Facilitator & Coach: In 2018 I discovered the world of Learning & Development, when I began my career as a facilitator, a role that seemed tailor made to my interests and skillset: public speaking, communication, constant learning, sharing knowledge, facilitating discussions, leveraging my acting and feedback skills to help people practice conversations, act in forum theater demonstrations, and connect it all back to practical action steps. As I delved further into this work, I expanded into coaching for individuals and small groups, as well as creating the content for myself and other facilitators.

I have had the privilege of facilitating learning sessions with individual contributors, leaders, and teams across a wide variety of sectors and seniority levels, around the world. As a coach, I have worked with individuals to meet their professional and personal goals, as well as supported small groups of leaders to finesse their skills and enhance team effectiveness. I also have partnered with Learning & Development teams to create custom session content for participants across a variety of topics, as well as written and presented Forum Theater demonstrations.

Professional Background: For many years I worked in the financial sector and led a team based in the United States, Canada, and Brazil, with indirect reports based in India. During my tenure as a People Leader I also earned my Green Belt in Lean Management. I have served as a Project Manager working on departmental process standardization, and on cross-departmental and global projects addressing internal processes, systems, and international regulations. 

Additional Experience: I bring a unique flavor to my facilitation style, having worked as a professional actor in film, theater, opera, and improv for over a decade. Being able to leverage the public speaking and communication skills from this experience allows me to enhance engagement and collaboration in all sessions I lead. My creative background also proves invaluable as a business and performance coach, having honed key deep listening skills, in addition to years of experience, with expansive knowledge of valuable frameworks and tools.

Community Engagement: Community advocacy and engagement are key to my core values. While working in corporate environments, I was active with many Employee Resource Groups such as the Women's networks and Hispanic & Latino networks, and served on the Board of the LGBTQ and Allies ERG at Standard & Poor's. From 2017-2019. I served as the Treasurer for the Honest Accomplice Theater board, a non-profit educational and advocacy group. As of 2023 I sit on the board of Project My Voice as Vice President, helping our organization bring communication skills and frameworks to underserved communities and youth. 

Background and Experience

Cultivating Success Together

My name is Tali de Assis, and I am the owner of Practical Habits Consulting, which is founded on the delightfully simple principle that we are never done learning. Coaching and facilitated learning sessions are all about offering people the opportunity to expand their skills, capabilities, and awareness to better achieve their goals.

And hey, if we can enjoy a laugh while we get there, even better. Who said business couldn’t be fun?

Learn about our services

  • Coaching is a thought-provoking and creative process where I partner with clients to enable them to achieve their personal and professional goals. The coachee decides where we’re going, and as the coach, I help you identify for yourself how to get there.

    What does that actually mean? I don’t tell you what to do. Our brains respond differently to information than to questions. When given an answer, we focus on that one option, and it limits what we look at. When asked an expansive question, our brains engage in more divergent thinking, gathering intelligence from all areas of the brain, finding answers that we may not have thought of previously. In so doing, you find your own solutions, enhancing awareness, empowered ownership, and autonomy over your choices.

    If you want to change your life, find greater purpose in your work, or expand your capabilities and career trajectory, reach out for a complimentary coaching consultation to see how we can work together.

    ICF ACC Certification Pending

  • As a Training Facilitator, I partner with Learning & Development organizations to deliver content to individuals and teams, enhancing their professional development and helping them achieve organizational targets.

    Learning is more effective when it’s practical, relevant, and fun. Whether working with Entry Level employees or Senior Leadership, the goal is the same: share content, discuss the applicability to their work and lives, and find practical actions they can take. And if people laugh here and there, what a wonderful bonus! Learning can be fun, and it helps our engagement and retention.

    From compact sessions on specific topics to multi-day leadership programs or business simulations, I relish supporting individuals and teams to enhance their knowledge to further drive sustainable success. Whether virtual or in-person, or blended programs, I’m here to support your organization’s learning.

  • In collaboration with Learning & Development organizations, I create content for learners across a broad scope of industries to be delivered by myself or other facilitators. My experience is largely with topic-based programs for virtual or in-person delivery, and Forum Theater script development. I am currently expanding the scope of my capabilities to include building out business simulations and digital interactive learning in partnership with The Regis Company and the Personal Communications Academy.

Adaptive Learning Approaches

We all learn differently. Visual learners benefit from seeing information written and illustrated, others prefer to hear concepts described. Some are reflective and want to understand a theory or concept before trying it out, others would prefer to dive in and figure it out on the go. As anyone who’s sat through someone reading a PowerPoint at them, we know passive listening leaves something to be desired. Research indicates that when we discuss new information, or better yet, practice applying it, our retention of what we’ve learned jumps 50-75%!

With our varied learning styles, communication preferences, and neurodivergent traits, we need to collaborate and learn together to work effectively. So, we can adapt, meet ourselves and others where they are. My goal with every learning opportunity is to merge teaching with active discussion and activities, with the intent that people have fun as they learn, and come away with a practical action to build sustainable routines and habits, to enhance their leadership, careers, and lives. 

"The capacity to learn is a gift; the ability to learn is a skill;​ the willingness to learn is a choice."
- Brian Herbert