Shola’s story
I regularly perform in front of audiences of many hundreds of people but it wasn’t always that way. I still think of myself as a quiet person, despite what I do for a living. That’s why I’m passionate about helping you find your own voice. I know how debilitating it can feel when you’re afraid to speak up or don’t know what to say.
I even lost a job for being in that position!
When it comes to speaking up, you really don’t have to feel like the deer in the headlights. My story is below. Maybe some aspect of it resonates with you? Just know that there IS a voice inside you and that we can work together to set it free…
As a kid at primary school, I couldn’t stop talking.
But by the time I’d graduated from university, worked for a few years as a teacher in a London comprehensive and then taken my first corporate job, as a management consultant in New York, I realized I had a problem.
I didn’t know who I was or what I wanted to say. I hadn’t yet found my own, unique, authentic voice.
There I was, working with global blue chip clients, with all sorts of great opportunities available to me. And although I had a lot to offer as a bright science graduate with a degree from Cambridge University and a Masters from the USA I knew that I could have given so much more.
But I didn’t know what my potential was. I had no idea what ‘floated my boat’ or how to unlock my best self.
As a child I’d been fostered. I’d had a wonderful experience with my foster family and loved them dearly. But mistakenly, I’d decided that my atypical upbringing made me strange, weird even. And that my opinions and views weren’t as valid as other people’s. This continued on into my adult life and changed me from being a bubbly child who wouldn’t shut up, to becoming an introvert, reluctant to express her own opinion.
Eventually I moved back to the UK and took another corporate job, this time as an account director working with FTSE 100 companies. But again, I wasn’t sure of myself, didn’t know what my own unique voice was, and so didn’t do as well in that role as I could have.
I left the company and embarked on a journey following several disparate interests. I took personal development workshops. I trained to be a life coach. I read books. I studied Spanish and Italian. I embarked on singing lessons and songwriting classes.
It was fun, it was fulfilling and although I didn’t know where it was leading, I felt I had to stay with it. This wasn’t the road to nowhere. It was a road to somewhere important to me.
Eventually I forged a career as a working singer – not easy! I performed in the UK and abroad for corporate clients and sang in bands supporting some big names.
Later on I travelled to LA and won a songwriting prize. I started a couple of small businesses in the entertainment industry.
And slowly I found my voice.
Then, I happened to come across a book that discussed making a living as a professional speaker. It made me cry! And I realised I had a secret yearning to go back to teaching, coaching and helping others. But this time from the stage. And it seemed fitting to include music and songs with the speaking. The power of music is that it reaches the emotions without the intellect needing to be involved.
I loved singing for people, touching them with music, so why not sing and speak?! And why not help people discover themselves with a framework I’d used myself. But instead of it taking years, the right process would shorten the time dramatically.
My V.O.I.C.E.S. system which I deliver via coaching and workshops will help you get your message out into the world. And my four-step D.I.V.A public speaking framework, delivered via keynotes or workshops, is all about helping you and your fellow delegates find and express your own unique voices.
I’m passionate about you uncovering your true potential. Your hidden genius. Your best self.