Carol Burnes – Taming Words

I am a word coach. I change people’s lives by guiding them to find their true meaning and use their words more effectively to express what they really wish to say. I show them how to draw on story and poem to give impact to all communication – written, spoken, presented.

I can guide you to:

• Find your voice and express it more fully and effectively
• Reach wider audiences and connect with them
• Discover what you really mean and wish to express
• Learn to be vivid in all your communication
• Relate to young people and old (a learnable skill)

I bring to my coaching and teaching decades of experience in connecting with target audiences. For over thirty years as a poet and storyteller, I have been helping others realize their stories, poems, books, and technical pieces, as well as other writing and speaking projects. I work individually and with groups, through workshops at universities, businesses, and schools. I also offer long-distance coaching via Skype and phone.

Bringing creative practices to the business of writing, I draw elements from story and poem to be applied in a range of projects – from everyday speaking and writing to highly specialized and technical pieces, as well as wildly creative ones. As a poet with three books to my credit, I use the writing of poetry as a tool in my coaching and teaching and stress the power of image. As a storyteller, I recognize that both technical and creative projects are best shaped when considered within the arc of story and consider all projects from that perspective. To see a short interview sketch of my thinking along these lines, go to:

http://www.edtalks.org/speaker-videos/Carol%20Burnes

I coach all ages and stages of writers and presenters – from poets and novelists to lawyers, doctors, artists, and dissertation writers; from school students and business people to those who would rather be asleep or watching a football game.

People come to me when they need guidance on a specific project. I help when they must get crucial messages across, when they are bursting to express themselves, when they want to know themselves more deeply, or because they are feeling lost, stuck, or challenged. I support clients through the entire process, from the spark of an idea to final revisions. Based in the US, I coach and offer workshops here and in England, Europe, Australia, and New Zealand.

I have an international reputation as a word coach, a performance poet, and a storyteller; my one-woman show “Suddenly Single” won mention in the London Times, and my story “The Big Flush”, commissioned to open Boston’s major state of the art sewage plant, is still aired on TV in conjunction with water purification issues. I am a besotted grandmother and live at the end of a dirt road in a converted New England barn in the US.

Carol is available for:

• Coaching & consultation on creative or technical projects with writers, performers, speakers, presenters and professionals of any kind
• Workshops & courses at universities, businesses, teaching centers, schools and in private settings
• Work with PhD candidates & researchers on bringing creative practices to thesis and research writing, to find new dimensions and enliven writing
• Work with lawyers on how to communicate better with a jury
• Presentations at conferences involving performance of story/poems to convey educational concepts and communicate ideas
• Performances of her poetry, stories and improvisational acting
• Creating commissioned pieces  for special occasions for individuals and organizations
• Ceremonies to celebrate any occasion from weddings to funerals; creating, leading, and participating with original pieces; guiding clients to create their own ceremonies