About Me
As your dedicated coach, I am passionate about helping you enhance your public speaking and presentation skills. Focus on your communication abilities. Together, we will build your self-assurance and confidence, so that you can deliver your presentation professionally and with ease.
We will showcase your strengths and position you as a recognized leader who always delivers their best. Let’s get started on this journey.
I’ve been interested in improving my overall speaking skills for the past year, particularly in a professional capacity,
and was lucky enough to work with Dorothea privately over the course of a month. Dorothea truly cares about her clients; before we began, she took the time to understand my challenges and learning goals to create a personalized course for my unique situation. She brings her immense wealth of knowledge and expertise to each of our sessions to bolster understanding and confidence. I especially appreciate her practical approach to coaching as she ensures there is plenty of time for in-session practice, critical feedback, and real-time tips for improvement. It’s been a wonderful experience working with Dorothea
and I would highly recommend any woman looking for a safe, encouraging environment to practice speaking,
to consider working with Dorothea!
Winnie Jung
Product & Brand Marketer
Vancouver, BC
how it all began
After high school, I landed my first job as manager of a small department inside a major national retail store. I was ecstatic. Two months in, my management career ended with a thud. I was told I had an excellent work ethic, but my communication skills were not. I’d been raised with the belief that my work should speak for itself. It didn’t then, and doesn’t now. Communication skills matter.
I went back to school and graduated as a teacher. Standing in front of students was excruciatingly painful because I was so self-conscious. I felt like I had been thrown into a gigantic lake. It was either sink to the bottom, or learn to paddle like crazy, and stay on top. I paddled like crazy. Teaching was my crash course in understanding human relations and my start to building my own confidence and communication skills.
After a number of years, I moved from teaching to training. I began offering public speaking and presentation skills workshops to accountants, professionals in law, engineering, and health care. I also spent several years travelling across the country facilitating workshops on leadership, team building and effective communication.
Then, one day it hit me. It was like a smack on the head. … The biggest challenge for people wasn’t in their ability to speak, it was in their ability to communicate what they wanted to say, so the people listening to them ‘Got it’: understood the speaker’s ideas, thoughts and feelings.
Through word-of-mouth, and one-on-one, I began to coach clients in communication and presentation skills, and I realized that I had found a passion.
WHAT I DO
I specialize in coaching public speaking and presentation skills. My clients are self-employed entrepreneurs, managers in finance, engineering, retail, technology and health care.
They want to advance their careers, have better relationships, and make more money.
They see themselves developing the skills they need to engage others and have a positive impact. They are driven and strive for excellence in their communication and presentation skills. They know being an effective public speaker is a strategic career move that will help get them noticed and recognized for their accomplishments.
As your coach, I will give you a plan with steps you can put into practice. And, I’ll give you the support and guidance you need to stay on track.
There may be times when you might not be able to see what needs to be changed in your content or delivery. My role is to provide you with feedback, offer a different perspective, give direction, and help you focus on expanding your speaking skills
I’m invested in your learning and will hold you accountable, so you can give your best.
My promise to you, I will use all the tools, knowledge and skills to guide you and support you in crafting what you want to say, and how to say it when it matters most.
My Approach
I’ll start by asking you questions about your speaking style, your presentation goals, and what you feel you need to do to achieve these goals. We will also look into any current challenges or issues you’re facing or feel need to overcome so you can reach your goal of being a poised and powerful presenter.
Working together we’ll map out what we need to do on a progressive level from being crystal clear on your message to being clear on your outcome: from making connection to increasing engagement. With increasing engagement comes greater visibility and leadership opportunity.
We will work on three key areas.
CONTENT CREATION
What Do You Want to Say?
I’ll help you organize and prioritize your material. Together we’ll craft your message and highlight key ideas for a smooth and logical flow. It’s the level of our communication that determines how we influence decisions and motivate change. I will hold you accountable to your plan and your purpose.
COmmunication strategies
How Do You Want to Say It?
I will ask you to experiment in how you use your voice, incorporate body language and structure your speech material. I’ll challenge you step out of your comfort zone and look for different ways to make connection, build credibility and motivate.
assessment and feedback
What Do We Need to Do?
We’ll practice delivery techniques best suited to your speaking style. I will help you identify your speaking strengths and potential areas for improvement. As your coach, my ultimate goal is for you to give your best in every presentation, to every audience.
Thank you for helping me
create, craft and deliver my TEDx talk,
“Show Up To Rise Up”
and my recent keynote presentation,
“Take Care of You”
which was a tremendous success.
Thanks Dorothea. You Rock!
Dr. Madeline Ann Lewis
Career and Leadership Coach
Maryland
Free Consultation
Are you anxious and question your ability when asked to speak at a meeting? When you’ve had no time to prepare? Whether you’re working on a business presentation or a TEDx talk, with guidance, support, and feedback, I can help you …