about me

My background is as a public policy advisor. I have held a number of senior roles including Chief Advisor to the Deputy Mayor at Auckland Council and I have worked for many years as a private consultant.
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I have been a member of Toastmasters for nearly a decade.  As a young adult I had to do a lot of public speaking as part of my job and I became a comfortable and competent presenter. But when I got back into the workforce after raising children I had lost some of my confidence. I was in a senior leadership position that required me to be an effective communicator, and so I joined Toastmasters. This has helped make me a much better presenter. I am not a professional public speaker, but I now enjoy it and can comfortably present to boards of directors, senior management teams, council committees, and large audiences. I am still learning new things all the time that help me enhance my own performance.

I coach young people in public speaking and am now working with adults with a fear of public speaking. I know for some people, joining a regular public speaking course is just too scary. I am here to help you! I am not here to turn you into an expert, but I want to start you on a path that will give you choices and opportunities to take it just as far as you want.

In my spare time I am an active Toastmaster. I belong to Talking Heads Toastmasters and the Speechcraft Club. I have recently gained my Distinguished Toastmaster (DTM) award and I lead a Toastmasters sponsored programme at a local high school for year 10 girls.

Catherine Syme

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website content 

The information on this website has been created by Catherine Syme. Every care has been taken to ensure that it is accurate and is reviewed and updated on a regular basis.