Velia Nicholls is one of the most entertaining speakers and MCs you will ever meet. She is real! She makes an immediate and lasting impression.
Velia is an excellent communicator, combining her down-to-earth style and no-nonsense presentations to challenge leaders to improve their communication and people management practices. Her aim is to present practical and proven solutions that will make a difference. Audiences appreciate the valuable takeaways. Velia is a highly skilled presenter who expertly combines laughter and learning with audience involvement. She has the ability to connect with people of all ages. Audiences respond to her honesty and openness. They love her stories because they can relate.
Founding her business Courage to Speak in 1999, Velia has over 25 years’ experience working in the top end of organisations with CEOs and senior leaders encouraging them to be courageous and challenge their ways of working to improve their performance. Velia is well respected for her ability to navigate her way through dysfunction and help leaders to find a better pathway. She is often referred to as the trusted adviser.
An experienced and accredited profiler, Velia has a strong track record of assisting leaders to strengthen their leadership through improved self-awareness. By gaining personal insight into their individual styles and behaviours, leaders identify the specific areas needing work.
Velia engages audiences with her passion and shared experiences whether it is from a stage, virtual or a hybrid presentation. The results and feedback are the same. She was specifically selected as one of an elite group of highly skilled facilitators to drive the innovative Change Management Program for QANTAS in 2016. CEO Alan Joyce attributes the successful turnaround of QANTAS to this program.
Velia believes in continually developing her own skills successfully completing the AICD course in 2017 and continues to pursue additional learning in Governance and Risk.
Velia was also a Queensland State Finalist in the Telstra Business Women's Awards.
Talking Points
Find Your Brave
Find your voice – have the hard conversations.Find Your Brave
It is hard to find the courage if you don’t know how to start the conversation. Holding hard conversations is a huge source of angst for leaders today. At times, conversations can be awkward, confrontational and exhausting!
It is critical for leaders to understand the impact and cost of not having the conversations that need to be had. Recent data tells us that 1 in 4 people put off having a tough conversation; on average, employees spend 3-4 hours a week thinking about a hard conversation. Is this you?
In this presentation Velia will share her 6 essential steps, arming you with confidence to have those conversations.
Audience Take-Aways
- Learn how easy it is to diagnose an issue
- Learn how to apply the essential 6 steps, immediately
- Tackle communication with confidence
- Learn how to find your brave and have the conversations that need to be had
Velia has been working with senior leaders across a variety of industries for over 30 years. She is renowned for her work in this field. Velia provides practical solutions. Her quick wit and engaging style have audiences laughing as they relate to the entertaining but real-life hard conversations.
Communicate to Connect
Connected people are engaged people.Communicate to Connect
In today’s hybrid workplace, effective communication is more important than it has even been. Leaders must understand the role their communication plays in connecting or disconnecting with their people. It’s relevant because right now, as a community we are disconnected. As a workforce with less face-to-face contact, we are detached and disengaged. Research suggests that at least 70% of the workforce is currently disengaged.
Consider this. Every action, every facial expression, every tense muscle tells a story. You are communicating even when you are not talking. We are familiar with the statistic, 97% of all communication is non-verbal. A statistic that is more relevant today than ever before. When you talk, you become a walking megaphone with every change in your voice tone magnified! What is the messaging you are sending your team? They can hear you.
In this presentation, Velia shares her experiences and funny stories to reinforce the renewed importance and critical role of effective communication today. Audiences will hear about the three actions they can apply immediately to improve their connection and engagement with their team.
Audience take aways:
- Understand the value of the human connection
- Recognise the messaging your communication (face and words) sends your team
- Apply three actions to connect and engage your people
- Create a healthy team environment with a strong sense of belonging
Velia has been working with business leaders to improve their communication for over 25 years. Her testimonials speak to her success. Velia’s experience and skills are reflected in her insightful and engaging way of working. Audiences laugh and cry as they relate to the entertaining but real-life scenarios. They love the practical take-aways.
