About
I thought being technically right was enough. It wasn't.
I'm Frederick Fouad Alkhatib, a mechanical engineer and project manager. I coach engineers to be confident in the conversations they actually have.
The long way round
I was an exceptional engineer. I ran projects end to end across mining, manufacturing, infrastructure, construction, water and wastewater, food and beverage and bulk handling, in Australia and across Asia-Pacific. And I thought being technically right was enough.
In my thirties it hit me. Communication and storytelling were the real skill, and I'd been playing catch-up.
So I went a bit crazy. I took extras and acting gigs while I was working on projects in Asia. I took a shopping-centre sales job and nearly cried after the first day. I did open mics, hired a voice coach, took acting classes and improv, joined three Toastmasters clubs and won competitions up to regional level. It cost me a lot of money and a lot of evenings.
Then people started asking
It started with friends' parents asking if I'd help their kids. Then, travelling overseas, I took work as an English teacher for children and teenagers. It quickly became something else: I was really teaching communication. Reading, listening, speaking up, being understood.
From there it kept happening. Over my career I've coached people in Australia and overseas on presenting and speaking. People in my network asked me to help prepare sales presentations, in industries from marketing to investment. Mentoring young engineers, the technical questions came up, but most of what we worked on was communication: with suppliers, with clients, across a project.
In acting class, other students asked me to coach them, because of what I'd already learned. At Toastmasters I became a mentor, working with members as they developed.
Business, deals and the hard problems
When COVID shut down travel and much of my project work, I moved into business: marketing, public relations, government relations and investment, supporting different companies and initiatives. I was brokering a $100 million deal. Every one of those jobs came down to the same thing: getting the right message to the right people in a way they'd act on.
Today my consulting and advisory work runs through Alkhatib & Co. I'm usually called in when a project gets tough. And on the hardest jobs, the problem is rarely the engineering. It's communication. What's the story? What are we focusing on? Does everyone actually agree on what's happening?
Why I made it my work
I enjoyed the coaching more than almost anything else I did, so I decided to do it properly. Here's how I've set it up. I give away as much as I can for free, so anyone can work through it on their own. Coaching is paid, at fair professional rates, for the people who want someone in their corner.
Plenty of people coach communication who have never run a project or stood in front of a sceptical site crew. I have. I learned this the long, expensive way, and I keep meeting engineers who are where I was.
I also know trust is earned, not claimed. The free library is there so you can judge for yourself before you spend a cent.
| Engineering | Mechanical Engineering (Hons). Projects end to end as engineer and project manager |
|---|---|
| Industries | Mining, manufacturing, infrastructure, construction, water and wastewater, food and beverage, bulk handling |
| Regions | Australia and Asia-Pacific |
| Rooms | Council committees, principal contractors, regulators, site crews, boards |
| Business | Marketing, public relations, government relations, investment; brokering a $100 million deal |
| Teaching | Children and teenagers overseas; adults in Australia and internationally |
| Mentoring | Young engineers, Toastmasters members, fellow acting students |
| Stage | Acting, improv, extras work, open mics, a voice coach |
| Speaking | Three Toastmasters clubs (officer in all three), competition wins up to regional level |
| Consulting | Alkhatib & Co: consulting and advisory, called in when projects get tough |
What each one taught me
I didn't read about this. I did it.
Every technique I coach, I learned by standing up and doing it, usually badly at first. Here's what each part of that path gave me, and why I recommend it to engineers.
Toastmasters
Three clubs · officer in all three · contest wins to regional level- Standing in front of a room. Week after week, until it stopped being frightening.
- Structure. How to build a speech, and the same skills carried straight into presentations at work.
- The ums and ahs. Every meeting someone counts them. Mine went, and now I speak without them.
- Leadership. Running clubs and meetings taught me more about leading volunteers than any course.
- Communication styles. You learn there are many ways of communicating, and how to adapt to the person in front of you.
- People. I met people from every walk of life I would never have met at work.
What it gave me: Confidence, structure and no fillers.
Improv
Classes- Thinking on my feet. No script, no slides, just respond.
- Fear. Improv is genuinely scary, and doing it anyway made every meeting feel easier.
- Listening. You can only build on what someone offers if you actually hear it.
- Comfort with not knowing. There is a lot of nuanced skill in staying calm when you have no idea what comes next.
What it gave me: Speaking comfortably when the plan falls apart.
Acting
Classes, performances and extras work- Intention. Every line is doing something to someone.
- The body. How much you say before you say anything, and the power of standing still.
- Rehearsal. Professionals rehearse until it sounds unrehearsed.
What it gave me: Range, presence and intention.
Voice coaching
One-on-one with a voice coach- Breath. Breathing from below so the voice holds under pressure.
- Pitch and inflection. Landing a point, and keeping the thought alive through a paragraph.
- Warming up. A voice is a muscle, and a cold one sounds it.
What it gave me: A voice people believe.
You can do all of this yourself. The free library shows you how to find a speaking club and an improv class near you. Coaching just gets you there faster, on the conversations you actually have.
Bring something real.
Your first two sessions are $45 each. Or start with the free library.