FCSI THE AMERICAS CONFERENCE 2026 KEYNOTE SPEAKER
MIND YOUR (BODY)
LANGUAGE
Taking the stage at the EPiC summit, Patricia Cook will tell young consultants that finding their own voice in business is crucial – and share some tips on how they can develop it
A
familiar saying in communications is that we were given two ears and one mouth for a reason. Listen more
than you speak and you are on to a good thing. It’s one of many insights Patricia Cook will share with young consultants when they gather for the Emerging Professionals in Consulting (EPiC) pre-conference Summit. Te founder of Patricia
Cook & Associates started her career in commercial banking but left the sector 23 years ago to set up her own business, after noticing that there was a need to help people develop their soft skills. Tese “little things,” she says, include how
we walk into a room and our body language. “I help them realize these
tiny little things that make a big impact in your success; these are things that people need at all levels of their career,” she says. “Tey help people think about the executive presence they put out there and just getting more comfortable.” Having already spent time
with FCSI Te Americas at the Latin American Conference in Cancún in 2025, she is excited to meet the group of young consultants. “Tey are a group of highly talented people who are thrown into lots of situations with many moving parts and teams – regardless of your age
or experience, it is important to find your voice and be heard and speak up in a meeting.” Her job, she says, is to help people find their voice to feel more comfortable in the room – a skill she has developed over the years herself. Her own mother was a
prime example of someone who understood how to present herself. “My mother had to do a lot of client entertaining for my father’s business and I would always help too. She was a great role model,” she recalls. “Later, when I was a banker,
I ran the entry level program for the last five years I was there and I realized that we can give people the very best training,
but if they are not sure on the people skills, it sets them back.” We often say that first
impressions last and Cook believes that it is worth getting it right when we meet new people – after all, she says, negative experiences stick more than positive ones. “Tey say in business for every mistake you make it takes 8-12 positives to offset the negatives,” she notes. For example, somebody might not know that it is appropriate to stand when you meet new people in a certain culture. “In some parts of the world, where we differ by rank and authority not age and gender, it is important to stand regardless of your gender when >
15
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32
