Voice For Change

Joanne Lockwood is joined by voice and speech coach Fiona Brennan-Scott to explore what it really means to find your “Voice for change” — not just the sound you make, but the identity you bring into a room.

Together they unpack why speaking up can feel so vulnerable, how judgement and fear show up in public speaking, and what helps people build confidence when they need to communicate as leaders or subject-matter experts. Fiona shares practical insights from her coaching work, including supporting STEM professionals to bridge the gap between competence in their discipline and confidence in how they present it.

The conversation digs into the craft of engagement: using breath and posture, telling stories that land emotionally, simplifying complex language, and creating space for audiences to think. They explore the power of silence and listening as an inclusive act, including approaches like “Time to Think” and the “rubber ducking” idea that speaking a problem out loud can unlock solutions.

Along the way they reflect on authenticity, values, and the subtle ways people can be “othered”, as well as how inclusive communication respects different perspectives and helps people feel heard. The episode closes with Fiona sharing how to find her work and her book, Breathtaking Communication.

One-sentence summary

Fiona Brennan-Scott believes that when people are truly heard — in their full voice, accent, story and identity — they stop shrinking and start shaping the world.

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Synopsis

Fiona Brennan-Scott sees voice as something sacred. To her, it isn’t just sound; it’s identity. She speaks about “voice with a capital V” — the part of us that carries our history, culture, faith, accent, confidence and doubt all at once. An Irish woman living and working in England, often aware of being different in subtle rooms of power, she understands what it means to feel slightly outside the circle. That awareness has shaped her life’s work: not performance for its own sake, but helping people feel safe enough to show up as themselves. She holds other people’s voices carefully, almost “emotionally surgical”, because she knows what it costs to be dismissed.

What she is trying to change is quiet but radical. She wants to “level the playing field” so speaking — in boardrooms, classrooms, government, churches — is not reserved for the already confident, the already privileged, the already heard. She knows the fear of rejection that silences people before they even begin. And she cannot ignore how easily subtle comments can “other” someone’s story, accent or way of expressing themselves. Her work is about dignity: giving people the courage to speak, the tools to connect, and the confidence to protect their identity instead of sanding it down. Because when more people speak with authenticity — and when more people truly listen — something closer to democracy becomes possible.

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10 Small, digestible concepts for easy learning

1. Your voice is your identity made audible.

When you speak, you are not sharing information — you are sharing yourself.

2. Fear of speaking is fear of rejection.

Public speaking feels overwhelming because being dismissed feels personal.

3. Accent is heritage, not a flaw.

An accent tells a story; it should be affirmed, not corrected away.

4. Expertise without connection is exhausting for the audience.

Knowing your subject is not the same as helping people understand it.

5. Emotion carries meaning further than data.

“Emotion trumps reason” — people act when they feel.

6. The pause is part of the message.

“During the pause, the meaning goes on.”

7. Listening can ignite thinking.

When someone holds silence without fixing you, solutions surface.

8. Stories travel further than arguments.

In one story, you can understand a lifetime.

9. Inclusion seeps out through authenticity.

People sense when your door is truly open.

10. Difference grows you.

Being around people who think differently is how you evolve.

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The “why” in the story

What they believe is true about people

Fiona believes people are shaped by love and environment — that we all have the capacity for good, and that most people already hold their own best solutions if only someone will listen long enough.

What they cannot unsee

She cannot unsee how power collects in certain voices — often male, often culturally privileged — while others hesitate at the edges. She cannot ignore how subtle comments can make someone feel like an outsider in a single sentence.

What they are no longer willing to tolerate

She refuses to accept that confidence belongs only to a select few, or that someone’s accent, identity or introversion should disqualify them from influence.

What they are trying to build instead

She is building spaces — meeting rooms, coaching sessions, stages — that feel like thinking environments: places of equality, encouragement and genuine attention, where voices do not compete but expand.

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Narrative structure

1. The trigger:

Early in her coaching career, Fiona realised that most of her clients were white men, despite her intention to serve a broader mix of people. That gap unsettled her. She could see who wasn’t in the room.

2. The tension:

She repeatedly encounters the quiet fear behind ambitious professionals — brilliant scientists or engineers promoted into leadership who suddenly feel incompetent because they cannot communicate with ease. She also faces subtle “othering” herself; being Irish and different in certain power spaces has sharpened her sensitivity to exclusion.

3. The insight:

Speaking is not just skill — it is vulnerability. When someone stands up to speak, they are offering their identity. To support them well requires more than tips and slides; it requires respect for what is “below the waterline”: breath, posture, emotion, self-belief.

4. The pivot:

Instead of being prescriptive or corrective, Fiona chose to focus on presence and listening. Through “Time to Think”, she commits not to interrupt, not to impose her opinion, but to trust that the person in front of her holds their own answers.

5. The destination:

A world where more people dare to speak and fewer people rush to dominate — where audiences feel respected, pauses are welcomed, and democracy is strengthened because more identities are heard.

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Five key takeaways and learning points

1. People remember how you made them feel.

So slow down. Connection matters more than cramming in content.

2. Confidence grows when difference is affirmed.

Celebrating someone’s accent or background gives them permission to expand.

3. Silence is not failure — it is processing.

When you pause, you show respect for how humans absorb meaning.

4. You don’t need to fix everyone.

Listening without interruption can be more powerful than advice.

5. Authenticity attracts inclusion.

When you are clear on your own values, the right people feel safe around you.

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Ten distinct ideas explained

1. Voice as identity

When someone speaks, they risk misunderstanding. Dismissing a voice can feel like dismissing the person.

2. Subtle exclusion

A small comment — “You do like telling stories” — can quietly mark someone as different.

3. The exhaustion of poor communication

When speakers hide behind jargon, the audience works too hard and disengages.

4. Below the waterline work

True communication starts in the body — breath, grounding, emotional connection.

5. Emotional resonance

Without emotional connection, facts float. With it, messages land in the gut.

6. Thinking environments

Equality in thinking means every perspective has value, regardless of role.

7. The generosity of Q&A

Inviting questions gives the audience agency and signals respect.

8. Holding space

Generative listening tells the other person: you are capable; you deserve time.

9. Difference as growth fuel

Spending time only with people like you narrows your world.

10. Inclusion as lived energy

You cannot fake openness; people sense who truly welcomes them.

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How people should change as a result

1. Think

• Shift from “How do I sound?” to “How do people feel with me?”
• See accents and differences as richness, not risk.
• Recognise that expertise without connection creates distance.
• Understand that silence is a sign of thought, not awkwardness.
• Accept that identity is always present in communication.

2. Feel

• Move from defensiveness to curiosity.
• From fear of saying the wrong thing to willingness to listen.
• From pressure to impress to permission to connect.
• From impatience to respect for processing time.
• From suspicion of difference to appreciation of it.

3. Act

• Pause for three seconds after making a key point.
• Ask someone, “What are your thoughts?” — then do not interrupt.
• Affirm someone’s accent or perspective as part of who they are.
• Leave space in your talks for reflection or Q&A.
• Reduce jargon and speak as if you truly want to be understood.
• Seek out conversations with people who think differently from you.
• Reflect on your personal “why” before entering difficult discussions.

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One thing to remember

When you honour someone’s voice, you honour their identity — and that changes everything.