Make Yourself Heard: The Career Lessons Nobody Teaches You

In Part 2 of our conversation, Anne-Marie Curtin discusses how family, career pivots, and mentorship shaped her path, plus the practical ways she built confidence as a speaker and writer.

Key topics

• A major theme is communication: she describes executive coaching, Toastmasters, writing discipline, and how she learned to be concise, clearer, and more confident in the room.
• She talks about the support she received as a working mother in London, including mentoring, flexible boundaries, and senior women setting an example.
• Anne-Marie also shares a personal project, co-writing her mother’s memoir about growing up in Kilkenny in the 1950s.
• Special advice for young career professionals in this world of AI
• Working in a high-pressure role while raising young children
• Senior women, boundaries, and a model of sustainable success
• Being Irish in London and seeing the city through a family story
• Why communication is hard and why it matters so much
• Toastmasters, coaching, and learning to speak with confidence
• What makes a great presenter
• Advice for young people who want to improve communication
• Paper communication and physical communication
• Writing a memoir with her mother about 1950s Kilkenny
• Advice to young people entering finance today
• Books, Masterclass, and the habit of learning every day
• Mentors, executive coaching, and leadership development
• The most important lesson from her career and personal life

Anne-Marie referred to two specific books in the interview: 

1. 168 Hours: You Have More Time Than You Think — Laura Vanderkam
   This is the time-management book Anne-Marie describes as having “moved the dial” for her when she was a young mother working at the Bank of England. It was originally published in 2010.
   Laura Vanderkam – 168 Hours (official book page)
   Google Books – 168 Hours
2. Becoming — Michelle Obama
   Anne-Marie says she “absolutely adored” this memoir, particularly Michelle Obama's account of navigating her career alongside motherhood and family life. The memoir was originally published in 2018.
   Becoming – Official Michelle Obama book site
   Penguin UK – Becoming (includes purchase options)

Here is the official MasterClass website Anne-Marie is referring to: 

MasterClass — Official Website 

It includes courses across communication, leadership, writing, business, AI, science and technology, among others.