Wales-based coach tackles the conversation nobody prepares you for: the small talk in between the big moments
Machen, Caerphilly, Wales, July 2026
You can deliver a board presentation without breaking a sweat. You can handle the toughest questions in the room. So why does chatting to a stranger by the coffee machine make your palms clammy?
That is the question at the heart of Take a Breath: Conquering Small Talk, the new book from Machen based voice and speech coach Fiona Brennan-Scott, founder of BESPOKEN Voice and Speech Coaching.
Brennan-Scott has spent over two decades coaching professionals and leaders, many of them highly qualified experts across STEM, legal and leadership fields, who can command a room but freeze at a networking event. Her first book, Breathtaking Communication, tackled the big stage. This one tackles the small moments, the ones that quietly shape careers and confidence. It tackles the growing problem of social anxiety and will particularly appeal to the shy, introverted and neurodivergent. It will equally help those engaging with them.
“You’re good at what you do. You’ve built the expertise. You can deliver when it matters,” says Fiona. “But when it comes to everyday conversations, the unstructured moments, the small talk, the in between, something feels harder than it should.”
Take a Breath is built around Brennan-Scott’s BREATHE Framework, a structured yet simple approach that helps readers start conversations without second guessing themselves, navigate small talk without it feeling forced or fake, and handle silence, pressure and unpredictability with calm confidence.
It is not about becoming the loudest person in the room. It is about becoming more comfortable, more present and more effective, whoever you are talking to.
“If any of that sounds familiar, you are not alone, and you are not lacking confidence without reason,” she adds. “You have simply never been shown a way that works for you.”
Written for career starters and newly appointed leaders alike, the book blends practical exercises with the same warmth and gentle humour that has made Brennan-Scott’s coaching so popular with clients who describe themselves as anything but natural talkers.
Take a Breath: Conquering Small Talk is available now on Amazon
Take a breath. You do not need to perform. You just need a better way to connect.
