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WORKING WEEK with Celia Delaney
Spreading secrets of effective speaking
Reprint from article first published in the Exeter Express & Echo - December 2011
Celia Delaney, a director of Delaney & Hart Ltd and creator of Speaking Success, gives an insight into her work coaching businesspeople in spoken communication skills.
MONDAY: I wake up in London, having travelled up on Sunday after a lovely weekend at home in Devon walking on Dartmoor with friends. I'm up to do some scoping work for our first corporate London client to start in January 2012.
I try to be in London once or twice a month now and instead of having an office, I've become a member of the Institute of Directors (IoD) so that I can work at their premises at Pall Mall and attend networking meetings.
After spending ridiculous amounts of money on tea and treats, I go to Pineapple Studios, where I used to train five times a week when I was an actress in London in my twenties. I've just started dancing there again, and I take my old jazz class at 6pm. Nothing has changed – same teacher, same routines – except how high I can get my leg. Ouch.
TUESDAY: Back to Pall Mall to finish the scoping document – send to client, cross fingers.
I use the remaining time to work on my favourite topic – food – and book Sunday lunch with a friend at Oddfellows for when I'm back.
In the evening I go the IoD City of London branch Christmas event in the hope of meeting some rich bankers who need speaking training, but there are none to be found.
WEDNESDAY: The morning is spent coaching a senior member of a top 10 university on his speaking.
I've hired rooms in London for this and then jump on the train from Paddington to get home by 5pm to see my husband, who hasn't noticed I've been away. Just kidding, it's great to be back together and catch up on all the news.
THURSDAY: Travel down to Buckfast Abbey in Buckfastleigh to observe a client who is running a meeting (she has been coached by my associates previously on meeting skills and communication) and give her some feedback.
She is being made redundant from the public sector on December 23 and it's a fond farewell as she was my first client four years ago and brought us a lot of work over the years until our council contracts came to an end in April this year.
We've since moved far more into the private sector, but I can't deny it's been tough.
The evening is taken up with rehearsals for a flashmob I'm singing in at our carol services at church – I go to Exeter Network Church that meets at the Maynard School and we have to have two services this year to fit everyone in as we're expecting about 500 people.
FRIDAY & SATURDAY: I listen to Jennie Bond speak at the Michelmores Business Breakfast at Exeter Golf & Country Club. She is hilarious, much more raunchy than I was expecting. She did such a good job, I vow to write a piece on her for my speaking blog next week.
Then I dash back to my home office to catch up on a few emails as my inbox is full from being in London: I accept a speaking gig for 2012 to speak to Old Cliftonians in Bristol; arrange to meet the Bristol-China partnership next week to discuss offering speaking training to Chinese delegations that come to Bristol; speak to my team about our strategy for working with hotels on customer service for next year; create a LinkedIn group for my lunch club, The Silk Road Group, that has just launched; speak to my two brilliant VAs (virtual assistants) and delegate everything else.
I travel back to London after lunch and go to a strenuous dynamic yoga class at Pineapple, then go to the Saturday meeting of the Professional Speaking Association (PSA) in London and hear Mike Southon speak – he wrote The Beermat Entrepeneur – and get a quick bit of laser coaching from him on my SpeakingSuccess business (he says I should put my fees up, sorry folks!).
I meet friends with children in Knightsbridge for some mulled wine and dispense Christmas presents, eat sushi at Paddington, then get on the 8.06pm train back home to be greeted by hubby waiting at the station. Fall into bed exhausted!