Why so EDGY?

This is about why and how I chose the name for my business. And a little bit about me. And maybe a little bit about you.

To start off this blog, I thought I’d write about my business name, EDGY, which I keep getting comments and questions about, and which my friends now use liberally to make fun of me.

I’ll try my best not to make this boring and self-indulgent. This is actually as much about you as it is about me. Also, as always, I’m highlighting useful vocabulary and putting it at the bottom of the page for you.

So, in spring 2021 I was getting ready to launch my business. I knew what I wanted to stand for and I knew what I wanted to do:

– I wanted to work with clients who are already advanced users of English but don’t yet feel fluent and free.

– I wanted to focus on self-expression and help clients break through this feeling that they could not be themselves when speak English.

– I wanted to break with this idea that we can feel more confident by putting up a professional armour because I believe that we are most powerful and most useful to the world when we show that we are human.

But what to call it?! I asked my friend Judith for help – she and I had studied English Literature together and I could think of no-one better to fill a spreadsheet of mad word associations with:

This is a great exercise from Kaye Putnam, one of the people who helped me most with developing my brand. She explains how to use this spreadsheet in this video here.

Afterwards, when I was studying the fruits of our labour and got stuck on “on the cusp of”. It means that someone is just before a major change, just on the verge, just on the edge…

And there it was: edgy.

It was love at first sight. I knew right away that this was my name. First of all, I liked the sound of the word because it has a vague relationship to the sound of the word “English”. But more importantly, the meaning(s) of “edgy” were so fitting:

– edgy = innovative: My approach to language and my methods are a break with traditional language teaching.

– feeling edgy = feeling nervous and a little uncomfortable: This is the feeling that many of my clients describe when they first come to me and I think it’s important to acknowledge it.

– being edgy = being a little bit too much: This hits the nail on the head. All of my life people have suggested to me that I was a little bit too much. Over the top. Too extraverted, too exaggerated, too extravagantly dressed, too tall, too much of a know-it-all. And you know what? I am.

Why is this relevant for coaching?

I believe that only when I dare to show up as my genuine self, with all of my too-muchness, I can encourage people to feel safe with me. If we want to learn and grow, we have to open ourselves up. And I don’t think that works so well when the person sitting across from you is a hyper-professional robot-human who would never tell you that they, too, make mistakes. That would only make you feel bad. And I know you know the feeling because we’ve all had teachers, parents, doctors or someone else in our lives who made us feel inadequate in this way.

Well, that’s not me. I’m here in all of my too-muchness, hoping that you will dare to be yourself with me. I mean that. I’d love to hear from you if you know what I’m talking about here. And please tell me about your mistakes. Because I love mistakes.

Faithfully yours,

EDGY Sarah

EDGY vocabulary from this blog post:

Pssst: Click on a word to get to a dictionary website to learn more!

Phew! = a sound you make when you are relieved, i.e. when you were nervous about something and then something good happened so you could stop feeling nervous

come through = to manage to do something that was difficult

follow through = to do what you said you would do

self-indulgent = acting only in your own self-interest, here: telling long stories about yourself that are not interesting to anyone else

armour = thick, protective clothing from metal you wear so that weapons cannot hurt you

the fruits of our labour = the results of your hard work

be on the cusp of something = be just on the edge of a major change

edgy = Sarah

acknowledge something = to be open about the fact that something is what it is

It hits the nail on the head = it’s exactly right and very precise

know-it-all = somebody who thinks they know a lot and is annoying people with their knowledge

exaggerated = here: be over-the-top, too much

dare to do something = to find the courage to do something