WORKSHOPS – FACILITATION in ENGLISH / FRENCH / GERMAN  

I co-design and facilitate meetings, webinars and workshops, getting the best out of participants and ensuring clear objectives, results and learnings.

Topics:

CIRCULAR ECONOMY & CIRCULAR BUSINESS MODELS

Since 2015, I have worked as a facilitator for the circular economy in companies & organisations as part of the Circulab Network, an international network of over 60 consultants in 18 countries. I am the Berlin/Germany contact for the network. I have recently facilitated workshops at l’Oréal at their HQ in Paris, at Orange and for Bouygues Construction, Impact Hub Berlin, at GIZ for UN Global Compact Members in Germany, KLU University, Climate KIC and the Baltic Eco design Forum event in 2018. In 2019 at Stada Group (pharmaceuticals) in Belgrade in 2019 and the Serbian circular economy festival Mikser, and at ESCP Berlin, to name a few. I can design workshops from 6-45 people, from introductory level (What is the Circular Economy?) to more advanced, in-depth levels (How can we apply it to us? What business opportunities could it offer us?). I can also do this in collaboration with other parties, such as the Biomimicry Academy, Cobiom, the Collective Leadership Institute, Potsdam, Factory co-workspace and Circular Berlin e.V.

COMMUNICATION in the WORKPLACE (1-1 & groups)

As a language expert and certified Neuro Language® coach, I have facilitated and conceived workshops in groups such as Mylan, Renault, Novartis, Rothschild’s, Ardian, and Berlin Foundation EVZ recently on themes such as: Communicating in a Global Workplace in English, Writing Business English, Improving your Emails, Writing for Social Media, Negotiating & Persuading, Improving your spoken English and Public Speaking Coaching and TEDx training (7 TEDx speakers coached). As a former CSR and Communications Manager in one of the world’s largest energy groups, EDF Group, in the UK and France, I am very aware of communications issues and challenges in the workplace. I have coached CEOs, managers, executives and artists, in social enterprises, NGOs, corporates, start-ups and the public sector, online and offline, for over ten years now.

I also work on cultural/intercultural/arts-related issues. In Belleville, an ethnically diverse district in Paris, I facilitated workshops on the theme of citizenship and intercultural dialogue with people from very diverse backgrounds.

WASTE & Expo ‘AROUND THE WORLD IN DUSTBINS’ or Les Plu’Belles

I am passionate about waste issues, re-use and upcycling, linked to my circular economy & sustainability work. I have shown my photo exhibition Les Plu’Belles in Paris and Berlin a dozen times since 2014, presenting colourful, humorous and thought-provoking photos of dustbins around the world following a 10-month tour of Russia, Asia and the Baltic States. I give talks, tours and workshops of the expo, and market it as a communications tool to organizations and educational establishments wanting to communicate about waste. Enquiries welcome & see also my website Les Plu’Belles.

EDITORIAL & COMMUNICATIONS CONSULTING

I help organisations produce meaningful, concise and impactful copy in English, which could be for press releases, white papers, online posts, reports, academic papers, concept papers, a book.

Recent clients are listed in the Who I have Worked with page. In 2017 and 2018 projects included: copyediting a book on marketing, copyediting academic papers on eco-labels and soy sustainability for WWF, an internal and external position paper on the Circular Economy also for WWF, documents for Wiithaa on circular economy. In 2019 I have copyedited an 80pp book for GIZ on Blockchain for international development practitioners and am developing an internal & external communications strategy and tools for a major global NGO around certification.

Specialities: Sustainable Development and Green Issues, Circular Economy, Energy & Waste, New Economy & Start-Ups, HR, the Arts & Culture, General Business English.

TRANSLATION 

The digital world means that translation often happens via Google translate and similar translation software. However, if you want a professional, tailored service, and you’re producing a document for a high-end audience (CEOs? your clients? if you’re an artist, a collector?) where nuance, register and tone are key, this is too risky.

My translation service includes the necessary exchanges and checks with clients to ensure these, as well as context and audience/client-specific language use (English vs US English for instance, and anglophone native vs ‘globalish’ English audience: not the same!). I have an Oxford first class degree in French & German literature, which included translation, and 20 yrs living in France, 18 in the UK, and 3 in Germany, with studies in Germany and an international outlook which ensures I have a feel for each language and for nuance and potential linguistic ‘faux pas’.

In 2017 and 2018, projects included: translating a website for an NGO (24GuteTaten) from German to English, a catalogue for a German artist from German to English and a book on Breughel’s drawing The Beekeepers from German into English, an article from French on Impact Hubs as the new McKinsey. In 2019, projects so far include an 80pp publication by GIZ’s Blockchain Lab (GIZ is Germany’s international development arm), on Blockchain and development, and Berlin non-profit research outfit ISDC’s Guideline for Ensuring Good Scientific Practice.

Specialities: Sustainable Development and Green Issues, Circular Economy, Energy & Waste, Social Enterprises & Start-Ups, HR, the Arts/Culture, General Business English, Academic English.

LANGUAGE & PUBLIC SPEAKING/PRESENTING

Lacking confidence, key expressions or just practice to deliver that presentation, after-dinner talk, keynote speech or TED talk? Have a look at my references and experiences, and I’d be happy to give you a free trial session to see if I can help you or your organisation improve your communication in English, vital to increase the impact of your key messages.

I coach CEOs, executives, start-ups, artists, NGOs and TED speakers in English and sometimes French too, to help them feel inspired and do their job better in these languages. I can do 1-1, groups and specialised workshops (Effective meetings in English/French, Writing for Social Media in English/French, Improve your Emails in English, Social English/French, CSR & the circular economy in English etc). I also coach for presentation skills (‘prise de parole’ in French), speaking in public, for job interview preparation (I have worked in Recruitment for a major energy firm, as well as doing an ‘outplacement’ and being coached myself). I can coach in French and German on request (I am completely trilingual). I can work weekends if need be, and I do a lot of work on Skype or Zoom, which suits executives with little time, minimising travel costs and time, blended with occasional face to face sessions. I speak native German and French, which helps me work better with clients from these countries since I can genuinely understand their needs, the typical errors they make, and the nuances of their native tongue and how to express these in English.

I use the term ‘coaching’ since I have, in 2017, completed an ICF accredited coaching certificate as a Neurolanguage Coach (20h of training), using the principles of neuroscience and coaching to transfer language skills. I have the skills to help students to unblock their fears, get them into a positive learning state and understand how they like to learn, and express themselves freely in a language not their mother tongue. I have also worked at high level in corporations, as Chief of Staff to the Director of one of the top 5 energy companies worldwide, so can empathise with the situations and stress that my clients sometimes face. I do this also using creative tools and my 25 years of singing and voice work and a recent course on sustainability and stand up comedy – humour and impro can help! In 2017 and 2018 clients included WWF, 5 TEDx speakers and the manager of a French biodiversity organisation. I’ve also done some work teaching and coaching Syrian and other refugees for public speaking at the ReDI school of digital integration which is rewarding and challenging.

Specialities: Sustainability and the circular economy, the SDGs, NGOs, Corporate Responsibility, Energy, Waste & Recycling, Social Enterprises & Start-Ups, HR, General Business English, the Arts & Culture.