SUCCESS

I know how it feels to be anxious about speaking but I am now qualified to the highest level and am able to help you improve your speaking skills. If you think of a little old lady dressed in a Tweed suit talking rather 'posh' when you hear the words 'elocution teacher' think again! I live in jeans, laugh a lot and have a hint of a Dorset accent when not teaching but I am passionate about my work and am incredibly serious (with a smile)  when it comes to teaching my clients to sound confident.

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When I was about ten, my school had a parents evening where the parents go along and chat to the teachers to find out how their children are getting on.  During the course of the conversation with my mum, my teacher told her that I seemed happy enough but that he couldn't remember speaking to me during the year! I was an incredibly shy girl and if he didn't speak to me I certainly wasn't going to go out of my way to speak to him.
As a result of this I was taken to elocution lessons - if you think that means I speak 'posh' please listen to some of my free preview lectures. 

These lessons gave me confidence but didn't change the way I sound - I still have a Dorset accent (although when I teach I lose it!) and I strongly believe we shouldn't all sound the same. 
I was still a very shy girl but I knew how to speak when I had to. At my senior school, the different classes used to take it in turns to participate in the morning assemblies. We had a very elderly Maths teacher who claimed that the only time he could hear the assembly was when I did a reading! In return for this I was excused Maths tests in his class. Luckily my maths didn't suffer - I went on to pass 'A' level Maths.

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In 1979 I obtained a degree in Law and Economics and went on to become a trainee accountant - for all of 12 weeks!! Sitting in an office all day was not for me!  I decided to go back to what I enjoyed doing and in 1994 I qualified (A.N.E.A.) as an elocution teacher. Since then I've taught lecturers at Universities,  trainee doctors for the NHS, sports coaches, business people, tele sales personnel, children, health care workers, stroke victims and staff at national charities. I specialize in one to one private lessons for children and adults, creating online courses and conducting workshops for businesses.

In June 2014 I gained my F.V.C.M.(Hons). I've taught students who have appeared in television series and who have won awards for their acting. I've also written articles for various magazines worldwide, an academic paper and have published three books about speaking with confidence.

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