A bit about me…
I read English at the University of Oxford, where I specialised in Linguistics, and went on to train in voice, diction and accents at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art.
As an actor I've worked extensively in theatre, TV and radio, with companies including the National Theatre, the Royal Shakespeare Company, the BBC and Channel 4, so I have a wealth of practical applicable experience in how to use voice to really affect people.
As a voice and communication skills coach, I've been running workshops and doing bespoke training in presentation, communication and influencing skills for over 10 years, for a wide range of corporate clients including Google, Adidas, BNY Mellon, KPMG, PwC and Baxter Healthcare.
I also work with voiceover artists and professionals as an associate coach with global VO industry community Gravy for the Brain and UK-based agency RichCraft.
And personally, I know what it's like to be conscious of how you speak: we moved around a lot when I was a child, so my accent went through many changes. Wherever we were, I was the one who talked weird! But my early experiences are what sparked my fascination with speech and accent, and why I've developed a sensitive ear for how people speak.
All in all, I bring all my professional skills and a lot of personal empathy to my work as a speech and accent coach. I would love to be able to use both to help you work towards your goals as a communicator.
Why not get in touch and tell me more about what you need?
A bit about Sophie Cooper…
Having grown up in a bilingual household speaking English and French, and having spent many years in Russia because of my father’s job, I have always been very interested in languages and accents, and eventually studied Russian and linguistics at Oxford.
After working for several years in English teaching, journalism and television in both Moscow and London, I retrained to become a Speech and Language Therapist at UCL in 2014 and have worked with both children and adults with communication difficulties including speech disorders, voice problems, stammering and social communication issues among other things.
After several years of working in the NHS, I switched to working independently as this allowed me to focus more on broader aspects of communication such as helping non-native English people increase their confidence when presenting in English, especially if they feel insecure about their pronunciation or accent.
I find my international background, knowledge of languages and phonetics have really allowed me to develop the auditory discrimination skills and insight to understand many of the difficulties faced by non-native English speakers, and this is an area I really enjoy working in!
Building rapport with clients is something I’ve always been good at, and this has always led to sessions being fun and positive, making the learning process easier and more enjoyable!
A bit about Nathalie Cooper…
My background is extremely similar to my twin sister Sophie’s!
After studying Modern Languages and Linguistics at Oxford University, I initially worked an English language school, an English newspaper and an international legal firm in Moscow, before moving back to London and working in the classical music industry for a few years and then retraining as a speech and language therapist at City University.
After working in the NHS as a voice therapist, I now work independently with accent and voice. My knowledge of languages and lifelong fascination with accents has naturally led me to accent and communication coaching for non-native professionals wishing to become more confident speakers, working on key sounds that may improve intelligibility as well as emphasis, rhythm and intonation to optimise communication.
Working on auditory discrimination and using imagery to facilitate more accurate sound production is an important part of my sessions, as is having fun and connecting with my clients, which I believe is the only way to make this sort of work enjoyable and motivating!