WIBF Speakers at Large

An important aspect of career management can be your public speaking skills, especially as you advance up the career ladder. WIBF Speakers has helped many members to overcome their public speaking challenges and here is just one example of many – Nekesha Roberts of HSBC.

“Three years ago I started a new adventure and transferred to the UK from my home in Trinidad and Tobago”, remembers Nekesha. “Although I was aware that I am generally soft spoken, this highlighted the necessity to do something about my communications skills now that I was the one with an accent!”

Nekeshas’s career started with banking experience in Trinidad and Tobago and her career continued in the UK as Treasury Assistant within a public sector organisation. Since moving to HSBC Investment Bank Global Markets Operations, she works as a cost analyst and is studying for her ACCA qualification. “My job includes preparation of the annual operating plan, preparing monthly exception reports for senior management, quarterly forecasting and budget setting. Usually, most of the speaking I do at work is at meetings or discussions with cost centre managers about their accounts. It is particularly important that I am understood, as not all managers are familiar with financial jargon”, said Nekesha.

She was looking around for a public speaking course and spotted WIBF Speakers’ Canary Wharf branch advertising on the HSBC intranet, so joining the group felt like serendipity. “Because of my soft voice I often found myself overshadowed by more dominant personality types. The Toastmasters programme has been great in helping me to project my voice and communicate clearly and confidently. I feel that I am being taken more seriously at work and being given more responsibility. Amazingly, I have only been a Toastmaster for one year – so I feel that there must be more benefits to come!”

Nekesha will be exercising her speaking skills in a different role in July, when she makes a thank you speech in front of 100 guests at her wedding! So, any tips for other WIBF members? “I think that the biggest challenge for anyone who wants to improve on their speaking skills is to make that start”, she said. “It’s easy to make excuses about other demands on our time but that’s often just fear. I personally believe that we are not born with good speaking skills but rather develop them through practice. We just have to decide that this is a goal that is important to us and act upon it”.

WIBF Speakers has two branches, in the City of London and Canary Wharf. They meet on alternate Wednesday evenings from 6-8pm with drinks and networking after. Guests are always welcome, but please register for security purposes. More information is available via the website www.wibfspeakers.org.uk