SPEAKING UP & TAKING UP SPACE
Lena* is a newly qualified yoga teacher who left a corporate job to pursue their passion and prioritise their wellbeing. They had always found speaking up in public difficult, and lacked confidence in speaking up for their needs. Through coaching, they developed more insight about these challenges and developed tools to help them communicate with confidence, assert their needs and address their self-critical responses with compassion. We also worked on embodied communication techniques to support them to feel confident in being seen and heard by their students. After 10 sessions, Lena noticeably improved in their public speaking technique, and they were able to talk about themselves in a much less self-critical way. They said,
“I can’t believe how different I feel after these sessions, and they’ve gone so fast! I’m excited to get out there and try out what I’ve learned. And I think I’ve made some real progress with being kinder to myself”
being heard through TRANSITION
Aiden is a trans man who set up a small business that was starting to experience some success. Being mid-transition and experiencing voice changes, he felt self-conscious about presenting his work, particularly in large, in-person spaces. We discussed the assumptions and worries Aiden was experiencing about how others heard him. We took a playful, experimental approach to exploring what his voice can do now and using embodiment techniques to support an authentic, free sound. Aiden was able to develop techniques to support him to feel confident in public speaking. He fed back,
“It was really helpful to experience coaching as well as learning practical techniques to help me feel good about my voice again. I’d definitely recommend working with Mo"
SENIOR LEADERSHIP & self-care
Claire is a senior leader in the public sector, who was looking for help with career decisions and speaking up for her needs. We explored assertive communication, self-worth and what might be behind her responses when she side-lines her own needs or over-commits at work. Through taking space to consider her options, work with a thinking partner and develop new insights about herself, Claire was able to confidently make decisions about what she wanted from her job, find better work-life balance and practice speaking up for her own needs. She said,
“I’m not sure what I was expecting, but this went way beyond what I thought it would be. My life looks so different now to when we started - some of that might have happened anyway but I’ve responded to changes and decisions with more clarity and confidence”.
*Some details/names have been changed to protect clients’ privacy
leaders LEARN EMBODIED APPROACH
I worked with a group of leaders, coaches and facilitators on Embodied Communication. We explored theory, tools and techniques to support participants in bringing an embodied approach to their work and communication. We looked at how to use our bodies to communicate with authenticity, confidence and connection. Participants had space to practice tuning into their own physical responses to different situations and learn what their bodies might be telling them. We explored boundaries and how we take up space. And we reflected on how to bring embodiment techniques into participants’ professional practice (for example, offering grounding exercises to clients, using embodiment techniques before/during a presentation, encouraging others to notice their physical responses to change). Participants fed back that they had learned new skills, looked forward to developing a regular embodiment practice and wanted to attend more sessions.