One-to-one coaching for teachers and trainers of adults may seem something of a niche activity and I suppose it is – but it’s amazing how much demand there is for it. This website came about because a lot of trainers and lecturers were contacting me through the site where I offer coaching in presentation and public speaking skills (www.public-speaking-skills.co.uk) to ask if I could help them. Public speaking and teaching are closely related but I was impressed by the lateral thinking that led these clients to me and I decided a dedicated website was called for, to offer assistance specifically with teaching and training. I now also have an umbrella website for all the different aspects of work I do as a coach and consultant in effective communication, Put Yourself Across.
My name is Georgina Kirk and, as I’ve outlined on the home page, I’ve been teaching, training and training teachers throughout the quarter-century of my professional life. My undergraduate degree was in Italian & Russian, from Manchester University and, after several years working first in London and then in Milan, I came back to Manchester to take a Masters in Personnel Management & Industrial Relations, at what was then UMIST.
Although I am originally from London, I fell in love with Manchester at first sight and, travelling aside, I’ve lived here ever since I came back to do my second degree. For this reason, most of the work I do is in the North West of England – at the many universities and other educational establishments in and around Manchester, for a start, but also the plethora of multi-national companies, smaller businesses, hospitals, charities, societies and associations around Greater Manchester, Lancashire and Cheshire. I also travel extensively up and down the UK and have worked with clients in London and lots of other places, including Sheffield, Nottingham, Derby, Birmingham, Oxford, Hull, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, Aberdeen and Belfast. Among the corporate clients I’ve worked for are Brother, Shell, British Gas, ITV and the National Health Service.
Because I spend so much time teaching, training and coaching, I feel it’s important to enrol on courses whenever I can, to remind myself what it’s like to be on the other side of the fence. I enjoy the challenge of pushing myself out of my comfort zone and learning new skills but it also really is salutary to be the student on a regular basis, struggling to understand something the instructor clearly thinks is elementary and wondering, once I’ve finally grasped it, how I would go about teaching that myself. Part-time over four years, I studied psychotherapy, which was fascinating and has been endlessly useful in all sorts of ways. I’m lucky to live in a city with a thriving cultural life and I attend lectures on a wide range of subjects, at a variety of institutions around Manchester. I regularly take short courses in practical skills, such as photography, wine-tasting, Indian head massage, map-reading & navigation, outdoor survival.
I’m passionate about the good that teaching and training can do in the world. If I can help you to do your job more effectively, I will be more than happy to work with you: please contact me and let me know what the problem is. Then we can arrange to meet and sort it out, so that you can enjoy teaching and your students can get the full benefit of your knowledge and experience.