Yesterday, with dread, I climbed the spiral staircase of the 5-metre tower at the Carleton University swimming pool.
I had watched friends jump from it the year before, but I was too hesitant to try it myself. This year, I was determined not to leave that pool with the same tinge of regret.
Once I got to the platform, I knew not to get too ‘in my head’ about it. So after a moment of hesitation, but before I could talk myself out of it, before I could get weak in the knees, I jumped.
I lived to tell the tale! I’m pretty proud of myself. Deep down, I knew I had it in me.
Public speaking can be like that.
Just before I put my hand up to ask a question in a group, just before I step in front of a room, or just before I say something that I’m worried may not please my listener, there’s a moment that mirrors the moment just before I jumped yesterday. I have to put aside my fears and go for it.
I see it in each person in my favourite short film Ten Meter Tower.
Some of my clients need help simply taking the leap.
Other clients want to make their performance shine: to speak in public in the way they know they’re capable of, a way that matches who they are when they feel like their most confident selves.
As a coach, I’ll be the encouraging voice by your side. I’ll be your Frida: listening to your needs, and offering support in a way that works for you.

It takes courage to communicate as yourself in a world that wasn’t designed for you.
And it takes courage to step into your excellence, to decide that you’re going to bring your absolute best to a performance.
In the words of the filmmakers, “Ten Meter Tower may take place in Sweden, but we think it elucidates something essentially human that transcends culture and origins. Overcoming our most cautious impulses with bravery unites all humankind. It’s something that has shaped us through the ages.”
For those of you who want to do what you know you’re capable of, to be able to step up and have your words match your most confident selves, I say LET’S TAKE THE LEAP! The world needs your voice. If we only have one life to live, you might as well jump in this one.
This is what I want for you. I want a Michelle-Obama-meets-Oprah-Winfrey-level delivery-from-the heart performance. I want you walking away from that podium or interview or high-stakes conversation with a feeling that’s equivalent to the athlete at the end of the film, falling backward off the 10-meter tower, the world watching in slo mo with Beethoven’s Ninth blasting in the background.

I say Yes, you can. Stop hesitating and take the leap.
Say what you came here to say.