Speaking and Performance
Help with public speaking, performance, and the words that matter most.
Most of us, sooner or later, have to stand up and speak.
A talk or a presentation. A pitch that matters. An interview. A speech at a wedding, or a funeral, or a family occasion you can't get wrong. A poem or a piece you want to perform well. Whatever it is, you'll be in front of people - and you'll want to do it well, and feel good doing it.
That's the work I can help with. I've spent my working life on and around the stage - as a performer, a director, and a teacher of public speaking and acting - and I know what it takes to stand up and hold a room. Sometimes the work is the words themselves. Sometimes it's the delivery. Sometimes it's finding the confidence to begin. Often it's all three.
What the work is like
Every speech, every performance, has to be owned by you. So the work begins by listening.
I'll usually ask you to read or speak your piece aloud, so I can hear your voice and your natural way of doing things. From there, we work together - noticing what's working, and what could be sharper.
I'll often demonstrate - showing you a way of using your voice, your timing, your stillness - and highlighting the skills as we go, so they become something you can see and apply.
Some people come with a single occasion in mind; others want to grow into a more assured speaker over time. Either way, the work adapts to you. Whatever you bring, my aim is the same: to help you do it well, and to feel genuinely good about doing it.
The shape of the work
Performance and speaking work is built around what you need, so it doesn't follow a fixed pattern. Some people need a single session before a particular occasion. Others want a series, working steadily toward a bigger goal.
Sessions are usually around an hour, though they can run shorter or longer depending on the work in hand. We meet in person - at your home, your workplace, or a venue that suits you - because presence, voice, and delivery are best worked on in a shared space. Online sessions are available too, if that's easier for you.
Single sessions are from £150. For longer pieces of work, block bookings are available at a reduced rate - we'll agree the shape of that together. Where a venue needs to be hired, that cost is passed on to you.
The way in is a thirty-minute conversation, with no cost and no expectation. This is a chance to talk about the occasion ahead, what you're hoping for, and how I might help. From there, we'll find the shape that fits.
