How I Work
I recently had to fill out a donation form offering a few sessions to a fundraiser. When it came to describing my offering, I realized I had never written up a description of what it’s like to work with me! Usually, I offer a 20 minute chat to see how I can help, make a first connection, and see if this feels like a good fit for both of us. For this non-profit gala, the “client” bids on sessions without having the benefit of hearing my voice, sharing their challenges, learning about how I work, making a personal connection. So this is what I wrote.
The first thing we do is chat about what you are working on: What is your communication challenge?
Do you have a high-level presentation coming up? Are you taking on a role that demands interacting with the media? Do you have anxiety around public speaking? Are you moving from management to a leadership role and want to work on “Leadership Presence?” Are you having a hard time getting your team excited about their purpose? Are you dealing with conflict in the workplace? Are you hoping to learn the skills of “leading up” to make a greater impact? Are you interviewing for a new position? Are you holding yourself back from taking on challenging roles due to anxiety? Are you communicating to groups with conflicting interests and expertise?
Then, we talk about how I can help.
I come from the world of the theater and know that Mark Twain was right when he said that, “It usually takes more than three weeks to prepare a good impromptu speech.” There are skills and techniques that anyone can practice to give us freedom, agility, creativity, humor, ease, presence, and the ability to connect with our team, our direct-reports, our partners, our audience.
This work helps clients to bring their most authentic selves to everything from wedding toasts to TED Talks, from political debates to flirting!