Event Special Feature: Diana Thomson of SpeechMarks Coaching
Women In Trades NZ would like to introduce you to Diana Thomson, owner of SpeechMarks Coaching. For the fourth year running, Diana is working with our Mitre10 Trade Keynote speaker to craft her trade story and experiences into an inspiring presentation to be shared at our Getting Women Into Trades event in association with MBIE at the Vodafone Events Centre on August 19.
WIT NZ sat down for a Q&A with Diana so our community can get to know a little more about who she is and what she does.
WIT: What is your official job title, and how did you get into your current line of work?
Diana: My official job title is owner of SpeechMarks Coaching, but I call myself an author/coach /speaker. I am a public speaking coach and have niched my niche to be ‘the woman’s public speaking coach’ because I found so many women were great at what they did but not confident about speaking about it.
WIT: What did you do previous to this?
Diana: 30 years ago I graduated from Auckland University with a bachelor of property and spent 15 years in the commercial property management world, managing all sorts of property across the country on behalf of companies. I went on maternity leave; didn’t return and instead moved to Singapore with my husband and child. It was there that I started public speaking training myself, this led to a job as a workshop presenter and international relocations consultant. Helping people move from around the world to Singapore.
WIT: What do you get up to in a day at work?
Diana: My work day will see me prepare for my women’s speaking group ‘She Says So’ contacting members and guests who are interested in joining. Some social media posts and even working on my next presentation/keynote. It may also involve work with my one on one coaching clients, such as my Women in Trades scholarship winner.
WIT: Do you have any career highlights that stand out?
Diana: The highlights are when my clients speak confidently to an audience and I actually get to watch! A guest appearance on The AM show was also a bit of a highlight I have to admit.
WIT: What do you love most about this career choice?
Diana: This career choice feels like the first that I’ve been fully in control of but also is really making the world a better place, because other women are really benefiting from my help.
WIT: Have you had challenges to overcome to follow your current path? Do you have any wisdom or advice for others facing challenges?
Diana:My business is a result of me overcoming my challenges of self-doubt and lack of confidence. My advice to other people is to seek help from qualified independent people if they are having challenges.
WIT: Publishing your book “Anyone Can Speak Confidently” was a huge achievement. What inspired taking your skills to paper, and did this require a whole new level of confidence and backing yourself?
Diana:Writing my book was easy once I figured out who was going to help me and how it was going to be different from other books on the subject. I am a hopeless speller and my grammar is fairly average so writing has always been my Achilles heel. I had to believe that I had something worthwhile to share. I couldn’t have done it without spending the time and money with a publishing coach.
WIT: What made you keen to work with Women In Trades NZ?
Diana: Women in Trades philosophy and approach aligns with my own and they are an absolute pleasure to work with!
WIT: What is your favourite part of working with the Mitre 10 Trade keynote scholarship tradeswomen?
Diana: I enjoy the process of watching them realise they really do have something valuable to share with their audience. But my favourite part of working with the keynote scholarship recipient is listening to them at the event and then their face afterwards. It's such a mix of relief, excitement, amazement, pride.
WIT: Do you have any advice to give someone who is looking to improve their speaking - in meetings, presentations or everyday life?
Diana: Top tips for speaking and meetings and everyday life is actually to really start to listen (it’s called active listening). Prepare for the meeting and then participate - if you’re doing a presentation ‘write less and rehearse more’ is my mantra. If you can bring passion and energy to a presentation your audience will not only feel grateful but they are more likely to remember what you said. For any more top tips go to my website and click the free public speaking top tips hand out!
WIT: What are some proud moments you'd like to share with us?
Diana: Being a finalist in the National Annual Speech Evaluation Competition in Singapore 2013. Also, I built my own sales page on my website so I can now sell my books and She Says So Course from it. Sounds silly but I am really proud that I figured out how to do that!
WIT: Any final comments or tips?
Diana: Something I have learnt that may help others- Try and surround yourself with a variety of people from different backgrounds with different opinions and life experiences. Not only do they make your life more interesting but they help prevent you from getting tunnel vision.
Diana can be contacted at: www.speechmarks.co.nz
Ph: 021 028 54068