Leadership Presence and Confident Communication
Compel others to follow you on your leadership journey
Most people would rather die than speak in public!
Are you about to give a presentation in front of 5000 people? Need to raise millions from investors? Are you leading a company, a government department, or even a country?
Does public speaking make you uncomfortable? Are you nervous about making a presentation to board members, investors or your superiors?
And how about your communication style more broadly? Are you able to compel others to invest in a project, follow a movement you are building, or even convince your spouse about a new idea for your family? No?
Then you’ve come to the right place!
Caroline Watson is an award-winning entrepreneurial leader with a background in the theatre and she can help you fall in love with public speaking and communications, find your voice and stand tall in what you have to say!
Compelling, not charismatic
We all need to make presentations sometimes, or communicate on a difficult topic, whether it’s in front of large audiences, our team members or when seeking investment, or even to convince our spouses!
It’s more than just speaking well, or being charismatic. It’s about the capacity to compel others to follow us from a much deeper place, to win people over to a cause, to inspire them to act, whether that’s donating money, winning over voters, agreeing to a project, investing in our work, or helping us to build a movement.
What do you do?
The most compelling leaders our world has ever known – the likes of Mahatma Gandhi, Nelson Mandela, Martin Luther King – understood how to powerfully persuade and compel others to follow them, through a combination of personal presence, confident communication, and the use of language to inspire and get results.
But not everyone speaks like that……yet!
Here are some of the issues you may be facing
Dependency on Powerpoint
You may be tempted to think that public speaking is all about the Powerpoint presentation. But we believe that Powerpoint is no substitute for the ability to tell your story with vision, clarity and purpose. In fact, Powerpoint is banned in our coaching! That’s because we believe you need to learn how to be a good public speaker without it first, encouraging you to use the power of your ideas and spontaneous thought to lead an audience. Then, and only then, might we let you have your precious slides back again….
An over-focus on the technical aspects
It’s important to learn the basic techniques of good public speaking - centering yourself, using breath and posture to have vocal clarity and volume, storytelling to energise and inspire, and the right choice of language and intonation to convey meaning. But being a compelling speaker is about going beyond the technicalities to deliver a talk that inspires people to act. It’s about integrating those lessons on speaking into a seamless whole that allows your own authenticity and spontaneity to shine through.
Uncovering the fears
Often, there are some deeply-rooted fears and insecurities that prevent us from ‘stepping into the light’ and it’s important to uncover those fears and gradually release them. We aren’t therapists but we do bring much love and attention to help you to dismantle the internal blocks that would prevent you from fulfilling your potential as a speaker and a leader.
Inability to command a room
In an age of technology and mass distractions, how can we make sure everyone is hearing what we say? The ability to command a room, to make people sit up and listen, is an art and one that can be learnt. By working with you on your ‘leadership presence’, body language and self-expression, you can inspire anyone to put down their mobile phone and listen to you!
Your coach
Caroline Watson, Young Global Leader of the World Economic Forum
Harvard, Oxford, INSEAD, Yale
Caroline is the founder of The Centre for the Arts and Global Leadership, with a background in the theatre, who uses her skills to empower the leadership skills of current and future leaders.
Drawing on her performing background, Caroline is able to help you develop greater confidence and authority in your public speaking, enabling you to enroll your followers in driving action to achieve your goals, and positioning you as a thought leader.
Caroline is herself an engaging and visionary speaker with a reputation as a disruptive thinker and thought leader on issues surrounding global governance, China and the emerging world, feminine leadership, and spirituality and leadership.
Caroline’s full bio can be found here and a full list of her speaking topics can be found here.
Whether you are a corporate executive, a government leader, a head of state, starting out on your career or even a young mother, we are ready to work with you.
We have a particular passion for working with women and underrepresented voices and regularly work with those for whom English is not their first language.
A different approach
Our coaching helps you to break down some of the basic principles of public speaking, to enable you to speak with confidence, clarity and courage. Using her background in the theatre, Caroline can help you learn the tools an actor uses to speak on stage, in the boardroom, on social media, or in panel discussions.
But what makes Caroline’s coaching even more unique, is her capacity to help you to ‘dig deep’ to find your leadership ‘voice’, uncovering the blocks that prevent you from fulfilling your potential and standing up for what you believe in. She is an inspiring and energizing coach who will leave you amazed at what you are capable of!
In the sessions you will
Develop the genuine self-confidence and self-esteem to propel your leadership forward
Do deep-level work into the mental ‘blocks’ and fear holding back your individual leadership progression
Work on your personal vision and mission, ensuring you to be able to speak with conviction and authority about what you believe
Individual work on breathing, articulation, pausing, pace, modulation, posture - the standard tools of an actor - to bring more authority and clarity to delivery, especially in non-native language presentations
Focus not just on speaking to large audiences but on one-to-one meetings and getting buy-in for investment or other forms of support from ‘upstream’ leaders you need to convince
Communicate spontaneously, particularly on panel discussions, media interviews, or even on Zoom or social media – feeling confident about being able to answer in the moment, without preparation
Ready to take the next step in your leadership?
Please get in touch via the sign up form below to organise a free introductory call. Our first meeting will enable me to get to know you and your needs and establish if this is a good fit for both of us.
