If your pitch has ever felt solid on paper but wobbly in the room, this Zoom Dive was made for you. Communication coach and choreographer Mariana Lucia Márquez, founder of MetaSpeech, walked us through the Five-Pillar Method—a practical, proven framework that helps founders, creatives and leaders convey presence, clarity and trust every time they speak. Think: less “arm flapping”, more “magnetise the room”.
Mariana’s journey is as creative as her method. She trained as a dancer in New York, is a choreographer by craft, co-founded a tech company by serendipity, and is now a UK-based specialist whose coaching experience spans two‑person startups to scale-ups pitching £50m rounds (including teams preparing for BBC’s Dragons’ Den). She’s passionate about what makes us fully present—and how to help speakers hit that flow state under pressure.
Across a lively hour, we explored the body-brain link in communication, why “professional body language” is the suit you can switch on, and how small physical choices (feet, hands, eyes, voice, space) can dramatically shift how people read your confidence and credibility. It’s not performative polish; it’s coherent, intentional signalling that supports what you say—so your message lands and your mind stays calm.
Listen to the recording and learn about:
- The MetaSpeech Five-Pillar Method: posture, hand gestures, eye contact, voice, and use of space—and how to stack them for clarity and calm.
- Posture as conviction: open chest, grounded feet, steady spine. Why “standing tall” boosts what you believe about your own words.
- Gestures as punctuation: move less, mean more. Slow, clear gestures help the audience process ideas—and keep your pace (and nerves) in check.
- Eye contact without the “erratic eyes”: how to look at people (or the lens) to sustain a clean communication loop online and off.
- Voice craft: modulation, pace and avoiding the upward “question mark” at the end of statements that quietly drains authority.
- Spatial choreography: ditch the “salsa shuffle.” Use defined steps and zones to organise your content (intro, problem, solution, numbers) and aid memory.
- Blanking on stage? Don’t abandon your body: pause, sip water, name the moment, and re-enter—audiences reward honesty over frantic filler.
- Handling tough questions with grace: hold your ground physically, prepare likely questions, and if you don’t know the answer—own it. Investors read coherence; they “smell” contradictions.
- Building trust fast: show your hands (literally), align words and movement, and create small points of human connection—especially online.
- Switching the suit: keep a consistent professional baseline, then adapt for listening mode (lean back, hands down) to receive and relate.
- Neurodiversity in the room: why some speakers need more movement—and how to channel it so it supports clarity rather than distracts.
Connect with Mariana
Explore Mariana’s work and training at MetaSpeech and learn about her new, transformative programme, Flow into the Limelight, which launches in January. It’s for purpose-led female entrepreneurs who feel the call to speak but struggle with the “how”.
After beta-testing with nine founders, the results have been extraordinary: women moving from confusion to clarity, sharing confident, purpose-driven messages—and yes, the journey includes dancing, breathwork, meditation, and even Kundalini Yoga. If you know a female entrepreneur who’s wrestling with messaging or building an authentic personal brand, Mariana can help. Message her directly on LinkedIn.
Zoom Dives are high-impact one-to-one discussions between our founder, Carolyn Dailey, and experts and founders from the creative industries. Each session delves into an important topic creative entrepreneurs need to know about to build, grow and scale their creative businesses. Browse our Events calendar for our upcoming Zoom Dives and book your free place.
Before you go, is your relationship with business fuelling your creative potential? Discover The Creative Entrepreneur: your guide to building a successful creative business, with expert insights from ten creative industry titans.