MY CORE PRINCIPLES
We all carry ideas, stories, creative insights, and innovative solutions. We must give them a chance to come out into the world.
Public Speaking and Leadership Presence are not just for the lucky few. We can all be compelling communicators! All we need is to understand ourselves – our brain and body – and get our biology to work for us, rather than against us.
Glossophobia, stage fright, stress, and anxiety during presentations are not a form of self-sabotage. They are messengers from our body, telling us that something important to us needs attention.
Our words impact our biochemistry. Biochemistry impacts thought patterns. Thought patterns shape behavior. The way we speak shapes the physical world.
If only I had a nickel for every time I’ve been told to “just be myself”! We all have multiple aspects to who we are – from our core values or our personality, to the mood of the day. Authenticity stems, first of all, from caring for all of our parts. A good first step, as Walt Whitman indicates in his “Song of Myself”, is to accept that all these parts exist.
HOW IT STARTED...
IN MY HEART OF HEARTS, I AM AN INTROVERT.
On my first day of school, I just couldn’t understand how so many people could be huddled so close together for so long.
On top of my natural affinity for quiet, during my first 12 years of education, I learned to associate speaking in public with fear and embarrassment. Standing up before my classmates and presenting was a way to be publicly reprimanded when I had done something that upset my teachers.
The culture I grew up in confused me. On the one hand, I had to “be good” – quiet, accomodating, modest. On the other hand, I had to “be the best” – and what was the point if nobody knew about it?
All these strings pulling at me gave me a hard knot in my throat.
AN INTROVERT WHO LOVES TO SPEAK IN PUBLIC.
I got my first standing ovation when I was 16. I went to a local Public Speaking competition, where I wrote and delivered a fantasy-style story about 2 twins who were joined at the hip yet couldn’t have more different personalities. Over time, one of them slowly fades and eventually just disappears.
At 18 (and a half), I got my first proper job teaching communication and presentation skills in English in Bucharest’s bustling corporate bubble. At the same time, I was getting my degree in European Studies, with a minor in Media Studies (wrote both my BA and my MA on Star Trek – remind me to tell you about that!)
At age 30, I moved to Denmark and started coaching TEDx and keynote speakers. I am honoured to have helped world-record athletes, scientists, artists, educators, leaders, policy experts, and entrepreneurs spread their ideas.
TODAY I WORK WITH:
PURPOSE-DRIVEN
I continue to support those who move society forward.
Sometimes, that happens on big stages, like the TEDx red dot, or conference stages. Sometimes, it’s in a pitch, or a networking meeting. Sometimes it’s a one-to-one conversation.
What matters is how we show up.
CONFIDENT
CLEAR
COMPELLING
CONNECTED
GPCC – Gestalt Professional Certified Coach
CREDENTIALS
They’re not everything, but it’s good that they’re here 🙂