COMMUNICATION COACHING

for people who feel they’d achieve so much more in life if they weren’t held back by their communication

Kezia is a Speech and Language Therapist and Communication Coach and the Founder of TalkCoach

I’m Kezia, Communication Coach and Speech and Language Therapist. I’m passionate about helping people to communicate effectively in order to achieve what they want in life.

I help you to approach every social interaction feeling confident, calm and in control.

To me, ‘good communication’ doesn’t necessarily mean being able to confidently stand in front of an audience of millions of people, delivering a perfectly articulated TED talk.

I believe that effective communication is when we are able to express exactly what we want to say, with naturalness and ease, and without worrying about how others may be judging us.

This is how we are able to build genuine, authentic connections with others which can lead to greater fulfilment in life.

More about me

DO YOU EVER FIND YOURSELF IN SITUATIONS LIKE THESE?

Mike is waiting in the queue in Costa with a colleague, eagerly awaiting the flat white he ordered, when the barista hands him a tea. He can’t bring himself to speak up and amend his order so he sits down, gulping back a tea he doesn’t even like.

Meanwhile he’s so consumed about what an idiot he is, beating himself up about not explaining the order was wrong, that it’s impossible to focus on the conversation with his colleague. He leaves the café feeling depressed about his communication skills and wishing he was more confident and assertive.

Communication coaching for people who feel held back by a lack of confidence, self-consciousness or anxiety in their conversations.

Emma is bubbling with ideas to share with her team in a work meeting. But when it’s her turn to speak, her heart races, her mouth goes dry and her mind goes blank. She tries to explain her ideas but trips over her words and is sure she’s said nothing remotely coherent.

She keeps quiet for the rest of the meeting and withdraws into her thoughts about how embarrassed and frustrated she is with herself. She worries her colleagues think she’s incompetent and useless.

Ben can be impulsive due to an ADHD diagnosis which often leads him to blurt out his thoughts, interrupting others when they’re talking. He doesn’t always think before he speaks.

He agonises as he thinks back over conversations and worries that others see him as uncaring or rude. He wishes that he could present a better side of himself to others, so they can see him as the kind, considerate and capable person he really is.

Sarah is very introverted and has always felt she can’t articulate her thoughts as clearly as others. She speaks very softly and people regularly talk over her. She is often left feeling misunderstood, misjudged and overlooked.

Her lack of confidence means she dreads social interactions. She is desperate to form better relationships and gain the respect she feels she deserves.

These four people are all finding themselves stuck in their head, worrying about how other people are judging them.

The problem is, if you start convincing yourself that other people perceive you in a certain way…

unsociable… unconfident… boring… stupid… inconsiderate… abrupt…

you risk starting to truly believe this about yourself.

The stories we tell ourselves become our reality.

When you approach a social interaction truly believing:

“I’m a bad communicator”…

“I can’t express myself like others can”…

“I’m so awkward”…

“I feel so misunderstood”…

“I should have just stayed at home”…

This has a direct impact on your communication.

It’s difficult to put your thoughts into words coherently when your mind is in overdrive, worrying how others may be judging you.

Extra tension in your body can have an impact on the quality of your voice and the fluency and accuracy of your speech.

You may find yourself tripping over or forgetting your words, speaking very quickly, or mumbling. You may unintentionally give responses that sound blunt or abrupt.

This affects your self-belief.

Focusing on all the ‘mistakes’ you’re making in a conversation can directly affect how you perceive yourself as a communicator, and therefore how you approach future social interactions.

Your brain loves to identify patterns and is always looking for evidence to back up what it already believes to be true. Our brains are also programmed to focus on negatives. But negative thinking patterns fuel these negative self-beliefs.

It can be normal to find ourselves slipping into this cycle in high pressure situations where we are stepping out of our comfort zone - like attending a high-powered interview for the job of our dreams.

But if you find yourself stuck in this cycle in many social situations, it’s easy to feel hopeless, helpless and unconfident.

You may be even more likely to find yourself stuck in this cycle if you have a condition that affects your communication, such as a stammer or a lisp - because you’re naturally more conscious of how you are expressing yourself. This may also be the case if you have a condition that affects cognition or executive functioning, like ADHD or an acquired brain injury.

Isolation and avoidance of social situations can feel like the easiest option, but this only worsens the problem in the long-term.

The result is often that you don’t reach your potential in life – because the ability to communicate freely is so important in social and professional interactions.

The good news?

This negative communication cycle CAN be broken.

First of all, you need to believe you can break this negative cycle and communicate in the way you truly want to.

But simply a knowledge of what’s happening is often not enough to do this.

This is where I come in!

I help people to finally break free from this cycle and communicate in a way that feels easy, natural and enjoyable.

As a result, you can connect with others with confidence and achieve your true potential in all areas of life.

LET’S WORK TOGETHER