Case Study
PayPal Giving Fund: Presence That Comes Prepared
On 13 July 2026, we ran a 90-minute online workshop with PayPal Giving Fund’s globally distributed team, spread across the UK, US, Canada and Australia.
These were capable finance professionals, many of them naturally introverted, whose roles increasingly asked them to present to the internal team and to PayPal and partner stakeholders. The aim was to give them the structure and confidence to walk into those rooms prepared, so their ideas landed clearly whether the audience was two colleagues or a full board.
7.6
Average post-workshop confidence
5
Coach rating
5
Content rating
100
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The Challenge
Public speaking was the thing the team dreaded most, and a lack of preparedness was the pain point they named again and again. Confidence that held up in a one-to-one often slipped once the room grew and the stakes rose.
The common threads were familiar ones. Filler words crept in, the primary challenge for a third of the group. Delivery sped up and lost its shape under pressure, and holding the room’s attention felt hard when nerves took over. Between them, the team were losing around an hour a week to these moments, some as much as two.
They wanted the same thing: to feel ready. Ready for internal updates, ready for board presentations, and ready for the partner conversations where clarity matters most.
The Solution
We brought together a set of practical delivery tools, built on the Serlin Method™, and kept the session hands-on so every technique was applied to real, business-relevant material.
Stepping Stones gave the team a simple three-step structure, moving from current situation to proposed approach to expected outcome, so they could organise their thoughts clearly on the spot.
Pausing and Structure helped them slow down and resist the pull to fill every gap, leaving space so audiences could actually process and retain what they heard.
Fillers Reduction, paired with our Aim and Fire framework, gave them a way to deliver with intention rather than filling silence with noise.
And Voice Memos and Listening Back let them hear their own tone, pace and filler habits in real time, often for the first time. Their coach, Cat Clancy, created a space where the team could practise safely, and many saw noticeable improvement between their first and second attempts.
Areas of Focus
Stepping Stones
Pausing and Structure
Fillers Reduction (with Aim and Fire)
Voice Memos and Listening Back
Stepping Stones
Pausing and Structure
Fillers Reduction (with Aim and Fire)
Voice Memos and Listening Back
The Result
By the end of the session, communication that had started hesitant and rushed had grown more confident and structured. Post-workshop confidence averaged 7.6 out of 10, with every respondent scoring between 7 and 8, a tight cluster that points to consistent readiness across the group rather than a lucky few.
One participant described their tone as sounding “more positive” and said it now “commands the room.” Another called it “breaking out of my shell.”
The team rated both Cat and the content a perfect 5 out of 5, describing the session as “empowering and inspiring” and “just the right amount of activity and engagement to practise the skills.” Every participant said they wanted to keep going, with a shared preference for more online group workshops that suit a team spread across four time zones.
Most of all, the team left with concrete, memorable tools they could take straight into their next team meeting, board presentation or partner call, and a clearer sense of how to show up prepared when it mattered.
My tone sounds more positive and commands the room.
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Head of Sales
