S2 Ep9: S2E9: Professionally Speaking with Maria Franzoni

We discussed: the importance of vocally articulating your goals, using your written voice to help you work out what you want, the voices we have in our heads and how to manage them.  Wendy is a life coach who has been featured in the Mail Online, Daily Express, Spirit and Destiny just to name a few publications. She set up the ever popular She Grows events and has created not one but two bespoke guided journals.  She believes in coaching people to recognise how extraordinary they are, allowing them to expand into all they can be rather than sit in all that they are not! You can find Wendy on Instagram or her website.  To find out more about Florence and Clear Voice, visit her Instagram or website Producer: Florence Bavanandan  Additional Production: BAVANANDAN  Music: BAVANANDAN

We discussed: managing your fear of public speaking, the realities of femxle entrepreneurship, how to moderate a discussion, conversational techniques, standing up for yourself vs standing up for others, conflict resolution and asking for something without feeling cringe.  Fiona Grayson is the Founder of She can. She did., the UK's first Benefits Programme for self-employed womxn in the UK that's on a mission to bridge the gap between femxle founders' ambition and what current business infrastructure fails to offer them. Initially launched by Fiona Grayson, 28, in the summer of 2017, She can. She did. has grown by providing the honest realities of what really goes on behind the scenes to not just launch but run, grow and sustain a business as a female founder in the UK to date. After noticing recurring challenges crop up in every interview and conversation that Fi was having with femxle founders - be it on the She can. She did. podcast, at the Midweek Mingles or in general conversation- Fi and her team spent lockdown building the She can. She did. Benefits Programme to confront and combat these challenges head on by providing all self-employed womxn in the UK with access to the health and financial benefits that come hand-in-hand with a corporate career as well as a whole host of additional incentives too. You can find She Can. She Did on their Instagram, their website and listen to the podcast here. To find out more about Florence and Clear Voice, visit her Instagram or website Producer: Florence Bavanandan  Additional Production: BAVANANDAN  Music: BAVANANDAN

We discussed: speaking authentically online, breaking down barriers and battling expectations of women and mothers by speaking out, taking up space and the challenges that come with it, and saying the “right thing”.  Alice Matthews AKA Mother Hustler is a South London mum of two juggling life as a working woman and a mother. She writes her tales on motherhood over on @motherhustleruk where she talks about the realities of being a woman who is not afraid to take up space, and the reality of work and parenting, particularly in a pandemic. To find out more about Alice, visit her Instagram. To find out more about Florence and Clear Voice, visit her Instagram or website  Producer: Florence Bavanandan  Additional Production: BAVANANDAN  Music: BAVANANDAN

We discussed: embracing your vocal quirks, channeling your own experience to create your voice, and accepting that we are always growing and changing  Marta Salcedo moved to London seven years ago when she was 18 to pursue a career as a professional dancer. She had great success and danced with some brilliant acts- Tiwa Savage, for the X Factor and Omarion, just to name a few.  But she soon realized that her true calling was in helping people she started combining her dancing and personal training experience with coaching and started Move with Marta, a 360 coaching service. She has a thriving private client base and has worked with some of the biggest names in the industry such as WeWork and Nike.  During lockdown, she was stuck in South Africa and transformed her business from purely face-to-face to digital only and hasn’t looked back since. To find out more about Marta, visit her Instagram or website. To find out more about Florence and Clear Voice, visit her Instagram or website Production: BAVANANDAN  Additional Production: Florence Bavanandan  Music: BAVANANDAN

We discussed: finding yourself, finding your identity and finding your voice both in work and your personal life for the issues that matter to you.  Autumn Rowe is a Singer/Songwriter/Producer/DJ from New York. She wrote the dance anthem behind the 2011 FIFA World Cup “Happiness” featuring Alexis Jordan, and has worked with Dua Lipa, Ava Max, Jax Jones, MK, Avicii, Deadmau5, Leona Lewis, Fifth Harmony, among many other artists. Autumn is also a celebrated vocal coach. She appeared on season 2 of The X Factor, and as the only vocal coach on America’s Got Talent for five years. In 2020, Autumn began to use her platform for activism and wrote a song called "WE ARE" by Jon Batiste, which had been chosen to be a part of the "Mask Up America" Campaign to help fuel the Black Lives Matter moment.  You can find Autumn on her Instagram and her website and listen to her music here To find out more about Florence and Clear Voice, visit her instagram or website Production: BAVANANDAN  Additional Production: Florence Bavanandan  Music: BAVANANDAN

This week, it’s me! A run down for you of why Clear Voice exists, the philosophy behind Clear Voice, the effect of lockdown on women and the power of language.  To find out more about me and Clear Voice visit my instagram or website Producer: Sarah Bishop Additional Production: Florence Bavanandan Music: BAVANANDAN

Maria Franzoni started her career in management consultancy where she developed senior level negotiation skills. She then answered a cryptic job advert and started to work for a speaker bureau. She now runs her own speaker bureau, Maria Franzoni Ltd. with over 4000 speakers, including Arnold Schwarzenegger, Elle MacPherson and Malala. Two years ago, she set up the Speaking Business Academy where she trains speakers to take their speaking to the next level and she hosts the Speaking Business Podcast.  We discussed why there are more men than women on the speaker circuit, the misogyny that Maria faced in her early career and how she dealt with it and how to speak with impact.  You can find out more about Maria’s Speaker Bureau here, her academy here and listen to her podcast here. Dame Anita Roddick’s legacy lives on through The Roddick Foundation To find out more about Florence and Clear Voice visit her instagram or website Producer: Florence Bavanandan Music: BAVANANDAN

Mental health social worker by day, drag king by night, that’s the life that Madi Gianfrancesco leads! She created her drag persona Beau Jangles just over two years ago and since then, has gone from strength to strength. She has performed at the Southbank Centre, Rich Mix, and the Royal Vauxhall Tavern as well as appearing in Italian Vogue and was recently called a ‘compelling host’ by The Guardian.  We discussed how she found her voice through drag, how comedy can be a method of political commentary and protest and how to speak up in a safe way against racism, homophobia, transphobia and misogyny.  You can find Madi and Beau on instagram The other wonderful drag kings mentioned are Stormé DeLarverie, Georgeous Michael, Cyro, Chio, Prinx Silver, as well as Louche Magazine To find out more about Florence and Clear Voice visit her instagram or website Producer: Sarah Bishop Additional Production: Florence Bavanandan Music: BAVANANDAN

This week: How to get a raise!  Safe start time: 14:00 Alexandra Dickinson is the Founder and CEO of Ask For It. She teaches people and organisations how to successfully negotiate. She is a contributing writer at Women@Forbes and has spoken at UN Women, Columbia Business School, and Facebook. Her company has been featured in the New York Times, CNBC, Forbes, New York Magazine, and many other publications.  We discussed reframing the way we think about those potentially painful and awkward conversations, a template for how to structure the conversation in your favour and how to successfully articulate the worth that you bring to your company. Find out more about Alexandra on her website and instagram. Alexandra has kindly offered 25% off coaching with her when you quote CLEARVOICE. To find out more about Florence and Clear Voice visit her instagram or website. Producer: Sarah Bishop Additional Production: Florence Bavanandan Music: BAVANANDAN

Alice started her business straight out of school at 17 but something wasn’t right. She burnt out and had to go back to the drawing board of what she wanted to do. Since then, she has been on a mission to make the world of business a more honest and intentional space. We spoke about how to speak with authenticity online as a business and how to develop a strong brand voice.  Take a look at Alice’s website, Instagram and podcast here To find out more about Florence and Clear Voice visit her instagram or website. Producer: Sarah Bishop Additional Production: Florence Bavanandan Music: BAVANANDAN