Communication
Public speaking
What impact has Jane's public speaking had?
'It was an absolute privilege to have had the opportunity to host you at Birmingham Business School.
Thank you very much for your absolutely inspirational speech.
You touched every single one of us in a unique, special and lasting way.
The Business School's Advisory Panel started the next day by reflecting on your speech and there was a unanimous and overwhelming appreciation of you and all that you had communicated to us – many, many thanks.'
Lord Karan Billimoria, Vice-Chancellor, Birmingham University
Jane is an experienced public speaker. She has given keynote speeches at a wide range of events for a diverse group of organisations. Jane uses her own wide and deep experience and great sense of humour to bring her speeches alive.
When in Poland she gave regular speeches in Polish related to equality and disability rights.
Want to see Jane in action?
- Listen to or read the script of Jane's BBC 4 interview
- Watch Jane's interview on BBC news with Steph McGovern
- Watch Jane's Corporate Wisdom lecture at Leeds University Business School (uncaptioned).
- Watch Jane giving evidence to the Parliamentary Work and Pensions Select Committee's enquiry into the Disability Employment gap.
Would you like to book Jane for your event?
Clear communication
Writing: To reach wider audiences use plain English. Explain any special names and avoid jargon. To test this, when you have written something, ask a person who is not involved in your area if they can understand everything. If not, change it!
Speaking: Be aware that at least 15% of people use lipreading to support their understanding of speech. You can help them:
- Don't have the light behind you: it puts your face into shadow.
- Don't cover your mouth.
- Don't speak too quickly.
- Don't mumble or mutter.
Communication support: There are many types of support available. Take a look on our specialist page.
Languages – have a go!
Learning another language is one of the most powerful ways you can reach out to others and extend your personal range. British people are not great language learners. We tend to be scared of making mistakes and/or a bit lazy about learning. But by not learning, we miss out on an empowering tool – a humbling way to understand another culture. If you are in the UK and would like to try a new language, why not start with sign language?
Writing and research
Jane wrote a Cambridge University Press educational book: Cambridge Business English Activities. In 2011 she gave a research paper at the first Research Conference of the European Mentoring and Coaching Council (EMCC) in the Netherlands. The paper compared disabled and non-disabled responses to coaching.
Would you like to book Jane for your event, or need an article with impact?
How have others benefited?
Find out what people say about Jane's public speaking.