Elizabeth Van Den Bergh is a sought-after international speaker coach who believes everybody deserves to stand on a stage and actually enjoy it. Great speakers are made, not born. She’s coached hundreds of leaders, entrepreneurs, and executives toward more impact. She’s also the head speaker coach of TEDxFlanders.
Over the years Elizabeth has developed her own unique methodology based on the three pillars that always deliver results: Confidence, Content, and Connection. Recently, she launched her podcast Powerful Presence. And she’s further expanding her business internationally.
Elizabeth Van Den Bergh, Executive Speaker and Leadership Coach
What do you do for your clients?
Working as a Speaker and Leadership coach means I mentor and train leaders to go to the next level in leadership and public speaking. I’m also their trusted sparring partner.
My clients are committed high-performers who seek to increase their impact through speaking. They understand that personal growth and professional growth go hand in hand. A big part of the work to become a better communicator is an inside job.
With every client, the program is different because it is tailor-made to their challenges and ambitions. Clients engage in a 6-month one-on-one speaker and leadership program where we start by defining desired results and then get the process going.
During the program, I help clients prepare for significant speaker moments whether that be hosting a webcast, a keynote at a big conference, town hall meetings, and so forth. Having these speaking opportunities during the program allows for growth iterations. After each speaking opportunity, we discuss what went well and what we will focus on next. Hence clients go through a guided and structured process.
What’s your backstory?
I grew up in Turnhout, in the north of Belgium, a small city with 40 thousand inhabitants. My mom was home most of my childhood, she’s also an artist and worked in interior design for some years. My father was a finance and fiscal consultant before his retirement. I have one brother, Frans, who works as an interventional radiologist.
As a young adult I had international ambitions and went to study political sciences. Knowing my interest lay in communication and interpersonal relations. My initial dream was to work for an international organization like the UN. I realized I was happier working in smaller organizations where you can see the impact of your work and have more overview. After 8 years of working as an employee I started my own company.
My last job before being self-employed was as Head of PR and Events for a communication agency that was solely working for the European Institutions. I met many heads of states, ministers, and people like Melinda Gates and Ban Ki-moon during those years.
Was (public) speaking something that had always intrigued you?
Yes. Very early on I understood how important communication skills are. As a child I loved observing how people communicated and trying to figure out what that said about them, figuring out what was really going on or being said below the surface.
When I was working for the European Institutions I saw how crucial great speaking skills were. You have limited time with your audience and your reputation is at stake. To see a balanced leader who is able to express himself well with great demeanor is so powerful. In today's fast-changing world we need more inspiring leaders, and less control and command.
And who, if any, were your role models?
Nobody does it alone. We can have great vision, wonderful ideas, but we all need someone who shows us that what we dream of is possible.
I have many role models. At the start of my speaker coach journey, it was trainer and coach Marilyn Hazeldine who showed me how powerful and impactful it is to coach people. It was my friend and coach Mona Shair who helped me take my first steps as a trainer and coach.
Nowadays Alexandra B Carter, Meredith Fineman, Arlan Hamilton and Lisa Nichols are an inspiration to me.
A few years ago I had the opportunity to work with Zelda La Grange, she worked for 19 years as the right-hand of late president Nelson Mandela. To learn first hand about him and his leadership was such a great gift.
What was the decisive moment you decided you wanted to become self-employed and build your business as a Public Speaking Coach?
When my cousin Julie suddenly passed away in 2017 I decided to fully go for my dream of becoming a speaker coach. I had coached CEOs, had given several presentation skills training, moderator training, written speaker briefings, had organized my workshop Powerful Speaking for Women, and had coached Ted speakers. I was doing it already, now it was time to finally make it official.
It was my cousin’s passing that made me realize that you only have one life and you never know how much time you have left.
To help others grow and become great speakers is a job I had not dared imagine I would be doing. I’m so so grateful it is happening for me now.
And what would you say has been your biggest challenge along the way?
Managing myself and sticking to the plan.
As an entrepreneur you have to have the ideas, execute on them and at the same time manage yourself. You need dedication and discipline, and be willing to show up every day. I’m an enthusiast and I’m still learning to not say yes to every opportunity that comes my way and stick to the plan.
I found this quote that sums up quite nicely what it’s like to set up your business. “The beautiful thing about going alone is that every triumph is yours, every consequence of every mistake is yours, everything that you have to figure out is on you. That’s a really powerful experience. And sometimes it is beautiful and positive and exciting, and sometimes it's negative and hard and lonely. I wanted that. I welcomed that.” —Cheryl Strayed, 2019
What do you consider to be your highest achievement, the one thing you call your biggest success?
Success is not the money, the car, the house, the material things. If your happiness depends on those, you’re screwed. Just to be clear, there is nothing wrong with having those, but your happiness should not depend on it.
Success to me is an inside job. My success is that 20 years ago I would never have imagined to be where I am today.
My business invites me to grow everyday. And to keep on learning. I believe that’s where we find happiness and fulfillment: in developing ourselves and serving others.
I want to live ‘in the arena’.
My success is also my marriage with Jelle, my kids and my friends.
How did you build up all this knowledge?
Over the years and one step at the time. Since I have this passion for communication, public speaking and leadership I’ve been devouring every article, podcast, and book on the topic. Staying curious is the key.
Those who have worked with me know that I work from my own Confidence, Content, Connection approach. So I keep on deepening and broadening my knowledge on the subtopics of each of these pillars.
Knowledge is one thing. I study to be an expert and a thought leader in my field.
Helping your clients in the best way is another thing. Coaching is a skill you master by doing. Of course there are all the techniques, models and the tools. I’m familiar with them. I help my clients thanks to the knowledge I have, but also you can google everything. So knowledge is not the only reason people come to me. They come for results and efficiency. I see myself as the curator, I give them the right thing at the right time so they can grow.
I get praised for bringing much depth and reflection on one side and being practical and results-oriented on the other side.
This brings me to what I love so much about my job. It's deep work and pragmatism.
How do you succeed in carving out the right things to say to guide your clients?
Good listening skills and asking the right question is the secret. And also noticing what is not being said. I provide my clients with a safe space where they can experiment, be silly, be grand, test their next level. Every work relationship is based on trust and transparency.
I pride myself on finding out what obstacles my clients face so they can have a breakthrough moment. Once a client sent me after a session: “Thanks for the reprogramming.” That was such great feedback for me as I go by ‘think differently, so you can speak differently.’
If you care to read what clients say about working with Elizabeth, go to: https://speaker.coach/reviews/
What’s your mantra for the days things just don't go as planned?
I notice my frustration about what didn’t go as planned. Then I remind myself it’s not a sprint, building a legacy business is a marathon.
What is your vision on success with your clients?
Success for my client is when they grow from within so they can become a next level version of themselves. If my client thinks differently about himself and thinks differently about what public speaking really is, that’s where the transformation begins, where growth happens.
Making place for a new narrative. This can be a simple yet powerful mindset shift from:
“I am not good enough” to “I deserve to stand on a stage.”
“I have nothing interesting to say.” to “What I say is relevant and a valuable contribution.”
“I just don’t have it in me to be a great speaker.” To “I can be a great speaker because every great speaker once was a bad speaker.”
And it is always a step up in leadership also.
If you want to work with Elizabeth, please book your call here.
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