About
I’ve worked with leaders and teams from Nike, Rabobank, VFCompany, Vans, Booking.com, Puma, Heineken and various T.V. networks.
So you’d like to know more about me?
Over the course of my career, I’ve acted in theatre productions, worked for the Dutch National Opera, trained lawyers in communication techniques, directed stadium pop concerts, curated large corporate events, assisted the direction for the national event for the Dutch royal wedding, and more. I graduated from theatre school, studied psychodrama therapy and practised deep democracy. I’ve gone on to work with TV presenters, prolific international athletes, business leaders and a whole host of professionals to be public speakers.
In addition to speaker training, in 2020, I co-founded a new ilk of speaker agency called Changemaker Stories, which connects businesses with those taking action and making social and environmental change. This includes those on the frontlines of the refugee crisis, those working with the homeless and those in wildlife conservation. This is my way ensuring the stories the world needs to hear are heard.
Beyond that, I love to hike, camp, sing classical music, cook, knit, sow, plant, read about global politics and study – I’m always learning something new, be it a language or skill.
My Story
I’ve never quite fit in. Not even as a kid – the scrappy, wild, grubby child that I was. On the playground, I used my flair for storytelling to make friends laugh, to sweet talk teachers, to tell embellished tales to get out of trouble. And I wear my quirkiness as a badge of honour. Today I stand tall, quite literally, at over six feet. I stand tall, and I stand out. But standing out is OK. Standing out is good. In fact, as storytellers, public speakers and thought leaders, standing out is what we want, isn’t it? I love working with people to discover, or rediscover, what makes them stand out, what makes them special and the stories of theirs worth telling.
Values
Stories Shape Our World
The stories we tell matter. And how we tell them matters too. When we step out on stage and share our ideas, we have the power to connect with tens, hundreds, even thousands of people, to enlighten them, delight them and inspire them. But delivery is key. I work with speakers to figure out how a story needs to be told, working on the structure of a presentation from the ground up. I teach them how to meaningfully interact with their audiences, to make their voices heard and their presentations land with impact, enabling speakers to transform into brand stewards, culture shapers and contributors to public discourse.
Trust
Creating and delivering a presentation centres around trust. Companies entrust their speakers to be stewards of their brand messages. Audiences trust speakers to deliver presentations worth listening to. In turn, speakers must trust themselves to become bigger than themselves when they step out on stage. My role in working with speakers is also one of reciprocal trust. For companies and event managers, it’s trust that I will ensure their vision and safeguard their brand stories. For the speaker, it’s trust that I will stand next by them, help elevate them and support them in carving out their stories and establishing themselves as thought leaders.
Authenticity and Connection
Too often people get on stage and attempt to be something they’re not. It’s important that we be ourselves and deliver our stories with authenticity. Authenticity enables us to own the stage, captivate audiences and foster connection with them. We needn’t be perfect. But we need to be real. Sometimes we need to be vulnerable. But mostly, we need to be unashamedly ourselves. And when we are, we can transform into sensational presenters. A large part of my work is enabling speakers to discover their own voice and share their ideas and stories with confidence.
The Power of Storytelling
The human imagination is a powerful storytelling tool. As speakers, we can tap into people’s imaginations to bring colourful ideas to life and create shared experiences felt by entire audiences. If we chose, we can transport people into the sweaty throes of a basketball court, have them trekking up the frigid, perilous terrain of a mountaintop or throw them into the humid verdure of an equatorial rainforest. We can induce emotive responses – we can move audiences to tears or have them roaring in laughter or any emotion in between. All this makes for the most memorable presentations, the kind with lasting impact.
Process
What do I aim to achieve with my presentation? What do I personally want from it? What does my audience want or need from it? What does my company need from it? And, even, what does the world need from it? Pretty meaty questions, right? But these are what we’ll confront before diving into the nitty gritty.
With training in psychodrama therapy, I see people in their own context and what they need from and for a presentation. I look at the big picture. There are lots of moving parts to a successful presentation, from its messaging and structure to the technical elements. And then there’s its delivery. Standing on a stage, in front of an audience, doesn’t come naturally to many. Our instincts set in. We start to panic, sweat, breathe heavily. We feel under scrutiny, with all eyes on us. It’s an emotional experience for almost any speaker. But there are ways to manage these feelings – not by suppressing them but by being prepared. Throughout this process, rest assured that I’m in your corner. Together we’ll carve out your story, and I will be your strategic partner in achieving your speaking goals and propelling your career forward. I will equip you with tools and techniques to connect with audiences, be authentic, become a thought leader in your field, be better heard and leverage the power of storytelling.
Why work with me
Big stages, big audiences
With decades of experience in the events industry, I understand the nuances of how an event needs to be crafted. I know how to communicate with big audiences and how to own big stages, both in terms of the psychology and mechanics. In essence, I know how the big “scary” stuff works. I’ve navigated these waters many times. And this is what I enjoy most: working with speakers to create impact on big audiences.
Presenting in English
English is the universal language of today. As a native Dutch speaker working with clients in English for over 20 years, I understand how to train non-native English speakers to overcome their apprehensions of delivering presentations outside of their mother tongue. And I train native English speakers to successfully deliver presentations to international audiences – speakers who may be prone to common issues that make them less intelligible to non-native English ears.
Approach & Technique
Don’t expect a straight-laced, suit-wearing yeasayer. During my career, I’ve developed tried and trusted processes and techniques and worked with speakers to technically examine their presentations, starting at the foundations and building up to the core messaging. During the process, you’ll develop storytelling skills for the stage, including how to stand, move, speak, look, breath, smell, sweat. My coaching style is bold, energetic and charismatic, because this is what we need to be when we are on the stage.
Goals-orientated
Presentations can help or hurt company goals and our careers. After 20 years of working with international brands, I understand the balancing Why Work With Me act of creating a presentation that elevates both the brand and speaker, interweaving brand messages with the speaker’s own stories and ensuring a successful outcome for all. I am here to safeguard those brand goals while equipping the speaker with tools to deliver presentations that may be seminal to their careers. For companies curating a lineup of presentations, I can become a strategic partner in aligning the brand messaging across all speakers, presentations and departments.