I am, first and foremost, a lover of words. The written word. The spoken word (particularly Brazilian Portuguese – if you’re Brazilian, talk to me). The sung word. Even the signed word. In the beginning, so they say, was the word, and a world without words is unimaginable to me. And pretty dull.
My love of words led me to writing, and I became a professional author at the age of 14. Years as a freelancer followed, during which my articles, personal essays and stories were published in Australia, the US, and the UK, with the odd book – pseudonymous-but-fun bits of fluff included – every now and then. Some decades after that, I started teaching and training others to write – something I love doing as much as writing itself. And some decades after that, I became an NLP practitioner. When my love of both words and NLP combined… well, let’s just say that while in my head there was a Captain Planet scenario, what actually happened in real life was that I discovered LAB (Language and Behaviour) and iWAM profiling, and became a LAB practitioner.
These days, besides a lover of words, I am a communication specialist. The communications umbrella is big and wide and I like to work and play under all of it, but particularly in the area of external communications. Most often these days this translates to content and marketing communications, in their many and varied incarnations and buzzwords. My experience includes creating strategies, and managing the creation, delivery and governance of all content. My platforms include consulting, creating, training, facilitating, coaching, mentoring, and profiling (that’s where those psycholinguistics come in). I help forge and strengthen internal communication for better performance, and external communication for better business. Brilliant.
I live in beautiful Berwick, Victoria, with my lovely photographer-filmmaker husband, Shane. We have a combined brood that is part Brady Bunch and part Big Bang Theory, a small black dog who is Felix Ungar, and a big white dog who is Oscar Madison. But if that’s too many sitcom references, let’s flesh it out: we believe in great ideas, cleverness, awesome music, movies, TV on DVD, good food, reading, creativity, sausage sizzles on the verandah, silliness, talking loud, and being nice. They are awesome, and they are my biggest fans.
Both they and my work confirm what I most profoundly believe: that there is no issue whose resolution does not begin – and often end – with effective communication. Because the quality of our lives and business is directly related to the quality of the communications we have with ourselves and with others, addressing communication addresses everything that flows from it and lays a foundation for the loftiest and sturdiest ideas, projects, and relationships. This is the level of conviction I bring into my work, with a great deal of creativity, pragmatism, nous, can-do, cleverness, talent, and good humour.
In the same way we’ve connected through these few words, I would love to help connect you to your audience, market, and team. Let’s do it again: violeta[at]violetabalhas.com
Talk soon,
Violeta
