Scene magazine caught up with confidence coach and Rainbow Chorus musical director Aneesa Chaudhry about her new Presenting With Confidence course, which begins on Wednesday, July 7.
What prompted you to set up this course?
Since training as a barrister over 20 years ago I’ve always wanted to give a voice to the voiceless and my career has led me to coaching people on their Public Speaking & Presentation Skills in community and corporate settings. I’ve done this alongside performing on stage as a professional singer and running five community choirs. The thing I’ve loved doing most is to help them get from not believing they can do it, to doing it with confidence and brilliantly!
How do you think the pandemic has affected people’s confidence levels?
People’s confidence has been knocked massively. Some people have lost their confidence to interact in social settings and many dread having to reintegrate and do important presentations at work.
How can the course particularly help members of the LGBTQ+ community?
We all have an inner voice, a calling that needs to be heard, and my work to help people find their inner voice has led me to see that many people have ignored theirs. Our voice, our messages, our ability to be heard and self-expressed sometimes needs nurturing and guidance to get out. For some of us it’s about finding and releasing our identity so that we can truly be who we are. For others it’s finally listening to our dreams and ambitions and living authentically. For many it’s about taking the next step and sharing something powerful that can help improve other people’s lives. If we can learn to talk about these things effectively and with passion so many people could benefit.
There are always opportunities to speak up and speak out in the LGBTQ+ community but if you don’t know how to get your message across you can be left with a feeling of being unimportant and ignored. My mission has always been to make a positive difference to people’s lives so that they can make a difference to our crazy, yet beautifully fragile world. I will always have time for our community be it in my choirs, in courses or 1-2-1 sessions. I always offer a free space on the course to anyone who can complete the application form and provide a compelling reason as to why it would change their lives to take part in such a course.
Why is it important to you to reach out to the LGBTQ+ community on this?
Because the LGBTQ+ community have helped me my whole life and it’s my duty and honour to help, nurture and empower in return. I often have the privilege of having a platform to speak from, including stages at Prides and as a singer who can weave the importance of causes and politics into my performances. The fight for equality around sexuality & intersectionality etc matters to all of us. Together we are much stronger and I believe that equipping one another to be able to speak up passionately and from a place of power makes a positive difference.
Register for the course by clicking here.
The next round begins on October 6, 2021. People wishing to sign up individually or in a group of six for that round can email an expression of interest – aneesa@aneesachaudhry.com.
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