On 28 January 2025, I hosted a panel discussion at Molineux Meets, one of my favourite networking events in Wolverhampton, at Wolves F.C. stadium.

I’ve been on panels in the past, I’ve hosted my own events and workshops, and I’ve done hundreds of hours of interviews throughout my career.

But this job was a step up.

The theme was Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI). A topic especially pertinent as the event was the day after Holocaust Memorial Day, and a topic which can get heated online.

The speakers were Claire Duesbury, EDI Lead at Levy UK (the company which manages Molineux’s hospitality, as well as in stadiums and venues across the country), Melissa Forde Head Performance Chef for Wolves 1st team, and Gurpri Baines, Wolves’ EDI Manager.

In the run up to the event I spoke with friends in business to find out what they thought about EDI. Some were too nervous about the fallout if they left people out or saying the wrong things. Others just saw it as buzzwords and there were more pressing concerns.

I also had a couple of video calls with Claire, Gurpri and Melissa, to find out more about them, their roles and experiences.

From these conversations, I drafted my questions.

1. The first questions would set the context and landscape to make sure everyone was on the same page.
2. The middle questions would dial into and showcase the speakers’ stories, expertise and experiences to bring the subject to life in a real and relatable way. (Including the fact that Melissa is the only female Performance Head Chef in the Premier League.)
3. The final questions would focus on the audience, drawing out practical tips and next steps they can take at home.

And, as the host, I would bookend the discussion with the welcome and close, keeping a close eye on the time so it lasted 30 minutes.

Gurpri, Claire and Melissa were absolutely brilliant. I made so many notes, including:

 

• There are 9 protected characteristics in the Equality Act 2010 which include age, religion and belief, disability, and race. It will be 2154 before we get gender parity.
• When you make EDI a focus, it’s not just a you’re giving your people a voice and helping them to be their authentic selves. They’re going to contribute more, bring different ideas to the table and be more productive.
• By looking at your data, you can tap into new markets and build new customer bases, which obviously can have a positive impact on your bottom line.
• You don’t have to try to do everything. Pick one thing and start. And if you do make a mistake, apologise, learn and move on.

Melissa outlined some of the benefits of offering an inclusive menu to the football team:

• By offering a diverse, performance-focused and delicious range of food, the Wolves players feel welcome and looked after.
• Their post-match meals are intentionally tasty and includes a treat which is on the right-side-of-healthy, they are less tempted to get unhealthier options after matches.
• Vitor Pereira phoned his wife after his first meal as Head Coach and told her “I’ll be OK, the food is fantastic.”

 

Speaking to Molineux Meets attendees afterwards and the following day at another event, Melissa’s stories especially made an impact.

• Wolves staff members were proud that Wolves was the first team to have a female Head Performance Chef. (Many didn’t know this before.)
• Working mothers felt seen because she too had been reluctant to admit in her interview that she had two young children.
• A number of people had not gone or almost not gone for a job because they didn’t feel like they had a chance of getting it.

The panel had sparked conversations about Equality, Diversity and Inclusion and people were sharing their own stories and experiences with each other.

That’s how relationships are built and that’s why I love events 🤩.

The following Wednesday, Maria emailed us to say that she hadn’t ever received so many positive comments or feedback after the event. 

It’s not something that I’d planned, but now I can add “panel host” to my CV. I’d love to do more.

Last Thursday evening was the first official TEDx Wolverhampton rehearsal on stage at the Arena Theatre…

So, on Wednesday I met up with Dr Sophie Gwinnett, my friend and fellow speaker, to run through our talks.

I’d been trying to learn mine over the past week. I’d recorded it on my phone so I could listen to it and practice as a I walked around London, Birmingham and everywhere else I’d been recently.  I thought I’d made a good start.

And then I heard Sophie’s.

She had hers down (very almost) to a T.

I didn’t.

I was going over the allotted 12 minutes by a lot. (One time it hit 17 minutes!) I was stumbling over words. I was trying to remember parts. Not a good look.

I knew I still had plenty of work to do on the performance. I hadn’t realised I had so much more editing still to do. Reading from the page, I discovered, is a lot quicker than reciting from memory.

When you only have 12 minutes to speak, every sentence needs to be finely crafted. Every word counts.

Too many words and the text is bloated. Too few and some of the impact might be lost. It’s a fine balance.

It’s one of the reasons why the first draft is never the final version.

When I’m writing web copy, it goes through seven sweeps (as taught by Copyhackers in Copy School). It ensures that every word on the page has as much impact as possible, moving the reader to take action.

The seven sweeps are:

1. Clarity – is it clear?
2. Voice and tone – are they consistent all the way through?
3. “So what?”
4. “Prove it” – are all the claims backed by enough proof?
5. Specificity – specific details make the story come to life so much more than vagueness and generalities.
6. Heightened emotion – will the reader feel enough, without going overboard?
7. Zero risk – if the reader thinks that they’ve got something to lose, they’re not going to take action. How can you help them to feel confident in their decision.

When possible, I get another set of eyes (either a copywriter friend or my dad) to make sure it’s the best it can be.

So while I realised I had plenty of work to do, I still had plenty of time to get it right. I was also really grateful to get Sophie’s feedback to help me slim it down.

And after the rehearsal on Thursday, it’s changed again.

The first draft of my TEDx talk seems like a distance memory. I’ve forgotten which version I’m on now, there have been so many. It’s like I’ve been chipping away at a block of marble.

But I’ve enjoyed the process and I’m hoping that my story is going to help others get through difficult times. That will make it worth the effort.

There are still a few physical tickets left for TEDx Wolverhampton on 1 October, and there are some streaming tickets so you can watch it from the comfort of your own home too. Check it out here.

(The video will be added to YouTube a few weeks after.)

My TEDx Wolverhampton talk is quickly approaching – less than 4 weeks away.

My talk is written and approved 🥳. It’s 12 minutes long and more than 1,700 words. We’re not allowed to read our talks and we’re advised not to have notes on the day either.

So now I’m in learning mode. I’m learning my lines.

The first rehearsal is next week

One of the benefits of having worked in a theatre is I know a bunch of trained actors I can call on to ask for advice.

And they’ve been super helpful 🥰.

There’s so much talk online about hacks and “the easy way to…”, it can sometimes feel like failure (at least to me) if a task doesn’t come naturally, or it takes effort.

But none of my friends shied away from the amount of work it takes to learn lines.

Here’re a few of the tips:

Annie Fletcher-Hall, Acting Director at Central Youth Theatre:

• Record yourself and listen to it as if it was a podcast
• Learn the talk little and often. It’s much better than trying to read and read it all in one go

James Collins, Outreach Manager: Creative Learning, Wolverhampton Grand Theatre:

• Read each section over and over again while it’s playing in the background.
• Learn them at various times of the day, but read and listen to sections a few times immediately before you go to sleep… you’ll then start waking them up with them in your head

Lanna Joffrey, Actor, Writer, Spoken Word Performer, Voiceover Artist, Coach, currently performing in Sister Radio:

• Make sure that you know your lines so well that no matter what you’re doing, you’ll be able to remember them. So run those lines while you’re running, or while you’re showering, or while you’re doing some kind of activity that can really test how well you know them.
• A page of text requires at least an hour of rehearsal time. So just keep drilling it and challenge yourself with other activities because there will be things that throw you in the performance.

Mary-Anne Willets, Acting and Stage Combat, East 15 Acting School 2021 Graduate:

• The best piece of advice I can give you is to just practice, practice, practice and learn, learn, learn.
• When we learn our lines, we like to get to a stage where it’s so monotonous and boring. But once it’s in your body and brain you can then continue to practice them but have fun and play around with it. So you go beyond the stage of finding it boring.

Basically, there aren’t any quick fixes. If I want results, I have to put in the work.

And I appreciate the warning.

I’ve got my speech recorded and I’m playing it on repeat. I’ve got pages of my notebook filled with the lines I’m struggling to remember.

And if you see me walking about town, there’s a strong possibility you’ll see me reciting my lines.

I’m putting in the hard work. 💪

What hard thing are you working on this week?

(And in case you need a cheerleader – You’ve got it!)