Meet Ania Ferańska-Iqbal
Hey and Cześć, I’m Ania Ferańska-Iqbal, Speaking Voice Coach & Presentation Coach for professionals. I’m based in London and provide coaching online near you for your convenience or in-person.
I’m passionate about helping professional women go into any meeting, presentation or speaking opportunity
full ofconfidence, with composure and presence.
Let me take you back to the beginning of my voice story
I’m Ania, a Polish millenial professional and a qualified Voice and Speech Coach living in London. I grew up in the beautiful city of Lublin in Poland in a family of six, including my three sisters. As the oldest sister, I always felt the sense of responsibility that I needed to be a good example for my sisters.
My fascination with spoken voice started when I was six years old and my mum was expecting my little sister. I remember being so excited about her voice and wondered what it would sound like. Would it be similar to mine? Or would it be completely different? Would it sound like my mum’s or my dad’s? Or maybe like the voices of my two other sisters? This is the earliest memory that takes me straight back into the world of spoken voice. I’ve always enjoyed being surrounded by voices of other people. Paradoxically, I can never remember lyrics of my favourite songs and can never remember who the signers are. Go figure!
As a child, I loved falling asleep to the sound of my dad’s voice reading the Lion King or my grandad playing harmonica and singing war time songs when he was still alive at the time.
As I was growing up, things started to shift with the sudden death of my grandma. I was so close to her and in a recent conversation with my childhood friend, they told me that there was a point when after my grandma’s passing away, I became very quiet at school. My voice subdued. Not expressing my thoughts and personality as it did before.
Years went by and now in my teens and young adult years, speaking at school was a must. It was a survival skill that I needed to avoid bad grades. Because bad grades to me meant bad prospects in life. School life was intense, with homework in multiple subjects in one week and being always on alert for being summoned to answer homework questions in front of the class. Pounding heart became the norm for me. But I was doing it, speaking was the survival skill and a golden ticket at the same time.
There’s still one question that lingers for me… if I was expected to speak in front of others and express my ideas clearly under so much pressure (including the invisible pressure of needing to do well because my whole life’s success depended on it, as I thought back then), why did no one taught me how to prepare? And I don’t mean prepare the content of my homework answers or the lines of poems I had to recite every few weeks in front of 30 other students. I mean, prepare my body, my mind, my voice and my breath. To handle all the content I needed to convey.
Although this question remains unanswered, I have been on my own journey to learn more about my own voice. What I didn’t know was that I would learn so much about preparing differently for those speaking moments that matter most both in professional and personal settings. And it took me 12 years to get there…
Getting to know my voice and becoming a qualified spoke voice coach
In 2011, when I graduated with a BA in English Language and Literature with qualifications to teach English as a second language back in Poland, I decided to move to London. It was then that I came across a Masters degree in Voice Studies: Teaching and Coaching. It was a natural magnet of curiosity for me. But, with a few hundred pounds in my pocket and recently arriving in the UK, the tuition fee became a barrier and the MA became my one day I’ll do it thing.
So naturally, I started working in a coffee shop, then within various professional industries including finance, transport, executive search, academia and finally settling within Dynamics 365 and Power Platform consultancy work, I put my dream to a side. The life happened as it very often does and being an adult with a job and a mortgage became the priority.
One day turned into 12 years and in 2023, I finally took the leap of faith. I auditioned and was offered a place as one of the 20ish students onto the MA in Voice Studies: Teaching and Coaching at one of the top Drama Schools in the UK - the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama in London (also known as Central). This is where I experienced my voice in a way I never thought I would. Along the way of learning about my speaking voice, I trained how to coach spoken voice in a way that actors are trained to prepare their voices for the stage and performance.
While training to be a Spoken Voice Coach, I also wanted to understand the role our nervous system and how it affects our voice. I wanted to gain additional tools to share with you on how to regulate your nerves and speaking anxiety. That’s why I also trained to be a HeartMath Certified Coach and I incorporate self-regulation techniques into my spoken voice and presentation coaching to help you understand fight or flight response and what tools to use to calm your nerves.
And now I’m using my expertise to help you speak and present your ideas with confidence and ease in the moments that matter for your professional career.
Having worked within corporate and fast-paced business settings and being a woman myself, I’m passionate about helping other women speak with confidence at work and in business.
How about your voice and the opportunities using it can unlock?
Have you ever:
felt confused about feeling so nervous when speaking or presenting at work despite the fact that you have soo much experience and know your area of expertise?
had your presentation ready and knew what to say but your mind went blank in the middle of all regardless of having your words prepared?
felt self-conscious when presenting or speaking in online meetings?
felt that you’re bothering others with your voice and decide to take even less space, maybe event wanting to be less visible?
been called soft spoken and not being able to reach your audience?
needed to share complex ideas but all you got was some blank looks and polite nods?
felt that you don’t like or even hate the sound of your voice but admire other people’s voices and wonder how they’re so expressive?
That’s OK - this is all natural and human. Using your spoken voice in a work environment can bring so many challenges because you were not taught how to develop your speaking skills for professional settings. Plus there’s an extra pressure to always perform well and succeed as you progress within your career.As a professional woman, I absolutely understand the challenges of using my own voice at work to contribute ideas and offer alternative points of view and how important that is. But there’s the human element to it all that we very often forget. You can speak with composure, clarity and impact without trying to sound like someone else.
And this is my passion - helping you go into any work meeting, presentation, conference or any other opportunity important to you, feeling relaxed and present. All without worrying about appearing nervous.
Looking forward to meeting you on your unique voice journey. Do check my private coaching to start your journey to a more confident voice at work.
Read on for how I enrich my coaching with my lived experience to help you get better results
Bringing my lived experience into your coaching
As your speaking voice and communication coach, my goal is to always provide you with the best coaching experience based not only on my professional Voice Coaching qualifications but also by bringing insights and empathy from my own lived experiences and life lessons.
As a Polish millennial woman living in the UK for over 14 years, I understand how much energy it takes and what it feels like to create your life in a new country and place far away from your friends and family who just get and accept you. People that are close to you know your voice and what it stands for. But your voice is not just one thing. It has so many invisible layers that are not always understood by someone who never needed to leave their home and establish themselves somewhere else.
Same comes for using your voice at work and in business settings. As a professional woman with the direct experience of working across various industries such as academia, IT consultancies, transportation and finance, I know what it feels like to navigate professional spaces as a non-national with a different way of being and speaking.
Enjoying the space around me.
Attending TEDxLublin Puzzle conference in September 2025 as Spoken Voice Coach. Voice Stories London was the partner of the event in the voice coaching capacity. Picture credit: Katarzyna Szawłoga, Lublin.
Another layer of insight that I bring to my coaching is my recent diagnosis of dyspraxia, which is a type of neurodivergence. I had my official diagnosis as an adult at the age of 35 (surprise!) while I was undertaking my Masters degree in Voice Studies: Teaching and Coaching at the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama in London.
This self-knowledge has heavily and positively impacted my voice coaching practice, giving me another insight into how the experience of speaking and communicating can be different for different people.
In addition, I’ve experienced first hand how my voice has been affected by multiple experiences of grief, including the loss of my dad when I was thirty (30) as well as a sense of confusion for how to show up in a workplace during such a difficult time.
This experience was also heightened by a my underactive thyroid chronic condition diagnosis which has a direct impact on my physical voice.
Experimenting what it feels like to take up space during a wintery afternoon in Lublin.
All of these experiences have given me a nuanced understanding that life is complex and very often these complexities of the day-to-day non-perfect lives can be reflected in our voice and and how we show up. This means that I will always use empathy as my core value when working with you and when tailoring your coaching experience.
Some of Voice Stories London’s spoken voice coaching services in pictures:
Voice and Drama Workshop for women in Tower Hamlets co-facilitated by Héléna Bissada-Bloch, a Theatre Maker and Facilitator and by Ania Ferańska-Iqbal, the Spoken Voice Coach and founder of Voice Stories London. On this picture, I’m (Ania) running voice training section of the workshop (2025) at the Republic in London.
Picture of Ania Feranska-Iqbal, Spoken Voice and Presentation Coach and Founder of Voice Stories London. I’m on the TEDxLublin stage with a thank you certificate for Voice Stories London for partnering with TEDxLublin Puzzle and providing spoken voice coaching to TEDxLublin speakers.
Photo credit: Katarzyna Szawłoga
What’s working with Ania and Voice Stories London is like?
Here’s what my clients said about their experience of speaking voice training with me:
“(…) What stood out to me the most was Ania’s presence. She really knows how to hold space. Her kindness and support created an environment where I felt comfortable exploring my voice without pressure.
I would definitely recommend Voice Stories London to other professionals. The sessions offer a gentle, supportive way to connect with your voice and build confidence. (…)”
— Terry, Marketing Officer (Group Coaching Client)
“(…) Having voice coaching sessions with Ania has been a wonderful experience. She has a very structured way of coaching, which sets clear and reassuring boundaries.(…)She is very open-minded and never judges. ”
—H., Teacher, Private Voice Coaching Client
“(…) Ania was extremely patient, knowledgeable, and understanding. Working with her was an absolute pleasure.(…) I am so grateful that we had this wonderful opportunity to work with Ania. Her support made a huge difference in how we approached the day with confidence and composure.”
— Z., Architect