Turning a jumble of ideas into a clear and confident story
Conference presentation coaching for Emma Thompson, Get Smart Accountants
Delivered: November 2025 – March 2026
Emma Thompson, Director & Client Happiness Manager at Get Smart Accountants, approached Charlotte for support after being accepted to speak at Wolverhampton International Women’s Day Conference.
What began as a challenge outside her comfort zone became a clear, confident and well-received talk that led to new connections, business conversations and further speaking opportunities.
“The real shift happened when I started to believe that I actually had a story worth telling.”
— Emma Thompson, Director & Client Happiness Manager, Get Smart Accountants
Photo credit: Anna-Mhairi Kane, Wolverhampton International Women’s Day Conference
Charlotte Davies is a West Midlands-based communication coach, workshop facilitator and speaker helping thoughtful professionals turn complex ideas into clear, confident communication.
Her work spans public speaking, presentation preparation, networking skills and message clarity. She helps people communicate in a way that feels structured, human and true to them.
This case study shows how 1-to-1 conference preparation helped Emma Thompson turn a personal story into a confident talk with lasting impact.
At a glance
Client: Emma Thompson, Get Smart Accountants
Service: Conference Prep VIP
Support: Four 1-to-1 sessions + between-session support
Focus: Story structure, presentation development, slide design, delivery coaching and confidence
The challenge
Emma had an important personal story she wanted to share, but no clear structure for how to turn her ideas into a presentation.
Alongside the practical challenge of building a talk, she was also dealing with nerves, self-doubt and the pressure of speaking publicly about something deeply personal.
Outcome:
- Delivered “How to Build a Life with Financial Clarity” at Wolverhampton International Women’s Day Conference
- Stayed calm through technical issues and timing changes
- Received strong audience feedback
- Generated business conversations
- Invited to take part in a radio interview
- Continued speaking publicly after the event
The brief
When Emma first came to me, it was after she’d done something she described as “slightly bonkers”.
She had submitted an application to speak at Wolverhampton International Women’s Day because she wanted to push herself outside her comfort zone and try something different.
The problem?
She didn’t actually think she would be accepted.
Once Emma realised she would have to deliver the talk, she knew she needed support turning her ideas into something clear, structured and deliverable.
“I had a rough idea in my head of what I wanted to say, but absolutely no idea how to turn it into a proper presentation.”
— Emma Thompson, Director, Get Smart Accountants
Why Emma chose to work with Charlotte
Jody and the team had seen me speak before. They knew my reputation, my TEDx talk, and – crucially – how I make people feel.
For Emma, this wasn’t simply about creating slides or writing a script.
She needed someone who could help her shape a personal story while also creating an environment where she felt comfortable enough to share it.
“I decided to work with Charlotte because I knew she had the professional skills to help me AND the personal ones too.
I didn’t just need someone who could help me build a presentation, I needed someone who would listen, encourage me, and help me work through the self-doubt I was feeling.
I was also telling a very personal story, one that I hadn’t shared with many people before, so it was really important that I felt comfortable and supported throughout the process.”
— Emma Thompson, Director, Get Smart Accountants
The process
Session one: Finding the story
Our first session focused on unpacking Emma’s ideas and identifying the core message behind the talk.
Through a structured interview process, we worked through the experiences, themes and moments she wanted to include before shaping them into a clear presentation framework.
“Charlotte patiently listened to my rambling thoughts and helped me turn them into a clear structure using a simple framework. Once we had clarity around the story I wanted to tell, everything started to fall into place.”
— Emma Thompson, Director, Get Smart Accountants
Session two: Developing the message
The second session focused on refining the story itself.
We worked through which parts of the experience Emma wanted to share, what felt authentic, and where boundaries were important.
A key part of the process was recognising that vulnerability does not mean sharing absolutely everything.
The goal was to create a talk that felt honest, meaningful and emotionally safe to deliver.
Session three: Slide design and presentation clarity
By the third session, the slides themselves had started to become a source of stress and overwhelm.
Instead of pushing ahead, we used the session to simplify and rebuild the presentation visually.
This became less about “making slides” and more about understanding how presentation design supports communication.
“This wasn’t just about sitting on Canva and creating slides, it was a real lesson in slide psychology: how visuals support the message, how to keep things simple, and how slides should enhance the story rather than distract from it.
Having that clear framework and visual guide made a huge difference to my confidence.”
— Emma Thompson, Director, Get Smart Accountants
Session four: Delivery and confidence
The final session focused on delivery.
We practised body language, pacing, tone of voice and handling nerves, while also identifying areas that still needed refining before the event.
Importantly, the focus was never on delivering a “perfect” performance.
It was about helping Emma feel prepared, grounded and able to communicate her message clearly.
During the process, there was also a significant mindset shift.
“The real shift happened when I started to believe that I actually had a story worth telling and that people might genuinely want to hear it.
At the beginning, I had a lot of self-doubt and imposter syndrome was definitely lurking in the background.
Through our sessions, Charlotte helped me challenge that thinking. She reassured me that my story mattered and that it would resonate with people.”
— Emma Thompson, Director, Get Smart Accountants
Photo credit: Anna-Mhairi Kane, Wolverhampton International Women’s Day Conference
The event itself
By the time the event arrived, Emma’s mindset had changed dramatically.
While the nerves were still there, they were no longer the dominant feeling.
“Of course I still had some nerves, but alongside that I genuinely felt excited.
Through the preparation we had done together, I felt much more ready and confident about what I was going to say.”
— Emma Thompson, Director, Get Smart Accountants
As often happens with live events, not everything went perfectly on the day.
There were technical issues with the slides, and Emma also had less speaking time than originally planned because an earlier speaker overran.
However, because the talk had been structured clearly during the preparation process, she was able to adapt calmly and confidently in the moment.
“Even though there were a couple of unexpected moments, I still felt in control and able to deliver what I wanted to say.”
— Emma Thompson, Director, Get Smart Accountants
The response
The audience response was overwhelmingly positive.
People approached Emma afterwards to continue the conversation, share similar experiences and tell her how much the talk had resonated with them.
“Several people told me they could really relate to my story, and others said it had given them something to really think about.”
— Emma Thompson, Director, Get Smart Accountants
The event also created unexpected professional opportunities.
Emma and the Get Smart Accountants team received enquiries about their services, and Emma was invited to take part in a radio interview following the event.
Most importantly, the experience changed how she viewed herself as a speaker.
What originally felt intimidating became something she genuinely enjoyed – and something she has continued doing since.
UPDATE: Three months later
I caught up with Emma in June 2026 to see what happened after Wolverhampton International Women’s Day.
“I’ve literally just got back from doing a presentation at Compton Care Business Club, so this is very timely!
I can’t tell you how confident I felt presenting today.
Knowing my slides were strong, applying the slide psychology I learned from you, starting with a question to encourage participation, and making the content relatable rather than delivering the usual “boring accountant stuff” made such a difference.
Once again, the feedback afterwards was incredibly positive.”
— Emma Thompson, Director, Get Smart Accountants
Final words
“I’d just like to say a BIG thank you for your support throughout the process.
What started as something that felt quite daunting turned into an experience I genuinely enjoyed, and that’s largely because of the guidance and encouragement you gave me along the way.
You helped me turn a jumble of ideas into a clear story and gave me the confidence to stand up and share something very personal with an audience.
I’m really grateful for that.
It’s an experience that will stay with me for a long time.”
— Emma Thompson, Director, Get Smart Accountants
Photo credit: Anna-Mhairi Kane, Wolverhampton International Women’s Day Conference
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