- maximumperformance.co.uk
- Susie Ashfield
Overview
Susie has worked as a voice-over artist for BBC, Sky, ITV1, Sony Pictures, Spotify and many more. Unusually, she used to combine this with working in the City as an insurance broker, managing a client body of high net worth and high profile clients in media television and film.
She is now a full-time freelance trainer and coach, making the most of her unusual combination of acting skills and director-level business experience by specialising in helping clients to control and optimise their body language and non-verbal communication techniques, structuring presentations for effect, and giving the kind of vocal empowerment needed to both succeed and be seen to succeed.
She began training individuals and companies in presentation skills and voice development when she was asked by Debrett’s to put together a workshop for their graduate course on ‘Effective Communication’. She has worked with people at all levels from CEOs to actors and graduates to give them a greater understanding of communication, through tone, structure and delivery, which she demonstrates with a passion for helping clients succeed in business.
Susie’s training and coaching clients include Accenture, AS Financial, Asahi Beer, Aviva, Canaccord, CAS, Cass Business School, Clarks, Coca Cola European Partners, College of Policing, Creston, De Lage Landen, Debrett’s, Disclosure Scotland, Duff & Phelps, Eisai, English Cricket Board, Epson, Generali (Milan, Italy) , Hampshire County Council, Harrods, Informa, Infrahedge, Ius Laboris (Brussels, Belgium) , Lancashire Group, Latham & Watkins LLP, LBS Lancashire, Living Ventures, Lloyds of London, London Executive Offices, NATO (Naples, Italy) , Network Rail, Nourish, Purdey’s, RailPen, RBS, Rolls Royce (Indianapolis, US) , S&P Global, Santander, Save The Children, SEPA, SITA (Geneva, Switzerland) , Sitecore, Sky Sports, State Street, The Home Office, The University of Strathclyde, The Wine Society, TIGA, Travel Counsellors, Ultra Electronics, Unilever, etc, etc.
Susie’s ‘Presentation skills, TED-style’ programme is particularly popular and is now delivered as a small-group workshop on an in-house basis, as a webinar, as an open course and as a conference-style presentation.
Voice and leadership in business
- Rehearsing and perfecting public speaking such as the rehearsing of sales pitches and presentations, negotiations or speeches in order to lift the confidence of your listeners.
- Classes on speaking with conviction and clarity in front of small to very large audience, camera and stage skills focusing on engaging your audience and maintaining focus with an emphasis on dealing with the media.
- Learning how to ‘talk like TED’. Workshops developed on the speeches and presentations given by famous TED talkers. Discover the secrets behind mind-blowing delivery through the techniques used by the most inspiring leaders.
- Master negotiating, pitching, and most importantly, winning an audience.
Media coaching
- Vocal techniques for dynamic speaking to endorse a message to your audience with a focus on a warm, authoritative delivery.
- Techniques in vocal pitch, projection and pacing without deliberation and learning the art of silence as an expressive tool. This includes interactive exercises, feedback and examination of real-life speeches and closer examination of rhetorical techniques.
- Learn how to ‘win the argument’ whilst leaving behind a memorable public image with the personality to match.
Engaging your audience
- Through an intensive training day you will master preparation of your own material, connecting to the audience and performing in a way that grabs the hearts and minds of every audience member.
- You will learn how to understand the needs of an audience and how best to structure your content in order to make your story authentic to then.
- Basic techniques are taught such as grounding yourself, breathing projecting and overcoming nervousness. This toolbox will equip you to deliver a dynamic and compelling performance that your audience will not forget quickly.
Graduate development
- Providing training on a one-to-one basis and/or group coaching in interviewing, networking, presentation skills, positive first impressions and maximising personal presence.
- Classes that focus on vocal impact and business communication skills.
- Tailored workshops for developing assertiveness skills, confidence building, media training, and facing an audience.