The Story So Far...

So how did topbird start?

K: Well, we have been friends forever. We met at drama school in 1991 but only started working together last year

C: And we have the pandemic to thank. We both realised the possibilities of working online. Reaching more people and of course making it affordable.

K: Once we decided we wanted to focus on women, our mission became clear – to help them get seen and heard in the workplace, hence the name…

You were both actors? How did you make the transition into this kind of work?

C: I guess we had similar journeys. It started off with us wanting to have a more predictable income but the more work we did with all sorts of different organisations the more we realised how often women can be overlooked , undervalued and underpaid.

K: After I had children I realised that theatre doesn’t pay the bills so I retrained as a trainer and coach encouraged by Christie. So it started off as a financial need and has turned into a passion for making a difference to people’s lives.

C: Its a big job and someone has to do it.

What kind of organisations do you work for?

C: We’ve been around for a while so It would be easier to say who we haven’t worked with. It ranges from public sector organisations like the NHS and the Civil Service to Ad agencies and global companies such as Google, and Coca Cola.

Tell us a bit about the way you work

K: I think we would both say, nothing we talk about is complicated or new. Its all about execution. So we teach people simple straight forward techniques that really work. A lot of training and development is theoretical.

C: We are all about practice…whether its a presentation, a meeting or an interview. We use methods that go back to our training to teach women the essential 3 C’s….Confidence, Clarity & Courage

Some nice things people have said:

Thank you so much Katherine for such a great session today, I learnt so much from it and already feel better about the next board meeting...never thought that would happen! I know I have lots to work on and have written plenty of notes from today.

I wanted to thank you the coaching and training has been a trigger for a series of actions that led to my promotion.

Katherine is amazing at creating fun and enjoyable ways to help our people develop their presentation skills.

Christie has worked with us for several years with many international firms. She is outstanding at judging the extent to which participants should be challenged or supported. Her feedback is honest and helpful.

I wanted to thank you for all your support getting me in shape; your coaching around impact, messaging and making it personal were invaluable. I also wanted to thank you for the wider impact that you've had and helped me think through a number of matters and challenges.