"What specific coaching services do you provide?"  Voice Coaching;  Speech Training;  Voice Development;  Vocal Coaching;  Vocal Training; Presentation Skills Training;  Public Speaking Training;  Interview Technique Coaching;  Communication Skills Training;  Impact Coaching;  Confidence Coaching;  Conversational Skills;  Body Language Coaching and Performance Skills;  Drama Lessons;  Audition Coaching;  Accent Reduction;  Accent Softening;  Dialect Coaching; Pronunciation Coaching.

"What is your coaching style?"  Warm, friendly, supportive and constructive. People will often feel more self conscious about their speaking voices than about any other aspect of their personal image. I feel it is vitally important for you as the speaker to feel completely comfortable with the person with whom you are entrusting this most personal and delicate of professional and social skills.

"What is your coaching philosophy?"  To treat each of my clients entirely as an individual and to work with each person according to their very specific training needs, personality and level of knowledge and experience. This may sound obvious but is sadly not always the case and is extremely important. No one client's sessions with me will resemble that of another client as I tailor all my coaching very carefully to the needs of the speaker. I believe this is the only way to achieve truly impressive, powerful and lasting results.

"What is your coaching structure?"  Again, this depends on the client's needs. Complete flexibility is fundamental to my coaching structure and it is entirely up to the client to have as few or as many sessions as they require. For example, you may wish to have just one or two sessions to prepare a speech for a special occasion or to prepare for a job interview. Alternatively, you may wish to have a series of sessions over a longer period of time to fully develop your voice and optimise your vocal skills. Where applicable I will custom design a unique yet flexible training program for each client and I believe it is my job to ensure that each speaker achieves the best possible results within the time and budget available to them.

"Where will the coaching take place?"  For private clients most coaching takes place at my studio in West London. (There are exceptions to this; please contact me for further details.) For corporate clients most coaching will be conducted in-house at the company's premises. (Again, flexibility applies.)

"How will I know if I am making progress?"  Hopefully, you will begin to see results fairly quickly as a result of a new found awareness of your voice and of the processes of speech. However I will also give you constant and unlimited access to facilities that will allow you to be the judge of your own progress. If you agree, I will video or audio-record parts of your sessions and play sections back to you so that we can analyse your progress together. It is your voice and I want you to be fully aware of the exciting and positive changes you are making! This can be of particular use if I am helping you to prepare for a job interview, public speaking engagement or important presentation. I will give you copies of these recordings on demand should you wish to take them home and watch them at your leisure.

"Do you charge extra for teaching materials?"  Absolutely not! My session fees include any written material, exercises, tapes, etc. that I feel may be of use to you. I will give you plenty of "homework" (if you wish) to aid your progress and I often design very specific exercises for individual clients. These materials - along with any preparation time involved - are included in my session fee.

"Can you help me to soften my accent?"  Yes. (But only if you want it to be softened!)  A good proportion of my work is with clients who wish to soften, reduce or eradicate an overseas or regional accent. In addition to teaching advanced vocal development I am also a phonetics coach and have a wealth of specialist knowledge in this area. Responsible accent training should have little to do with old-style "elocution" lessons. It is vital that the coach has a very strong working knowledge of the phonology or "sounds" of an accent and that they understand exactly which sounds, inflection patterns, etc. their client is likely to have difficulty with. In addition, I do not treat a client's accent as a "separate" issue to their overall vocal development. Often a perceived "problem" with a speaker's accent is not simply a case of mispronunciation but can also be influenced by the way the speaker is producing their voice. As I am both a Voice Coach and an Accent Coach I tend to find that this "holistic" approach to a client's voice is by far the most effective way to address any issues of clarity, articulation and listener-comprehension and achieve exciting results.

"What if I am happy with my accent the way it is?"  Then we will definitely not soften or reduce your accent! Personally, I love accents and feel that -where possible - a speaker should be empowered to feel comfortable with this exciting aspect of their vocal identity. However, if a client wishes to change their accent for any number of professional or personal reasons I will happily work very closely with them to achieve the level of accent modification they require.

"I have a fear of public speaking. Can you help me?"  Yes! If this is you then you are certainly not alone. This is a very common fear and I can provide sensitive, supportive and highly effective help for coping with nerves and anxiety caused by the fear of speaking in front of an audience. This includes "curing" you of any of the negative vocal changes that can occur as a result of nerves. I can also help with "stage fright" associated with any number of speaking situations including job interviews, actor's auditions and performances, professional appraisals, presentations, even wedding speeches!

"What sets you apart from other voice coaches?"  Like many other voice coaches, I have enjoyed a long, successful and wide-ranging career as both an opera singer and an actor. Obviously this gives me a unique insight into a great many aspects of vocal performance such as how to connect with an audience, make powerful use of body language, develop coping strategies for stage fright, etc. However, unlike many other voice coaches, this is not my sole or even my primary qualification for my work as a voice coach. I am not simply an actor or singer who is applying what they have leant in their careers and training to their voice coaching practices. I am a highly qualified, highly experienced Voice Teacher and Accent Coach with over fifteen years' experience teaching these skills.

Throughout this time I have remained keenly aware of two vital factors:

• For those providing voice coaching for business professionals and others who may not have had the benefit of formal voice training it is simply not enough to offer only the kind of voice training that they themelves may have received as actors. While some clients may express the desire simply to "learn to speak like an actor" most will have vocal aspirations, issues and goals far more complex than this.

• Most standard voice coaching exercises and vocal warm up routines are only effective insofar as the coach knows how and when to use them, is sensitive to the fact that the client may not immediately feel comfortable with "performing" such unfamiliar vocal pyrotechnics, ensures that the client knows exactly why a particular vocal exercise is being employed and givves a full explanation of the desired end result.

"Why is this important?"  In these uncertain economic times, when an individual or corporation seeks any kind of expert training and development the most important question they should be asking themselves is: "will I achieve real results, in the areas I want, in the time and budget available to me or my company?" In other words, will the training represent exceptional value, both financially and in terms of the end result? In addition: the human voice is a delicate instrument. It can be damaged and - in extreme cases - this damage can be irreparable. So, making the wrong choice in terms of your voice training solutions can not only lead to a waste of your time and your financial recources, it could also compromise this most precious of professional and social resources: your voice!

"So how will these values benefit me as your client?"  I am an expert in vocal health and the care of the human voice and as a result your voice and its development will be in extremely safe hands. I am very sensitive to the specific needs of each and every one of my clients and the professional, social and emotional responsibility of my work as a voice coach. As my client, your vocal goals will become my highest priority. I genuinely care about the progress of my clients and remain fully committed to this client-centred philosophy and its powerful, effective "real world" results.