Public Speaking for High-Stakes Conversations – Alex Polikarkin
The client
Alex Polikarkin is Head of Business Development at The Trading Pit, a global trading company. With colleagues from Brazil to Japan, English connects every part of his work: leading discussions, collaborating with the team and talking to partners.
The challenge
Alex wasn't learning English: he used it successfully every day. But his accent was more noticeable than he'd like, and his speech didn't always reflect the confidence and professionalism he wanted. Above all, he could hear that something sounded off, but not why. He wanted a clear framework to find it and fix it.
What we did
- Intonation and connected speech: in his words, "a real game changer"
- Pacing, pausing and flow, to make his speech smoother and easier to follow
- The mechanics behind effective speech, so he knows exactly what to listen for
The result
More natural intonation and flow, a noticeably lighter accent, and the tools to keep improving on his own. He now catches himself and makes the adjustments he once had to think about.
In his words
My English was already strong when I started working with Alyona, but there were still things in the way I spoke that didn't feel quite right. The frustrating part was that I could often hear that something was wrong, I just didn't understand why.
What I appreciated most was how quickly Alyona understood what actually needed work. She focused on the areas that would make the most impact and explained why they mattered.
For me, the main changes came from working on intonation and connected speech. This was a real game changer. I became more natural, more fluid, and much more confident when communicating.
She didn't just correct me. She gave me the tools to understand what to pay attention to and how to keep improving on my own.