One day I was riding my bicycle in Amsterdam and suddenly realized I was cycling next to Frank Rijkaard. The Dutch icon who’s had an admirable football career. He won the great Champions League with Ajax as a player, and then with Barcelona as a coach where he also inspired the legend Messi. I decided to strike up a conversation and politely but casually greeted him: “Hello, Mr Rijkaard…“. Although at first Frank seemed hesitant to start up a conversation with a stranger, on the strength of my natural way of speaking and sincere interest we ended up having a great chat. We talked about football and our experiences of playing at Ajax when we were young. After a while cycling together, we realized we needed to go in separate directions and we said our goodbyes.

My message with this story is that no matter who is in front of you, in every interaction or presentation it all comes down to connecting with your audience in a relaxed and genuine way. Just like I connected with Frank by being myself, I believe the best way to connect with any audience is through authenticity. I am passionate to share my knowledge and experience to help you build your story, voice and body language together with retaining the integrity of your authentic self. That is why my mission as a coach is to first find your natural voice and use this as the base to start improving your speaking skills.