GDST Alumnae Networking with West End Star Jane Quinn

On Wednesday, 26th February, we were delighted to welcome over 50 GDST alumnae to our networking session featuring Bromley alumna Jane Quinn.

Jane, a West End actor, singer, and founder of The Speakers’ Toolkit, led an engaging and interactive masterclass on the art of public speaking.

Drawing on her theatrical expertise, Jane highlighted the importance of interactivity in public speaking. She explained that, much like performing on stage, delivering a powerful speech begins with thorough preparation – and a proper warm-up. Energising the room, she invited guests to stand and led them through a dynamic series of of exercises focusing on posture, movement of the larynx, breath and ‘anchoring’ (connecting your body and voice).

 

Jane’s top tips on crafting compelling presentations

Jane shared her top tips on crafting compelling presentations, advising speakers to streamline their content for maximum impact, grabbing the audience’s attention by telling a story and creating a structure to bookend key messages. She advised varying pace and rhythm and pausing, to give listeners the chance to process what has been said. For virtual presentations, she recommended using a plain background and making direct eye contact with the camera to keep the audience engaged.

The Q&A session gave guests the chance to tap into Jane’s expertise on tackling common public speaking challenges, such as brain fog and monotone delivery. Her advice? Jot down key points, follow them with your finger, and memorise as much of your speech as possible. To enhance vocal variety, she recommended practising siren exercises and marking notes to indicate where to adjust pitch, ensuring a more dynamic and engaging delivery.

For those faced with impromptu speaking moments, Jane’s golden rule was simple: pause, think, and keep it concise.

Feedback was glowing. Nottingham Girls’ alumna Charlotte Gregson commented

“An incredible event – wow did I walk away with some valuable tips from the fabulous Jane Quinn! Thanks to the event organisers for such a fantastic session.”

After the workshop, alumnae had the opportunity to connect and reflect on the session before the evening drew to a close.

Empowering the next generation of young women

Inspired by International Women’s Day and Women’s History Month next month, we asked our guests the following question: How do you think we should empower the next generation of young women? 

Here are a couple of responses:

“Do not ever allow them to believe they cannot take up space. With conviction and humility, you can have a space anywhere.”
Auhona Majumdar – South Hampstead High School

---

“Take inspiration from how confident other people are – maybe even when they shouldn’t be!”
Xinniella Khubchandani – Putney High School

The GDST Alumnae Network

The GDST Alumnae Network is the largest organisation of its kind in the country. There are over 100,000 GDST alumnae from across our family of 26 girls’ schools and the network is increasing every year.

Find out more