Marie-Hélène is often described as that cat with seven lives. Originally from rural French mountains, she left at 14 to embrace the world; she studied and worked internationally (alumna of the College of Europe) from the UK, Ireland, Northern Ireland, the US and Belgium within EU Institutions. Similarly to mastering a few languages, she embraces the world of EU affairs together with that of the performing arts as a trained pianist & classical singer.
Marie-Hélène always kept a foot in both worlds, being highly involved in EU affairs while still performing.
She started helping her communication colleagues in achieving better public speaking skills and thus developed seminars in empathetic leadership to unleash creativity, observing incredibly successful results thanks to using her training as a singer. In 2013, she wrote Sing to Better Communicate. She embarks her seminar participants into a voice-discovery journey, which is life changing.
Post-COVID, Marie-Hélène could launch her seminar using her two horses, hence the Soprano & Horses signature seminar.
She also very much enjoys giving her seminars at the renowed ESCP Business School, where’s she been a Visiting Professor since 2012.
So, from an original background in music, English literature and linguistics…how does one get involved into EU affairs?
You take a study of the once subaltern Cajun community of Louisiana, US (1999-2000), a couple of courses on intercultural communication and rhetorical theory while living in the Broward County, Florida, US where they cannot manage voting for presidential elections (2001), a few months in the Belfast ‘troubles’ while Joyce’s countrymen have to vote for the Nice Treaty a second time (2001), hours in the European Parliament press room watching journalists fight the flood of EU jargon press releases, sneaks into European Convention sessions while working at the Commission across the road (2002) – then you add to this a Franco-German family background, and you may end up -like me- a passionate European taking a break from her PhD in ethnomusicology (2001) to go sit on the Bruges benches of the College of Europe (2003-2004)!
It then takes some courage to leave the somewhat comfortable ivory tower of academia to go back into the jungle of EU affairs. Yet what an exciting challenge! Especially when you care about communication.
After about 10 years working within the intricate EU affairs microcosm in Brussels, I now freelance from Paris & London, where I also dedicate time to research on how lyrical singing techniques (should!) serve communications professionals.