One of my favourite quotes about presenting is from George Jessel who said “The human brain is a wonderful organ. It starts to work as soon as you are born and doesn’t stop until you get up to deliver a speech.” Many of the people we...
Have you ever wanted to involve the team or a group of peers in collaborative problem solving but worried about the chaos that would ensue? Have you wished there was a simple problem-solving structure you could use that wouldn’t take forever, but would give everyone...
Picture the scene – you’ve had a full-on day; your head is spinning with a jumbled to-do list and you’ve still got work to do before you can head home and make that all important gym session / parents evening / drink with friends. Then out...
As a Learning & Development professional, I am well aware of the importance of reflection as an aid to learning and, as part of any training design, I include opportunities for participants to pause and reflect at regular intervals. It struck me recently that whilst...
Have you ever been left speechless by an unexpected argument to your proposal in a meeting...
If you were asked to describe the feedback culture of your organisation, what would you say and why? What, if anything, could be better? I have lost count of the times a client has said “Please cover feedback on your workshop as we want to create a...
How often to you get to the end of the day and ask yourself “where’s the day gone?”, “how did I achieve so little?”, “how did I manage to waste so much time?” Let’s be honest – we all have days where we’re not as...
The email about the large networking event dropped into my inbox and I knew I ought to go, it would be a great opportunity to expand my network for my business...
How many times have you categorically known that you are right about something but haven’t been able to persuade others? This has happened to me many times and it’s really frustrating. Why don’t people see what I’m seeing? Why aren’t they convinced when it’s so...
Ever been in that situation where you’re put on the spot and asked a killer question? People are looking at you, the pressure is on, your reputation is at stake! ...
In last month’s blog we covered tips on how best to network (How to Network - 7 Practical Tips) and maybe now you feel ready to attend that networking event you’ve been avoiding for the past 6 months! Instead of looking forward to it, you’re now...
What goes through your mind when someone suggests that you need to network more? Comments we often hear include: “Networking is insincere and manipulative” “It takes too much time and effort” “I’m shy, I can’t network” Do any of these sound familiar? Networking often gets bad press and can be seen...
It’s likely that a huge proportion of your working day is spent communicating with others, either verbally or in writing, be it text, email or social media. When we communicate verbally, we have lots of choices about the communication tools we use to say our piece. ...
How often do you attend presentations and find that the slides pretty much contain the presenter’s script? And you think to yourself “You may just as well have emailed it to me and I wouldn’t need to be here”. What about presentations where the content seems...