When I was a child, my father said to me “not to speak unless I had something worth saying”. Now that is not a worthless statement but to a sensitive child not helpful. Consequently, I became very quiet and contributed nothing at school, then the teacher
commented. My horrified mother promptly sent me to Speech and Drama lessons at the age of 10 which I loved (fortunately). Little did we know that this would become my life long career and passion, qualifying as a Fellow of the Trinity College of London in
Speech and Drama, as a Neuro-linguistic Programming Master Practitioner, as a Pilates Instructor, and in Business studies. I have taught voice and performance skills to individuals and groups for over 25 years, having studied voice and performance arts worldwide and taught at performing arts institutions in Wellington, and subsequently teaching presentation skills to NZ government employees, parliament, academic institutions and the private sector, as well as exam-based speech and drama to children and teenagers.

Diane lives in Wellington, New Zealand. Her creative pursuits have included sculpture, directing and performing devised theatre, performing in the Women's Circus, yoga, Pilates, and she enjoys travelling, particularly to attend workshops or perform as she has done in Japan.