Coaching
At last the day arrives. Your company has been working for five years on a debut. Much is riding on this introduction. The press has been called. The communications forces have been rallied. The lights go down. The lights go up. And the speaker is so predictable, that it becomes just one more press conference.
Or worse. The engineer—and this is her car that she has been guiding toward the light for seven years—reads for 40 minutes from a teleprompter. And then, there’s inevitable mention of passion. The last time I witnessed an executive using the word passion to describe his product, his voice was completely flat and he had his hands in his pockets.
I often find myself listening to speakers and wanting to help them craft a relationship with their audience, to help them talk “to”, not “at”. Some individuals are “naturally natural”, but, for most public speaking of any kind is torture. I work with speakers to tell a story in an authentic way that relates to the audience.
I take speakers through a process that uses much of what I have learned throughout my careers in theatre and journalism to deliver their messages with ease and dynamism. My focus as a coach is to shape and humanize a presentation. Every presentation, to a greater or lesser degree, is storytelling. And in a world full of brio and hyperbole, we value authenticity.
We remember some of our colleagues and their words and style because they were not scripted into a corner. They spoke to us. They used their character, their voice, their personality to help us remember for a long, long time what exactly they were trying to tell us about their company and their product.
Testimonials
“Kate listened carefully to my story, and took the time to understand the chapters in my life. She crafted my story, with every sentence full of substance, without losing an ounce of authenticity. Along the way, she critically examined my progress and reassured me that this was an idea worth spreading. Kate was a key component to my talk; through her I learned the power of raw, genuine story telling.”
Charles Ferrusi, MPH Candidate, NYU GIPH, Graduate Assistant, NYU LGBTQ Student Center, Outreach Coordinator, NYU CHIBPS, Teaching Assistant, NYU GIPH
“As a person that is usually judged by my criminal past, I really felt welcomed by Kate. She really understood my journey and helped me translate my story to those in the audience. After being trained by her, I learned so much on how to deliver and engage my audience with my story. I felt she really cared in making me a great speaker and helping me rehearse.
“Her results speak for themselves. All who were trained by her did an outstanding job and I would definitely recommend her to anyone for training. Thanks for helping me feel human again I really appreciate it.”
Coss Marte, Founder, Coss Athletics, Fitness Training and Consulting
Kate was my TEDx coach. I am normally a confident writer and speaker, but a TEDx talk is another animal, altogether. Kate was the perfect mirror for my early drafts, reflecting the point of view of the audience, without distorting my voice. It was during the final edits, however, that Kate’s genius and generosity shone as a TEDx coach. She encouraged me to strip away parts of my story that were unnecessary, until all that was left in the story was me. Kate was truly a coach, and not simply an editor. She confidently led me out onto the TEDx high-wire with an investment of her own considerable talents. Throughout the coaching process, she communicated support, kindness, urgency, and the non-negotiables of clarity and authenticity. Kate McLeod is the TEDx Whisperer.
Pilar Ryan, retired Army Colonel and History Professor
Mentoring
I created “What’s Your Story?” to work with at-risk young women. Through dramatic exercises drawn from Viola Spolin, they wrote stories about their lives in dramatic form. Their remarkable work was then performed at a public gathering to which they invited guests. For the young women who did not want to perform their work, actors came to the rescue.
