Member in the Spotlight | ImageTalks
NBCC was pleased to interview our member Joanna Polak-Goodman, Founder at ImageTalks. ImageTALKS helps professionals achieve their best marketable selves. The company is passionate about the importance of impact and presence in professional success. They provide employees with insight into their personal impact, increasing self-awareness and confidence. They guide professionals in discovering an authentic style that reflects their skills, talents, and personality through appearance, body language, and non-verbal communication.
Introduction to ImageTalks:
Can you share the story behind the founding of ImageTalks and what inspired you to start the company?
ImageTalks grew out of my experience working in highly client-facing, performance-driven environments — particularly in banking and financial services — where success was not determined solely by expertise or hours worked.
At a certain point in my career, I noticed something that fundamentally changed how I understood progression. The people who moved fastest weren’t always the most technically capable; they were the ones who could persuade, influence and connect. They understood how to read a room, adapt their communication, and project confidence under pressure — without losing authenticity.
That insight became very real when I was in a project to launch the first direct business banking service in the business banking market. The Managing Director made a comment I still quote today:
“If we’re rebranding the bank, we must also rebrand the people.”
That moment marked the beginning of my personal branding journey. Applying those principles transformed my own trajectory. I moved from senior management into a directorship role with full P&L responsibility, and later embedded the same thinking across my leadership teams. I saw first-hand how communication, presence and clarity accelerated trust, decision-making and commercial outcomes.
ImageTalks was founded to remove the invisible barriers that hold capable people — and strong businesses — back, particularly in complex, international and growth-focused environments.
What is the core mission of ImageTalks, and how do you help professionals achieve their best marketable selves?
ImageTalks exists to remove invisible barriers to success.
I help business leaders and their teams strengthen their personal brand so they can articulate their value clearly, adapt their communication to the right audience, and be remembered for the right reasons. This is not about self-promotion; it’s about ensuring that strong businesses are represented well through the people who lead and speak for them.
Services and Impact:
How does ImageTalks assist professionals in enhancing their personal impact and presence in the workplace?
At heart, I’m a communications skills expert. My work sits at the intersection of personal branding, verbal and non-verbal communication, and executive presence — focusing on how people are experienced, not just what they say.
This shows up in very practical ways: how confident someone sounds on the phone, how they handle challenge or disagreement, how they influence in meetings, and how consistently the business is represented through its people. When communication works, trust builds faster and conversations move forward. When it doesn’t, even excellent ideas can stall for invisible reasons.
This impact is reflected in the experience of NBCC members. As Annemarie Visser, Managing Director of Corpag (Services) B.V., explains:
“Working with Joanna helped our leadership team articulate our story far more clearly and consistently — internally and externally — with a clear impact on how we communicate our corporate services offering and support international companies launching and scaling their businesses into the UK.”
Can you explain how appearance, body language, and non-verbal communication contribute to professional success?
Because they are constant. In meetings, pitches and negotiations, people decide whether to listen long before content lands. Non-verbal cues either reinforce authority and trust — or quietly undermine them.
I see this repeatedly in real life. During an International Women’s Day session I delivered three times in one day, the words stayed exactly the same. What changed was my use of body language. With each session I became more intentional and animated, and the difference was stark: significantly more interaction, questions and follow-up conversations. Same message. Very different outcome.
Could you provide an example of a transformation you’ve witnessed in a client after working with ImageTalks?
A common transformation is when someone goes from “I know what I do” to “People get it immediately.” That shift changes everything — confidence, credibility, conversations and commercial traction.
Often it starts with relatively small changes: tightening a story, adjusting voice and pace, changing how someone enters a room, or learning how to handle a difficult conversation without flinching. The impact, however, is not small.
Workshops and Training:
What types of workshops and consultations does ImageTalks offer to individuals and corporate clients?
My work spans personal branding, verbal and non-verbal communication, leadership presence and the practical communication moments that shape how a business is experienced. This can include:
- Personal branding and articulating value.
- Building confidence over the phone.
- Verbal strategies, including handling difficult conversations and escalation.
- Disagreeing agreeably and interrupting elegantly.
- Networking skills that create genuine value, including structured and simulated scenarios.
How do you tailor your sessions to meet the unique needs of different professionals and organisations?
In-house work starts with listening. I interview key stakeholders across the organisation and work with leadership to identify the issues that genuinely matter in the short, medium and longer term.
From there, I develop a bespoke communication plan that may combine leadership development, practical training and micro-learning to support behaviour change between sessions. Increasingly, this work is most effective when delivered over time, rather than as a one-off intervention.
Importantly, what initially presents as a conflict-management issue is often a leadership alignment issue. By working with leaders directly — sometimes through a business planning day and by scripting leadership communications — we align expectations, actions and messages, which significantly reduces friction across the organisation.
Importance of Non-Verbal Communication:
Why is non-verbal communication so crucial in professional settings?
Because it’s the part people believe first. Non-verbal communication shapes credibility in the first moments and lingers long after the meeting ends. If words and body language don’t match, the body wins every time.
What non-verbal cues should professionals be aware of to improve their presence?
Posture, eye contact, pace, tone, gesture and use of space — along with what I call unintentional tells: habits such as over-explaining, rushing, apologising unnecessarily or physically shrinking. Most professionals don’t need to add presence; they need to stop leaking it.
Challenges and Opportunities:
What challenges do professionals commonly face regarding personal branding, and how does ImageTalks help overcome them?
Three challenges come up repeatedly:
- Difficulty articulating value clearly.
- Failing to adapt communication style to the audience, particularly across cultures.
- Avoiding the conversations that matter — especially difficult or commercial ones.
ImageTalks helps by translating expertise into communication that feels authentic, credible and effective, rather than performative.
How has the shift to virtual work environments impacted the way professionals should approach their image and presence?
Virtual settings amplify everything — voice, pace, structure and energy. People can be highly capable and still be forgettable on screen without intentional communication. These skills are learnable, and access to expert support makes a significant difference.
Collaboration with NBCC:
As a member of the NBCC, how do you see ImageTalks contributing to the community?
NBCC brings together ambitious, internationally minded businesses where communication is business-critical. My contribution is helping members articulate their value clearly, build trust faster and ensure their businesses are represented well through their leaders and teams.
Alongside my client work, I also support the NBCC community more broadly by sitting on judging panels, where I review member communications and pitches, and by sharing practical hints and tips through talks and workshops. This allows me to give members direct, constructive feedback on how their message lands — and how small adjustments can significantly strengthen impact.
This perspective is shaped by lived experience. I’ve been building my business in the Netherlands for 14 years, starting with no local network, and I understand first-hand how differently communication, directness and decision-making can land across UK–NL contexts.
Future Vision:
What are your goals for the future of ImageTalks? Are there any new initiatives on the horizon?
My focus is increasingly on longer-term, in-house partnerships where I can solve real business challenges over time. I currently work in-house with an NBCC member on a regular basis and would welcome more of this type of embedded collaboration — building leadership capability and communication standards rather than delivering isolated sessions.
Alongside this, I continue to support businesses entering new markets, particularly where clarity of message, audience understanding and cultural nuance are critical to success. Where helpful, I partner with trusted specialists to curate introductions, roundtable discussions and events with the right people from my client’s target market in the room.
How do you plan to adapt your services to evolving trends in professional development and branding?
My work is increasingly focused on soft diplomacy — how leaders use influence, credibility and judgement rather than title, hierarchy or force to move people with them.
As organisations grow more complex and international, leaders are recognising that authority alone doesn’t create followership. When leaders understand their personal and organisational brand, they can attract talent, build trust and persuade others through how they show up, listen and communicate — rather than relying on hard diplomacy to get things done.
This lens is shaping both my advisory work and my speaking, as businesses navigate growth, complexity and cross-border collaboration.
Personal Insights:
What motivates you in your work with ImageTalks?
Seeing capable people finally be heard — and watching what happens when communication starts working for them rather than against them.
If you could offer one piece of advice to professionals looking to enhance their personal brand, what would it be?
Don’t try to say more.
Make what matters land — with the audience you actually want.
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