The Coach/Consultant debate
Providing training at the Royal Central School of Speech & Drama where I also work as a visiting lecturer for their business team.
My recent conundrum, and I guess identity crisis, is around what I call myself! Weirdly the universe seems to be wondering the same as a recent IG post and an email from the Brighton Chamber both delved into the subject of what a coach is.
I was originally a ‘Voice Coach,’ a common title for graduates with an MA in Voice Studies. My first challenge is that this could describe a singing teacher too and that I am not!
So, ‘Voice and Communication Coach’ it was. However, for years I have been a little confused about being a coach/consultant/trainer as I believe my work is a hybrid of all three. What doesn’t help is that I am also a speech and drama teacher (!) and founded another company for children to build speaking skills - www.findingvoices.co.uk. But I digress…
A one day workshop on public speaking skills in Brighton (luckily I don’t train people to draw).
According to the internet (!):
A consultant is typically hired to provide expert advice and solutions for specific problems or projects. They typically have specialised knowledge and experience in a certain industry or field and may offer recommendations on how to improve processes, increase efficiency or solve complex business challenges. Consulting can be beneficial when an organisation needs a quick and practical solution to a problem or wants to outsource a specific project or task.
Coaching, on the other hand, is focused on helping individuals or teams improve their skills, achieve their goals and reach their full potential. They may use a variety of techniques such as mentoring, training, feedback and guidance to help clients develop new skills, overcome obstacles and achieve success in their personal or professional lives.
Leanne Wong commented in a Forbes article, “Hire a consultant when you need an expert who can teach you a process or method. Hire a coach when you want to discover yourself”. Perhaps part of my problem might be ego related (!) as this remark makes me think, right, I must be a consultant! I would say that my MA and experience have made me an expert in the voice and how we speak. However, my work also involves training, practise and discussion. I can’t write a ‘how to’ for a company or individual and leave them to it. I need to check they are getting it right and provide them with further tools. Any training videos have to go alongside IRL training and coaching as the way we move, breathe, and hold tension is so individual and can have a huge impact on how we speak.
Good coaches are also experts in their subject matter. There is a wealth of teaching and coaching involved in my training.
If a client is concerned about their pitch - I know how to change it with exercises.
If a team is mumbling and not getting heard - I studied phonetics, accents, and dialects and can teach people to move their mouths and articulators differently to be clear.
If a client is too fast I have a tool-kit of tricks to slow them down, add pauses and even change the way they breathe to manage nerves and project!
So for now I am a voice and communication coach, hello, hi, hey!
I always used to assume that people totally got what I did without me having to go into detail but this, and I expect for you reading too, is not the case! The clearer you are, the better for those you work with (my next conundrum is ‘communication’ or ‘speech’ coach. Arghhh!).
3 reasons to work with me…
Public speaking fills you with dread but NOT doing it is holding you back
You feel like you aren’t clear when communicating or people don’t hear you/listen
You need to gain more impact when speaking to others
3 ways you can work with me…
Book a 1:1
Join a group workshop
Call me to discuss training for your company