JULIA GOODMAN

I formed Personal Presentation Ltd. in 1989.  The Performagenics methodology evolved from an understanding of the mechanics of confident and focused communication that came from my 25 years’ experience as a professional actress, producer and director, and from a passionate desire to distil this into a blueprint so anyone could use it and benefit from it.

Over the years I have worked with Chairmen and CEO’s across a wide range of business sectors, using the process to help them crystallise and engage with their ‘message’, whether this is their corporate strategy, their relationship with colleagues and clients, or how they feel about themselves.

And, of course, to help them perform without the ‘strings’ of scripts, notes, autocue, verbatim memorisation – or anything else that blocks the power of their emotional energy and communication impact and engenders suspicion in their audience. 

Over the past four years I have worked with senior teams to help them communicate and bring the power of their You brand to all areas of responsible leadership: ‘Say what you mean and mean what you say, with no blood on the carpet!’  This work is exciting and demanding, particularly now when the need to get to good decisive outcomes that can be committed to and delivered is crucial for survival.

I have recently helped the senior board of a highly profitable Plc, who needed to put in place a solid succession strategy, to get to a congruent, effective and highly aware place.  This is now serving them well in these uncertain times.

We have also helped the CEO and team of a leading private equity house, since its inception, to build a dynamic, effective and transparent team of strong individuals with high internal and external impact.  This process involved getting everyone to take individual ownership of the CEO’s vision and strategy, and articulating these in a way that was personal to them but also consistent across the team.

More recently, my focus has been on developing people’s awareness of the full scope and power of the work, and taking it into new areas.  By way of example:

• I have developed close links with Dyslexia Action and have run workshops, written articles and made keynote speeches for the organisation.

• For the British Dyslexia Association I have run workshops in prisons to help prisoners (70% of whom are dyslexic) develop their self-awareness and relationship ability through articulating and expressing themselves and being heard and understood.

• My work with young people is a particular joy.  They are fresh and hungry for learning (in or out of prison).  The secret to unlocking their confidence and motivational energy is to help them realise that their point of view, how they feel and see things, is right and valuable and their start point.  Too often they feel that the only way to see things is through the eyes of their parents, teachers and authority figures (however well meaning).  Helping them articulate who they are and what they want is what gives them confidence and natural assertiveness, and what really helps them with interviews, their first job, selection processes and career progression.

• The big pitch or major presentation (or minor one) is a strong thread through my work, and this has helped many people ‘bring themselves into the public domain’.  This is where You brand can really impact and change perception.

• Members of my team and I regularly take individual clients and small teams away on Coaching Retreats: from two days in the UK to 4-5 days on a Tuscan wine estate, where the peace and spirituality allow our emotional energy and creative juices to flow.  Clients come back with focus, understanding and real solutions on both a personal and business level, and as one client said, having had “bloody good fun!”  Not such a frivolous statement, as I firmly believe that we don’t learn without the ability to play!

• I’ve worked with a number of senior people at a crossroads in their career, helping them really connect with what they want so they have a sense of real choice and the confidence and ability to make it.

• Through the You brand methodology and its programmes, we have helped a great many people realise their potential and be promoted to the highest levels.

The ability to sit quietly and confidently within our You brand is something I wish for everyone, whatever their age or position; the choice to realise our potential is something we all have within us.  I see my job as helping bring that into the light.

Don't be fooled by Julia's background in drama. Julia doesn't teach her subjects to put on an act. Instead, she simply teaches them how to be themselves - but with a versatility to adapt to environments and audiences that may be outside the subjects' comfort zone.

•       Gareth Zundel

                    Head of Communications

                    Libra Group

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I heard about Julia's work at Microsoft, where I saw how she transformed the performance of those who had to deliver board level presentations and had to create personal brands. She has a wealth of knowledge, and experience and is without doubt the leading expert in her field. I would very strongly recommend her and her team.

• Simon Kelly

              European Director

              LinkedIn

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Julia has had a long standing relationship with Aegis and has completed a number of very successful assignments for us, in areas such as personal coaching and presentation skills/pitch training.

She has worked on an individual basis with a number of very senior people at Aegis and has had a high degree of impact, leading to demonstrable improvements in their skills. If you are looking for a coach with the capability to influence senior leaders to change their behaviour and enhance their skills, Julia would be a great choice.

• Craig McCoy

              HR Director

              Aegis

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Click here to visit Julia's LinkedIn page

SARAH CHARD

I’ve seen people learn more about themselves from You brand Coaching in the space of a day than in weeks of conventional business coaching, and the reason is

this …

There’s a lot of work going on around ‘behavioural change’ – but in my experience the reality of a head-on approach to changing behaviour amounts to a lot of concepts and dictats that are only half understood by the individual and never really taken on board: a load of rules to be broken, in fact! 

The You brand experience is quite different.  It builds an inner awareness and ability that allows a person to control how they interact, both with themselves and with others (our relationships with others are, after all, no more than a reflection of our relationship with ourselves).

So when they develop their You brand, people begin to think and feel differently about themselves and others; and, crucially, they are able to articulate this difference, in the moment of interaction. That’s why the difference is instantly apparent to colleagues and clients alike.  And because it is fuelled from within and visible on the outside, it is the kernel of a real and durable change in both perceived and actual behaviour.

This isn’t just a lot of vacuous theorising! The results of the process have real teeth.  In my recent work I’ve been involved in  …

• helping a client prepare for a meeting with George W. Bush
• developing the awareness of the CEO of a Private Equity firm of the power of being himself, and the confidence to build relationships by sitting back more, being able to let go and allow leadership to flourish in others
• giving a senior consultant in an IT solutions company the self-awareness and confidence to make a radical career change
• raising the profile and the confidence to be themselves of women in a number of global manufacturing, consultancy and professional services firms
• working in partnership with executive coaches and psychologists to support senior individuals through change
• ‘steadying’ a highly creative actuary in order for him to maintain his creativity in a very left-brain organisation

I joined the development team at Personal Presentation Ltd in 2000 after a 17 year career as professional actor and singer.  I’ve worked closely with Julia Goodman to continue the development of the You brand Coaching process through the application of my training and experience as a humanistic therapist. I am also working towards becoming a member of the British Psychological Society.

I’m particularly proud of my contribution to the development of the Women’s Programme, which I feel really sets a new agenda within ‘Diversity’ (individual responsibility for action instead of just damage limitation) and also the Leadership Programme which enables individuals to articulate and express their leadership potential.

I believe firmly in the power of You brand Coaching to change not just how a person is perceived, but also how they feel about themselves and ultimately what they do with their lives.

It’s a magical process that works in myriad ways, but one of its main features is that it moves people towards a place of real emotional connection.  This is the key to authenticity and self-discovery, and lies at the heart of being able to communciate passionately, spontaneously and compellingly. 

Some thumbnails from recent clients, by way of illustration … I’ve helped:

• a young woman in a professional services firm to change her mind-set about her age and turn it to positive advantage when appearing before a promotion panel.
• a director at a building society work out what people actually meant when they told her she should bring more of her ‘home self’ into work.  She’d spent months agonising about it because she didn’t know how, but the coaching helped her discover precisely how to do it.
• a high-ranking public sector officer regain their confidence, dignity and professional status after being badly burned in an accident.

ROD BEACHAM

Rod is a critically acclaimed writer with many television, radio and stage credits. He created the long running guest villainess, Philippa Vale (Liza Godard), for the popular TV series Bergerac; and his play No Big Deal was nominated for an award by the Writers’ Guild, followed by two successful national tours.  He's currently co-writing a Hollywood film based on Lies Have Been Told, his celebrated stage play about Robert Maxwell.

Rod has written and directed several corporate playlets for Personal Presentation, and enjoys the challenge of bringing his experience to bear in this area. As Rod says: “Instead of an hour or more, you have five or ten minutes to put your message across clearly and vividly. At the same time you have to maximise your use of humour and characterisation, to keep a captive audience alert and receptive.”

Rod is also a trained and experienced actor, and works closely with Julia as a role-player in the coaching process.  “I’ve found it one of the most interesting and rewarding experiences I've ever had. Watching people discover the innate capabilities they never knew they had, and helping them develop and exploit them, is enormously satisfying.”

HANNAH GERNON

I joined the company in 2001.  As Commercial Administrator I’m involved in many aspects of the day-to-day running of the business, from booking to invoicing and lots of bits in between!

I’ve experienced the coaching first hand and found that it is definitely something that has to be experienced to be fully understood and appreciated, which is why I would recommend everyone to try it.

As well as the Coaching, I’m also closely involved in the role-play side of our business, looking after our team of around 20 actor role-player, some of whom now support our Coaches in the You brand programme.

In my personal life I am the very proud mummy of a 5 year old boy who keeps me more than busy in the evenings and weekends with anything to do with super heroes, Indiana Jones being the flavour of the month at the moment.  Da da da dah, da da da dah... sing along now!