and deportment the audience will form an opinion even before you open your mouth. In order to win the audience over, your body language needs to be confident. Convincing them from the outset means you do not have to try as hard to win them over during your speech.
“An opera begins long before the curtain goes up and ends long after it has come down.” Maria Callas
I myself had ten years' training in Alexander Technique (posture) and even longer in stagecraft, so am confident that I can assist you with movement and posture correction before and during your time on stage.
Voice modification and vocal production
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When we speak, and especially when we address a full conference room, the voice should resonate in the chest. When the supply of air circulating in the body is uneven, the sound becomes thin and the voice has a tendency to crack. So breathing, and allowing your breath to move smoothly through the body, is vital to good vocal production. If this is something you struggle with, don’t worry because a balance can easily be learnt. Good diaphragmatic breathing, with the breath resonating in the chest, produces a centred, mellow and pleasing voice. Having sovereignty over your voice is one of the most powerful tools in diminishing any stage nerves you might experience.
Speech Delivery
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Interpretation of a speech, especially if it has been written for you, requires plenty of practice before you take it to the podium. If the speech is simply recited, it will have little or no impact on your audience; it will sound impersonal and therefore unedifying and unmemorable. I am highly adept at taking speeches and helping my clients digest a page of words and bring shape, colour, meaning, personality and pathos to them.
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“Of the modes of persuasion furnished by the spoken word there are three kinds. The first kind depends on the personal character of the speaker; the second on putting the audience into a certain frame of mind; the third on the proof, or apparent proof, provided by the words of the speech itself.” Aristotle, The Art of Rhetoric
Speech Writing
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This is something of a misnomer as I rarely write a speech from scratch. More commonly, whilst working on the delivery of a speech, I am asked to rework it so it is more personal, giving the client the chance to be authentic and imbuing the underlying message of the speech with real power and meaning.
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Accent Reduction
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Clarity, diction, pronunciation and articulation are vital if your speech is to be understood and well received. If your accent is heavy to the point of impeding clear communication, you may wish to work with me as I use written phonetics and demonstrations to help clients understand how to reshape and employ vowel and consonant sounds to easily re-form problematic words. Your accent will thus be softened but not eradicated, because that would be a travesty!
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“To cultivate an English accent is already a departure away from what you are.” Sean Connery
INTENSIVE INTERVENTION
I also offer Intensive Intervention sessions – generally used by existing clients when they are time-pressured and require totally focused help with a particularly important speech or presentation.
As there is no cookie cutter formula, I immerse myself with the client, working for one to two hours a day for several days until they take ownership of the architecture and shape of the speech.