There's a moment in almost every rehearsal session where the speaker finishes their run-through. They're a little breathless, maybe a little uncertain. They look at me and ask (sometimes out loud, sometimes just with their eyes): Was that okay?
And I open my black Moleskine, uncap my pen, and say:
"Do you want my notes?"
When they say “yes,” that’s when the real work begins.
What Does It Actually Look Like to Rehearse With a Public Speaking Coach?
If you've never worked with a public speaking coach before, you might imagine it's something like a dress rehearsal: you run through your talk, I nod encouragingly, and we call it a day.
It's so much more than that.
When you rehearse with me, I give you my complete, undivided attention. While you speak, I'm tracking you on multiple levels simultaneously: the sound and quality of your voice, the strength and clarity of your message, the language your body is communicating, the rhythm of your words, the moments where you connect and the moments where you lose the thread.
I'm writing fast. (That smooth pen on the Moleskine pages helps.) Or typing fast on my laptop, if we're working remotely. Either way, I'm capturing everything: the moments that land, the moments that fall flat, and the hidden moments in between where something extraordinary is almost happening.
That's the thing about rehearsing out loud with a real person: you can't fake it. What's working actually works. What's muddy becomes obviously muddy the moment it hits the air around you.
First, I Tell You Everything You're Already Doing Right
Before we get into any constructive feedback, I want you to know what's working, and why it's working, so you can trust it, own it, and do more of it.
This matters more than people realize. So often, speakers abandon the very things that are making their audience lean in. They second-guess a story that's actually riveting, or they rush past a moment that deserved to land. When you know with certainty what's already strong, you stop undermining yourself. You start building on a real foundation.
Confidence, it turns out, isn't about eliminating weakness. It's about truly knowing your strengths.
Then We Go Deeper: Constructive Feedback on Content and Delivery
After the affirmations come the notes, and this is where your talk gets transformed. I help you to:
Make the jokes funnier. Humor in a presentation is never just about the punchline. It's about timing, it's about setup, it's about the specific word you choose in the moment before the laugh. We'll work on all of it.
Sharpen that opening story. Your audience decides within the first 60 seconds whether they're coming with you on this journey. Your opening story is the invitation. We'll make sure it's irresistible.
Smooth the transitions. The spaces between your topics are where audiences get lost, or stay with you. Good transitions don't just connect; they build anticipation. We'll make yours feel seamless.
Land that one important line. Every great talk has a line: the one you want the audience to remember when they're driving home, when they're at dinner that night, when they wake up the next morning. We'll find it, sharpen it, and make sure it lands.
Clarify your message and your call to action. What do you want your audience to do after they hear you speak? If that's unclear to you, it's invisible to them. We'll get specific.
Ensure the audience remembers the point. A talk that moves people in the moment but evaporates from memory isn't doing its job. We'll build in the strategic repetition and structure that makes your message stick.
Find the humor in unexpected places. Some of the best laughs in a presentation aren't from the jokes. They come from the anecdotes, the examples, the throwaway lines the audience didn't see coming. I'll help you find those moments hiding in your material, the ones where your audience will least expect to laugh and laugh the hardest.
We'll Also Work on the Physical: Slides, Hands, Stance, and Mindset
A great speech isn't just words. It's a full-body experience, for you and for your audience.
We'll talk about your slides: how to use them to enhance your message rather than compete with it. How to avoid the dreaded "Death by PowerPoint." How to stay the center of attention in the room, not the screen.
We'll talk about your hands: what to do with them, and why it matters more than you think. We'll talk about how you stand, how you move, and how your physical presence either invites the audience in or keeps them at arm's length.
And we'll talk about mindset. This is the piece most speakers underestimate. Your internal state, your beliefs about yourself as a speaker, your relationship with nerves, your ability to stay present under pressure, shapes everything that comes out of your mouth. We'll work on that too.
I'll even advise you on how to get a better night's sleep before your big day. (Yes, really. It makes a difference.)
Why Rehearsing Out Loud With Another Person Is Different From Practicing Alone
Here's something I've observed in hundreds of sessions: no matter how many times you've run through your talk in your head, or in front of your bathroom mirror, or pacing around your kitchen, none of it prepares you the way speaking out loud to a real, listening human does.
When you rehearse with me, you're doing something essential: you're preparing your body to deliver the message. Your lungs, your vocal cords, your mouth, your legs, even your posture, all of it needs the experience of actually speaking to someone. The nerves that show up in a real rehearsal? They're not a problem. They're preparing.
And then there's the moment of clarity that almost always happens. You say something you've said a hundred times in your head, and out loud, in the air of a real conversation, you suddenly hear it differently. You hear what's clear. You hear what's still muddy. You hear what's almost there.
That moment of hearing your own words is often where the breakthrough lives.
Who Benefits Most From a Rehearsal Session?
Whether you're a CEO preparing for a keynote, a nonprofit leader getting ready for a fundraising pitch, a scientist presenting at a conference, or an entrepreneur heading into a high-stakes investor meeting, a rehearsal session with me is designed to meet you exactly where you are.
I work with people across the full spectrum: seasoned executives who want to sharpen their edge, emerging leaders who are stepping into the spotlight for the first time, technical experts who have brilliant ideas but haven't yet found the words to make them land with a general audience, and introverts who have something powerful to say and deserve the support to say it well.
You don't need to be "almost ready" to work with me. You need to be ready to do the real work. I'll help you get the rest of the way there.
The Question I Always Start With
When I sit down with a new client for a rehearsal, I often ask: "What would it mean for you if this talk really landed?"
The answers I hear tell me everything, and they remind me why this work matters. A promotion. A major grant. A room full of people moved to take action on something that desperately needs their attention. A reputation, built or rebuilt. A moment a person has been preparing for their entire career.
The stakes are real. The opportunity is real. And the preparation, the kind that happens in a focused, honest, productive rehearsal, is what makes the difference between a talk that disappears and one that changes something.
So, Do You Want My Notes?
Photo by Bridge City Media