Giving Voice offers coaching and workshops designed to help business and professional women accomplish their goals through speaking effectively and confidently in the situations that matter most to them.

Becoming An Excellent Speaker

Every presentation provides a powerful opportunity for you to convey your expertise, to your colleagues at work, at a networking event, to potential clients, or at a conference. In all those situations you want a particular response from the people with whom you’re speaking. You may want your boss or colleagues to value your input. You may want a client or patient to trust you, or other entrepreneurs or professionals to refer you. You may want to demonstrate your abilities, so potential clients choose you. You may want to educate or motivate, so people make more informed decisions or inspired choices.

I can help you make the most of these opportunities, through one-on-one coaching or small-group workshops.

Individual Coaching

Preparation and Practice – I provide one-on-one coaching for clients who are preparing for a particular presentation or series of presentations, whether to 1 person or 500. Preparing and practicing with me will set you up for success, to accomplish the goals you have in mind. We will work together to clarify your purpose and goals, to ensure that your content and structure support those goals, and to hone the vocal and nonverbal aspects of your presentation.

Presentation Attendance and Feedback – I sometimes attend my clients’ presentations, either after Preparation and Practice sessions (above) or as a stand-alone service. By watching your actual presentation, I am able to observe your strengths and potential for improvement, and to provide real-time feedback, resulting in optimal learning.

Remote Presentation Review and Feedback – Video review provides an excellent alternative when attending a client’s actual presentation is not possible. This approach provides the added benefit of allowing us to view and analyze the presentation together, in-person or by telephone.

I can provide video review after Preparation and Practice coaching sessions (above) or on a stand-alone basis. If you provide me with a DVD or link to a recording of your presentation, we will work together to identify your strengths and your potential for improvement.

Group Workshops

Presentation Fundamentals – In workshops ranging from three hours to two days, I work with groups of five to fifteen people to develop their presentation skills. The shorter sessions introduce you to the fundamentals of effective speaking. The one-day and two-day workshops provide an opportunity for you to work on upcoming speaking opportunities or on speaking assignments that I provide to you.

Transforming from Anxious to Confident

Anxiety about speaking feels lousy. It’s like a low-level dread or like your heart is in a vice or like you just want to disappear. You see other people who seem comfortable speaking, and you notice they get positive attention for it. You can have that too, but it will be very slow and difficult to get there on your own.

I can help you transform from anxious to confident more quickly and more easily. I work with each client to identify her unique perspectives and abilities, and to develop her own authentic approach to speaking. Although you may not be able to imagine it now, a time will come when you seek speaking opportunities, make the most of them, and enjoy speaking.

• Coaching

I coach clients to transform from reluctant speaker to confident speaker. We focus on developing your confidence, both on the inside and the outside, while learning the fundamentals of effective speaking.

• Workshop

In workshops ranging from three hours to two days, I work with groups of five to fifteen people to develop their confidence, in combination with learning the fundamentals of effective speaking. The longer the workshop, the more progress can be made. The shorter the workshop, the more the emphasis is on confidence-building.

Expanding Your Communication Skills

While you may be a very good speaker, you may need additional or more advanced skills, to progress to higher levels or new arenas. Maybe you’ve facilitated lots of meetings, but you’ve never given a presentation. Maybe you’ve presented to large groups, but you’ve never been interviewed on the radio. Perhaps you want to move to become more of a leader or move from a private sector focus to a more public role. I can help you take that next step successfully.

• Coaching

Clients choose from the areas of communication they want to master. This list includes improving the quality of conversations with clients or patients, peers, collaborators or superiors; facilitating meetings or participating in meetings more effectively; enhancing flexibility with conversational styles; managing question and answer sessions; preparing for radio and television interviews. We will concentrate on the areas that will be most beneficial to you.

Successfully Marketing through Speaking

Most business and professional women need to let people know what they do and how well they do it – within their business, organization or practice, and externally -- even if they wouldn’t call it marketing. You can learn and practice the communication skills and messages that will make you more successful.

• Coaching

I provide one-on-one coaching to help individuals become comfortable and effective marketing themselves and their business or practice. Together we will discover and develop the marketing messages that convey the benefits people experience from working with you. When you speak with clients and potential clients, colleagues and potential partners, investors and other decision-makers, you will know how to articulate the marketing messages that will best reach them.

• Workshop

In workshops ranging from two hours to one day, I work with groups of five to twenty-five people to develop their marketing messages and provide practice conveying the messages with ease.