Over the years, I have been teaching students and clients a 12-15-minute routine of relaxation, breathing and voice production which inadvertently incorporates power posing. Getting the body ready to support the breath for speaking out is the foundation of good presentation. I don’t know if you’re one of the 33 million plus people who have watched this […]

I’ve been working more in promotions in the last year than ever before. It’s brought me up against the cold, hard fact that the truth isn’t all that important to the media. We seem to accept this as ‘the way it is’ and I don’t know if this is because we don’t know how to tackle it or

1st May 2016, Harwell, Oxfordshire The words below were written first in December 2004 as the introduction to my *thesis. It is equally relevant for the Training Facilitation and 121 coaching I deliver, as I encounter trainees and clients who, due to their negative school experience, don’t believe they are intelligent. I hasten to assure them that

Fiona helped found the first school Speakers’ Club in Britain at The Downs School, Compton in September 2014. Since then it has been thriving and students have received many personal awards, such as the Certificate of Leadership (for completing all the roles in the club, 3 speeches and 2 evaluations), the Interim Certificate of Achievement (for completing the first

John McGhee presented the National Award to The Downs School Speaker’s Club Founder on behalf of Head Teacher Chris Prosser and the Youth Speaks entrants, Eirlys, Freya and Alannah. This month, The Downs School achieved its first in the United Kingdom in recognition of its dedication to the development of young people. John McGhee, Education Officer of

Jenny* has worked with The Gatehouse, Oxford, for some years. As her role grew, so did her need to be able to speak to groups and in front of a camera. Jenny struggled with this, “e.g. I just wanted to run away, and in fact, I did once!” After completing a 12-week course with Fiona at BESPOKEN

Julian Treasure’s TedTalk – TEDGlobal 2013 Julian Treasure, the sound expert, demonstrates powerful speaking: watch for some vocal exercises and tips on speaking with empathy.