MARCUS KNIBBS COMMUNICATOR

 

My interests in communication and my develpment as a communicator began in the 1970's when I was working in Social Care. Supporting people with their personal care needs, making beds and doing laundry gave me a real understanding of where care begins and the recognition that the person in front of you also has a need. A need that requires a practical approach, as well as a theoretical one, to engage in an effective, safe, and positive way. My work in residential, day care, and field work, within the areas of mental health, elderly, dissabilities, and child care, gave me, and remains with me, a respect for all people, an understanding of a human being's resilience,  and a belief in the strength of empowerment. I believe it is this, along with informed choice, that enables people to live their lives according to their abilities.

 

When faced with my own marital crisis, I turned that crisis into a challenge and used what I was presented with as a way of realising a childhood dream of  being an actor. I gained the Certificate of Qualification in Social Work from Suffolk College in 1991 and headed off to Drama School, graduating in 1994. During my time at The Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama I was able to use my Social Work background to offer counselling and welfare to the students there, also to the young people of The National Youth Theatre of Wales.

 

Since leaving Drama School, I have worked both nationally and Internationally. I have performed in numerous plays including, Shakespeare, Brecht, Aykbourn, and Priestly. I have also been in many musicals, including singing and playing the parts of Powhatan and Govenor Ratcliff in the live musical, Pocahontas for Disneyland Paris.

 

Along with over twenty years as a jobbing actor, I have twenty years of extensive corporate roleplaying experience in both the public and private sectors at home and abroad. I work with business consultants and business psychologists within the areas of assessment and development, training, and recruitment, offering frontline workers, managers, and senior executives an insight into behaviours, styles, and use of language and it's impact. Over the years clients have included: Nottingham University, the Open University - Watford Borough Council, Solihull Borough Council - Police Training - Nationwide, RBS, Barclays - Nissan, VW - GCHQ, MOD, NHS, HMRC, DVLA, and DVSA. I have over recent years been one of a team that take part in and run workshops on Difficult conversations, Performance Feedback, and Negotiation Skills as part of the Open Universty's staff development.

 

All of this has allowed me to develop my insight and understanding of human needs and interactions. I am now taking and combining this knowledge and research with my social work training, moving into group and individual work within the areas of effective communication and relationship building. I am able to offer a variety of classes that, I feel, offer coping skills to deal with the stress and anxietiy that comes with trying to accommodate the fast paced, less interfacing, technologically driven, 24/7 society we now live in.