Debra Searle has achieved so much already: a first class degree; medals with the Great Britain Dragon Boat team; entrepreneurial success with an online art consultancy; her first book published; a TV presenting career; a successful solo crossing of the Atlantic Ocean, and she has been awarded an MBE. ‘The Times’ heralded her a ‘sporting heroine’ when this charming young woman carried on rowing alone when her husband, an experienced oarsman, left the boat after developing an uncontrollable fear of the ocean.
Debra continued and became the youngest, and only the third woman in the world, to row an ocean solo. The journey was initially supposed to take 6 weeks but Debra’s trip lasted for a staggering three-and-a-half months in which maintaining a positive attitude was imperative.
Debra has charmed audiences since her Atlantic crossing with her articulate and honest account of the trip. Her enthusiasm and ability were promptly recognized by television producers and she has appeared on ‘Grandstand’ (BBC) and ‘Extreme Lives’ (BBC), for example, and presents ‘Big Strong Boys’ (BBC).
Alongside her busy schedule as a TV presenter, writer and motivational speaker, Debra is a Trustee of the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award Scheme working alongside HRH Prince Philip and HRH Prince Edward. Her talks are inspirational and entertaining and she has worked with distinguished clients to great acclaim. Clients praise her ability to connect with the audience, her use of slides and video footage, and her ability to balance humour with more serious messages.
“People really valued the fact that Debra is able to draw parallels between her adventure experiences and her working/daily life, having run her own companies - and that she does so in a way that is personal to her and offered simply as a thought to the group rather than drawing sweeping generalised conclusions and laying them down as law in the way some speakers can.”UBS Global Employee Communications Director
Her topics include
•Choose the right attitude, however impossible the end goal may seem
•How to successfully step outside your comfort zone and thrive
•Mind tricks for success
•How to find the positives when everything is changing
•Making the goals achievable
•Use 'personal brand values’ as a framework for the way you choose to work
•Not to waste energy on the things you can’t change but to focus on that which you can
•Improve team-working through the use of 'free words'
•Cope with the pressure of leadership
•Staying motivated and determined, even when the journey only seems to be getting harder
•Where to put your energies when you are under resourced
