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About meHI, I'm Serena and I live in Dorset, England with my two daughters. When I was about ten, my school had a parents evening - you know the type of thing -the parents go along and chat to the teachers to find out how their children are getting on.
I remember my teacher well - he was young and not very chatty (at least not with ten year olds). During the course of the conversation with my mum, he told her that I seemed happy enough but that he couldn't remember speaking to me during the year! My mum was furious. I was an incredibly shy girl and if he didn't speak to me I certainly wasn't going to go out of my way to speak to him. As a result of this I was taken to elocution lessons - my mum had gone as a young girl. I thoroughly enjoyed these lessons and took - and passed - various exams in speech and drama and bible reading and took part every year in the Bournemouth Festival. These lessons gave me confidence but didn't change the way I sound - I still have a Dorset accent and I believe we shouldn't all sound the same. You shouldn't be able to pick out people who've had elocution lessons because you think they sound 'artficial'. I have to admit that I feel very pleased with myself when people say to me 'Don't your daughters speak nicely!' I was still a very shy girl but I knew how to speak when I had to. At my senior school, the different classes used to take it in turns to participate in the morning assemblies. We had a very elderly Maths teacher who claimed that the only time he could hear the assembly was when I did a reading! In return for this I was excused Maths tests in his class. (Luckily my maths didn't suffer - I went on to pass 'A' level Maths). I took a degree in Law and Economics and went on to become a trainee accountant - for all of 12 weeks!! Sitting in an office all day was not for me! Years later when my daughters were 2 and 5 I went back to the same elocution teacher and studied to take my teaching exams and gained my A.N.E.A.(Speech Training). Since then I've taught sports coaches, business men, health care workers, stroke victims, at schools and with national charities. In 1996 I started the 'Speak Up' Academy of Speech and Drama and hundreds of children have passed Acting and Speech and Drama exams, some have gone on to appear on television and all enjoyed the end of year shows they performed in.
I've also written articles for various magazines worldwide including the PTR Tennis Pro, Dancing Magazine and the the International Tennis Federation Coaching and Sport Science Review.
New for 2007 I've introduced classes for toddlers and parents - see Speaking Tots page. I'm still a shy person BUT when I have to speak in front of groups or to strangers I know all the secrets to make it a bit easier for myself! I understand totally how it feels to be frightened to speak and I still have trouble using the phone - which seems mad because you can't even see the person you're talking to. This site and my book - explain how easy it is to speak confidently using common sense tips that I've used over the years.
I hope they help you as much as they've helped me!!
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