Communication
that gets
you further.

Coaching for professionals who want to be heard clearly — in meetings, in interviews, in the conversations where it matters most.

Some things people ask

What does a session actually look like?

Sessions run for sixty minutes, online or in person, depending on what works for you. The first session is usually the longest — I sit with you and take stock of where things actually are, rather than where they should be. After that, each session picks up from the work done between them. There is preparation involved on both sides.

How is coaching different from therapy?

Therapy tends to work backwards into the origins of patterns. Coaching works forward from where you are now into the specifics of what changes. There is overlap — communication and confidence often have roots — but the focus here is on practice, not on process. If therapy feels like the right call, I will say so.

What if my employer asks me about this?

What we discuss stays between us. I do not share notes, summaries, or progress reports with employers, unless you ask me to in writing. Some clients work with coaches on their employer's account — in those cases, the boundaries of confidentiality are agreed upfront and in writing. Coaching I run privately is private.

What is included in the price?

Sessions are £185 for sixty minutes. The 6-session programme (£720) includes session time, written notes after each session, and a between-session brief on the topic we are working on. The 12-session programme (£1,450) adds a mid-programme review and a short written assessment at the close.

Cancellation policy and full pricing terms are on the Terms page.

How do I know if you are the right coach for me?

The first conversation is free and takes about half an hour. By the end of it, you should have a reasonable sense of whether the way I work suits the way you think. I tend to work best with people who are doing well overall and want to do one specific thing more carefully. If you are in a more difficult situation — significant workplace conflict, serious mental health concerns — I am likely not the right person, and I will say so.

Have you been on the receiving end of coaching?

Yes, several times. The version I found most useful was not inspirational — it was precise. The coach asked small questions about specific things and expected me to do something with the answers. That is roughly what I have tried to build into my own practice.

What to expect

Four stages, described plainly.

  1. First conversation

    Thirty minutes, free, online or by phone. We take stock of where things are and whether there is a fit. No obligation and no pitch.

  2. Assessment and goal-setting

    What specifically are we working on, and what would a meaningful shift look like? We write this down together so it can be referred to.

  3. Structured sessions

    Typically 6 to 12 sessions, each with preparation on both sides. We go line by line where needed, paragraph by paragraph where the work requires it.

  4. Review and follow-through

    A written summary at the close. The door stays open for questions afterwards. The version after the version is part of the work.

A practice built on one specific interest

Oliver Smith spent thirteen years as a senior civil servant before moving into coaching. The part she was consistently drawn to — consistently most useful at — was not the policy work itself. It was helping people communicate what they knew to people who needed to act on it.

Thirteen years of practice. PCC-accredited. Based in Highgate.

Read more about Helena

Three areas of work

Each one is its own craft. The approach across all three is the same: attention is most of the work.

Public Speaking

Speaking in front of an audience is a craft, not a talent. The mechanics — pace, structure, where to pause — can be worked on deliberately. We do.

Find out more →

Communication Coaching

Most professionals communicate competently. Very few do it with precision. The difference between the two shows in rooms where it matters.

Find out more →

Confidence Under Pressure

Confidence in difficult conversations is not about feeling certain. It is about being prepared enough that the uncertainty does not show in the wrong places.

Find out more →

The work in practice

Case study — return after career break

A programme director at a Highgate housing association came in after two years away — a combination of redundancy and a family illness. She was convinced the gap would be the first thing anyone noticed. We spent the early sessions on something different: not how to explain the gap, but how to represent the work that had come before it, which was substantial and specific. She had an offer within ten weeks of our first session. Individual results will differ from this.

Each engagement is different. The coach is responsible for the rigour of the process; the client is responsible for the action between sessions; the result is what the two combined produce in the conditions of the time.

13 Years of practice
320+ Clients worked with
PCC ICF-accredited
SE1 Highgate, in person or online

There is a first conversation, and it costs nothing.

Half an hour, online or by phone. If there is a fit, we talk about what working together would look like. If there is not, you leave with something useful from the conversation.

Prefer to call? +44 7700 912 784

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