ABOUT

It seems like it was such a long time ago, yet I can remember it as if it was yesterday.

As a child I was always a nervous wreck when it came to English class, and grade 10 was no exception. I absolutely dreaded projects/ assignments where we had to stand up and speak in front of the entire class. One day the teacher announced, for the next assignment no standing in front of the class. Instead, we’d be speaking at our desks.

We had to choose a selection from a novel and read that out loud. My choice was Silas Marner by George Eliot. I read. I practiced. I immersed myself. It didn’t matter. I was still a nervous wreck.

Then, the fateful day arrived. Going around the room, the teacher called the students one by one. Finally, it was my turn. I stood up, and dove in with a passion. The room was silent when I finished. You could have heard a pin drop. Mortified, I  looked downward to hide the tears welling in my eyes. Too shy to face the audience. Praying all the while to let this just be a dream.  I knew it was not.

Suddenly, after what appeared to be an eternity, the entire class broke out into a thunderous applause. I lifted my head to face my classmates. There was whooping, and hollering! I couldn’t believe my ears.

Yes. I cried.

Since that day my life has taken me on a trajectory built upon the power of voice. As a College Instructor, educator, and trainer in public speaking and presentation skills. For over twenty-five years, I’ve worked with professionals in the corporate sector, industry, various associations and government.  I’ve travelled across Canada (yes, I am Canadian) as a contract trainer. I’ve coached TEDx speakers with their stories, and as a speaker have told my own; I’ve come to realize that our voice has incredible power to impact what others hear and how they hear it.

A friend once told me that life is filled with a bunch of circles entertwined, that the more circles we create the more circles we attract, the more circles we attract the richer our lives become, the richer our lives, the more we have to do. Lately I’ve been thinking about that. Silas Marner still rings strongly in my heart.

Looking to work with authors that write books, essays, stories in the following genres:

– humour
– fiction historical, romance, mystery
– memoirs
– instructional
– adventure
– personal development