What do 95% of people fear more than death? The stress that goes with public speaking! Guest expert Tom Wright draws on his experience as a theatre director and coach to bust some stress-inducing myths and to manage the challenge of stress in daily life.

It’s quite a thought that surveys indicate people rate public speaking as more scary than dying.

So think about the levels of stress that actors put themselves through both in terms of speaking before hundreds of people and then being analysed in intimate detail by theatre critics! Will they be cheered to the rafters or pilloried with rotten tomatoes?

In this episode, originally aired in June 2023, Tom Wright shares how a coaching approach enriched his work as a theatre director, and how theatre direction has provided transferable wisdom to his work as a coach. He explores the issue of stress - common to both professions - how to ride the stress curve, challenge stress-inducing myths that assail us on a daily basis, and provides us with some techniques we can use to manage our own stressful situations and liberate creativity.

Tom also mentions one of the most well-known and well-used coaching models - GROW - which was developed by Sir John Whitmore.

The episode provides some fascinating insights into the world of theatre, as well as showing the value of cross-fertilisation of wisdom and good practice between coaching and other professions.