Meet Vanessa Paisley, the visionary founder of Paisley Communication. Renowned as an Intercultural Trainer and English Language Coach, Vanessa's mantra, "It's not WHAT you say, it's HOW you say it," defines her global communication training. With expertise in facilitating cross-cultural exchange programs and relocation training, she bridges cultural divides with finesse.
Tell us a bit about yourself and your family?
I was born in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania as my father was working there as an electrical engineer for 3 years. As a family we moved back to the UK when I was just 6 months old.
I grew up in a sleepy town north of London with my parents and 3 siblings.
My Dad travelled a lot for work when I was a child and I used to look longingly at his suitcases smothered in airline stickers and his suntanned face!
Unfortunately, he never wanted to go abroad on holiday as he was always travelling but I was desperate to see the world.
I brought home brochures from travel agents in an attempt to try and persuade my parents to go abroad.
I eventually convinced them to go to Menorca when I was 14-years old.
In the end I studied German and that took me off on trips with school and visited my penfriend in Southern Germany. I loved it!
I suppose I sought otherness, exotic places and languages were definitely my favourite subjects at school.
Have you had any formal training or family business?
My parents both had very classic careers and worked really hard to get there – my Mum was a nurse and my Dad was an engineer.
I never planned on being my own boss. I think my parents found it rather risky!
In Austria I worked as an English teacher for a year, a radio journalist for 2-3 years and as a marketing assistant for an industrial machine producer for 6 months.
This last job was in a more rural part of Austria and it wasn’t my vibe. As there were no real opportunities for me working in that region other than teaching English and translating, I decided to go for it and set up my own business! I was 25 years old! It was quite daunting but I used all my contacts and made it work. I look back at my younger self with respect there!
How did you come up with the idea for your business, and what was the process of turning that idea into a reality?
I suppose I went from this point to where I am in various steps.
After 10 years of training various skills in English from Telephoning in English to Presentations in English, I then became a lecturer in English for Business Administration part-time students and helped out on orientation programs for international incoming students.
It was at that point that I thought, right I don’t just want to be a classic language trainer, I need to help these students communicate more effectively with the language skills at hand (mixed level groups), so I decided to go back to university and did a Masters in Communication Studies, focusing on causes of miscommunication in international teams.
This led me into the field of cross-cultural communication and gave me more credibility.
I then started offering training to corporate clients, working in hotels in Switzerland etc. The topic of intercultural communication started to gain traction.
How have you grown as a leader since starting your company, and what have been some of the key lessons you've learned along the way?
In the past 10 years I have seen my business grow a lot, especially since I moved back to the UK and had to start from scratch again. I work on projects with other trainers and coaches.
Being a member of SIETAR (Society for Intercultural Training and Research) in London was a huge networking opportunity and really to make contacts with other interculturalists/relocation companies.
I have also reached a stage in my career where I can pick and choose more in terms of work and I think this is to do with my dedication to my job and recognising where my strengths lie.
I was told for a while that I needed to be more niche in my offering of services – that it’s not good to be an intercultural trainer and an English language coach.
I decided to carve my own space here as I work in the space where language and culture meet.
Most of the people I work with speak English as a second or third language so I feel my language training experience feeds into my cultural awareness training.
I’ve learned that it’s about consistency of quality, trainers receive a lot of feedback, contemplating what I could do better next time and constantly optimising the training I deliver.
Can you tell us about a time when you faced a major setback or failure in your business, and how you overcame it?
I think March 2020 was a massive shake up for many people like me. I went from commuting into London regularly, running a field trip to India and Russia to being stuck at home with zero income.
I quickly got some language clients to keep me going and worked on Zoom.
The cross-cultural field trips we put online and we kept them going for 2 years which was definitely not the same but the students appreciated this contact to other countries all the same. I threw my heart and soul into marketing my business online – LinkedIn challenges, blogging, creating a video whiteboard to market my repatriation work.
I was quite quick off the blocks. And it paid off – I got headhunted on LinkedIn by a big training company and other clients.
Now I post weekly – I simply don’t have time for more but I think doing the legwork before LinkedIn became a noisy place must have paid off.
How do you stay motivated and focused on your goals, especially during challenging times?
I find that when I’m busy, I’m motivated. When things quieten down I have to discipline myself. I create a list of things to do and work through them systematically. I used to always start with things I liked doing, now I’m stricter with myself about “what needs doing next” from an urgency perspective. I think having more interesting jobs keeps me motivated and I took on a few more complex projects last year that have really pushed me forwards in terms of confidence and job satisfaction. I do find that I need novelty to keep my interest, I think I’ve been like that all my life!
How do you balance your personal life with the demands of running a business?
I make sure that I exercise regularly. I get up and move around if I’m working from home so that I’m not in front of the computer all day.
I switch off my computer at 5.30pm. I love work so I could just keep going at times but that isn’t good for me or people around me.
In Austria I worked weekends for 15 years. Now I so appreciate having the weekends off. Such a luxury!
I do find it hard to just go for a walk since I don’t commute.
There would have been no opt out scenario pre-pandemic. I know people who walk to the station and back before they start WFH just to keep it simple.
I used to laugh at stuff like that. Now I see what they were doing. I’m still working out balance in my “new life” if I’m honest.
I go dancing every Thursday morning in my hometown, I love being self-employed from that perspective. I manage my diary and not the other way around!
What are your plans for the future of your business, and how do you see yourself evolving as a founder and leader?
I sometimes can’t believe that I’m 55 and have approx. another 10 years to go on the career front.
I finally feel like I’m where I always wanted to be!
I would like to do more global teams training as I feel this is something teams are crying out for. I would like to carry on encouraging more people to develop global understanding that goes beyond internet knowledge and connection – we need more cultural bridge builders so my mission isn’t over yet!
Maybe a book is in me?
Or a coaching qualification?
I’m going to think about that a bit more before I make any rash decisions.
If you could go back in time and give your younger self one piece of advice, what would it be?
I was often told not to be so sensitive as a child and a young adult. This I realise is part of who I am – I am a highly sensitive person and pick up a lot of “noise” in the room. I actually now see it as a huge opportunity. A benefit for my job and my whole journey, looking out for those who don’t feel included or those who feel uncomfortable with the way a message has been communicated in a team. It empowers me to help others understand that their message didn’t land with their counterpart in the way intended, for example. This shift in my mindset has changed my whole leadership style.
I’m authentically sensitive and this is okay!
What's the most important lesson you've learned from a failure, and how have you applied it to your business?
I learned from relocating to Austria that qualifications don’t translate well across cultures – my Bachelor’s degree was not recognised in Austria in the 1990s and I found that so upsetting.
A few years later I got on and did a Masters. When I moved back to the UK in 2014 I didn’t have a TEFL qualification so couldn’t teach English although I’d be teaching it at university level for 20 years in Austria and had studied languages. I went and did a TEFL in London. It was a pain. But I learned a lot and sometimes you just have to get on with it and adapt! It’s truly humbling stuff.
Many people have to do this who move from one country to another.
What's the most meaningful compliment or feedback you've ever received from a customer, and why did it resonate with you?
I have been told a few times by former students of mine that they didn’t really understand the importance of intercultural awareness when they took my class at university but later on in life, the knowledge I imparted resonated with them and gave meaning to their work, lives and, relationships.
They were so grateful and this means so much to me, as to learn about cultural differences we really need to be immersed in the experience – taking learning beyond the textbook/internet.
If you had to choose one thing that makes your company truly unique and sets it apart from the competition, what would it be, and why?
My brand is all about the crossover between language, culture and identity. It’s wholesome, people-focused and full of real-life examples of my intercultural life.
"It's not WHAT you say, it's HOW you say it", in which I help international teams to optimise their communication and create synergy out their diversity, is my signature training.
People know me for this and it's my life story packaged in a 3-hour high-energy training session!
Find Vanessa Paisley on Social Media:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/vanessapaisleycommunication/
Website: https://paisley-communication.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/paisleycommunication/
E-mail: vanessa@paisley-communication.com
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