On stage and off stage, I facilitate the change we need to live better with each other. Rewire how you communicate, collaborate, and adapt. Discover the stories that matter. Reclaim your capacity for joy.
Small group coaching in public and corporate settings.
Dementia / Parkinson’s.
English Language Learners.
Neurodiversity.
Improv workshops for all ages.
Facilitator training.
Leadership development (emerging and executive).
Stage ready (presentations, job interviews).
Playwright (documentary and devised).
Director. Actor. Improvisor.
Co-founder: Best on Tap.
Conferences and events: large group engagement facilitator.
”The team really enjoyed the session and it has kick started the conversation on the power of storytelling. Thank you for the informative, engaging and fun session.
Vanessa RossTeam Development Day, Ministry of Primary Industries
Experience the practice of applied improvisation: embodied, playful, challenging, never boring. Develop the cognitive flexibility that allows you to thrive in a complex world. Discover how to perform better. Life is a stage and the way we show up matters.
”A great team building afternoon with Nicola, each activity challenging us in different ways.
Catherine HallNational Leadership Hui for Alzheimers NZ
”I had never done any acting, let alone improv. The idea terrified me, and yet these classes have had a profound impact on me. I have found great joy, friendship and learned more about myself than in any other environment.
Sue, participant 2021–2025Client
”Nicola Pauling has been an outstanding partner for Dementia Wellington. Her creativity, professionalism and deep understanding of our kaupapa consistently shine through in every project.
Anne Schumacher, CE, Dementia WellingtonProject Partner
”The programme was both challenging and fun. We all grappled with the tasks and then celebrated as we got better. I think many of us have not laughed so much and so hard in a long time. I was thrilled to participate, thank you.
Stephen, participant, 2025Cog Creative
We start by understanding your teams, specific challenges and goals, then design a customised program using proven improv techniques. Teams participate in carefully crafted exercises that are fun engaging and purposeful every game has a specific learning objective. We connect each exercise to real workplace situations ensuring instant translate into improve daily interactions and performance.
Stage Ready: Delivering a keynote, or interviewing for your dream role, making a pitch, when the stakes are high you need more than just your specialist expertise. When all eyes are on you, you need to be stage ready.
Leadership: The most challenging moments happen without a script. When the presentation goes off-track, when difficult conversations arise, when you need to inspire a demoralized team. These are the moments where applied improvisational theatre training can prepare you for.
I design my coaching for your specific challenges. Each session is tailored to your unique situation—whether you’re stepping into your first leadership role, navigating a major transition, or refining your presence.
”Nicola has helped me become a more effective negotiator and advocate. The role play, storytelling and feedback have improved my ‘voice’ and given me insight, tools and experience that embed the learning.
Amanda Leness, Infrastructure InvestorCoaching Client
”As an inveterate improvisor and actor, Nicola knows how to communicate – with words and body – and how to keep an audience interested, enraptured, captivated. And she knows how to have fun!
LeeAnne Duncan, Too Young FoundationCoaching Client
I am a documentary theatre maker, and a devised theatre maker. In both spaces I work to bring to the stage the voices and stories of those who need our attention, who have gone unheard.
Radio New Zealand
”This is a crucial story to be told, a part of our history we must uncover, and I Carried This does it with both a gentle hand and straight-down-the-barrel honesty.
I Carried ThisTheatreview
As a trained actor, improviser, and director I have spent a lifetime exploring the power of performance to connect, develop, and transform. For over 20 years I have supported people’s development working as a coach and facilitator across a wide range of sectors. My clients have included ‘Big Four’ tax and legal partners, dementia care service providers, government departments, ESOL schools, NGOs, teachers, retirement villages, and private clients in New Zealand, the US and the UK.
I am committed to creating environments where people can expand their capacity to relate, collaborate, and imagine new possibilities—both personally and professionally.
A decades-long career in broadcast journalism has given me a strong foundation in storytelling, communication, and the ability to listen with depth and precision. This experience continues to inform my work, helping others to find and express their own narratives with clarity and confidence.
I was the founder and Creative Director of Voice Arts, a creative hub dedicated to expression, performance, and well-being. Through this initiative, I led workshops and programmes that integrate artistic practice with personal and social development.
I am also an associate of the East Side Institute, a global leader in performance-based developmental psychology, and a professional member of the Applied Improvisation Network (AIN).
Reach out to discover more about my practice and how I could be of service to you, your clients, your team.
