What Do You Want to Accomplish?

People come to The Let’s Talk Coach for very different reasons.

You may be preparing for an interview or presentation, pursuing a promotion, meeting customers or taking on greater professional responsibility. Or you may want to feel more comfortable at a party, meet new people, join a conversation, make small talk or simply know what to say when you’re standing in a room full of people you don’t know.

Sometimes the goal crosses both worlds. Being comfortable starting a conversation, listening, asking questions and responding spontaneously matters at a networking event—and at a neighborhood barbecue.

What do you want to be able to do more confidently?

Interviews Are Conversations

Candidates may also be asked to describe accomplishments, explain how they approached a problem, discuss a challenging professional situation, give examples of how they have handled responsibilities in the past—or simply talk about their hobbies and interests outside of work.

And you won’t know the question in advance. Even when you anticipate the subject, the question may be phrased very differently from the one you practiced. If you don’t understand a question, don’t answer the question you think you heard. Ask for clarification first.

Interview coaching isn’t about memorizing the “right” answers. It’s about becoming more comfortable listening to the question, thinking about what is being asked and responding naturally.

The Presentation Isn’t Always the Hard Part

You can prepare your material, organize your slides and rehearse what you plan to say. You may also want to work on diction, clarity, pacing, pronunciation or particular words and phrases so that you’re comfortable with how you sound when you deliver it.

Then someone asks a question.

The discussion may move in a direction you didn’t anticipate. Someone may challenge a point, ask you to explain something differently or use terminology you weren’t expecting. You may need to clarify what they are asking before you can respond.

Individual coaching can help you prepare not only to deliver your presentation, but to handle the conversation around it—introductions, questions, discussion and the unexpected moments that happen when other people become part of the presentation.

A prepared presentation still requires spontaneouscommunication.

Sometimes You Just Want to Feel More Comfortable in the Room

Not every communication goal involves a career, presentation or interview.

You may want to feel more comfortable walking into a party where you don’t know anyone, joining a conversation already in progress, making small talk, meeting new people or knowing how to keep a conversation going once you’ve started it.

Good conversation isn’t about being the person who talks the most. It involves listening, asking questions, recognizing cues and allowing other people into the conversation. It also means knowing how to enter the conversation, hold your place in it and respond when someone else is doing most of the talking. And sometimes, it means knowing when you’ve been talking long enough.

And then there’s the other end of the conversation: knowing how to leave one gracefully without feeling awkward.

These aren’t scripts to memorize. They’re skills that become more natural when you understand how conversations develop and become more comfortable responding to the people around you.

Good conversation isn’t about how much you talk. It’s about connecting with the person you are talking with.

Diction, Pronunciation & Speaking Patterns

Sometimes the issue is simply how you sound when you speak.

You may speak too quickly, mumble, drop the ends of words, struggle with particular sounds or words, or find that people frequently ask you to repeat yourself. Or you may be perfectly understandable but want to improve your diction, pronunciation, pacing, cadence or overall delivery so people are more comfortable listening to what you have to say.

This isn’t limited to people who learned English as a second language. Native English speakers can have speaking patterns they want to improve, too.

Individual coaching allows us to identify what is actually affecting how you communicate and work specifically on that rather than changing things that aren’t a problem.

The goal isn’t to change your voice. It isn’t about eliminating an accent—unless that’s what you want. It’s about helping you speak in a way that makes it easier for people to understand you—and want to listen.

Communication as Your Career Grows

A promotion or new responsibility can change the conversations you’re expected to have—with colleagues, customers, management or a team.

Sometimes advancing professionally means becoming more comfortable with a different level of communication.

Live, In-Person Coaching

The Let’s Talk Coach is based in the Denver, Colorado area and works live and in person. Being in the room matters—body language, tone, timing, facial expression and how you respond to another person are all part of communication.

For individual coaching outside the Denver area, travel can be considered depending on the engagement.