Practical tips. Prompts to get you thinking. The odd rant.

How to build confidence’ continues to be a best-selling Zoomly workshop. Wonder why? Confidence seems to be a bigger topic than it once was. I think there are several reasons, for example: Social media and how it can prompt us to compare ourselves with others Hard-driving, demanding workplaces asking employees to step up more Lack… Read more

It’s Mental Health Awareness Week here in the UK, and this year the theme is body image. How we think and feel about our bodies can affect our mental health. It’s noticeable that a lot of the literature, reporting and discussion about body image focuses on females. There’s good reason for that. For example, research… Read more

Q: Is it…that funny video? Your pointer that lights up? Maybe it’s slide #1? Or your last slide? The ‘killer infographic’? Could it be the amazing way you’ve got the room all set up? Or the whizzy interactive app? A: None of the above. It’s YOU, [your name goes here]. Yes, great visuals can help…. Read more

From time to time I gather articles, research and resources that are in some way psychology-related; I call this ‘psych stuff’. Some snippets may be really useful, some may be eye-opening and others may be funny, quirky or strange. The ‘eye contact illusion’ Intriguing research in Australia, reported by the BPS, offers help to those… Read more

  “But what if I give someone constructive feedback and it doesn’t work?” This question sometimes comes up in Zoomly’s ‘How to give effective feedback’ workshop. It may be that the participant has given a colleague feedback on their work and has yet to see any improvement in performance. Or, as is often the case… Read more

I’ve recently been asked by workshop participants to help out with articulating emotions, so thought it was well worth updating this post. (And thank you for the inspiration – you know who you are 🙂  ) Have you ever heard yourself – or someone else – say this: “I feel it’s…”? What normally comes next?… Read more

‘How to handle difficult situations’ is one of the most popular topics on Zoomly’s menu of workshops. Based on the insights gained on both developing / delivering it and the contributions of hundreds of participants, here are some DOs and DON’Ts to help you when a situation gets difficult. DON’Ts Go for a ‘win’ at… Read more

Sometimes we can hold ourselves back without even realising it. We’re working hard, taking focused time to get stuff done, doing what we’re good at – playing to our strengths. But there’s the potential rub: we may be staying stuck in our comfort zone when we could be stepping up. Questions about this often come… Read more

  When you’re working and collaborating with clients, suppliers, colleagues, team members, what questions do you hear? What questions do you ask? Most of us don’t give it too much thought – it’s just a conversation, right? Well, yes and no. Yes, I hope you have two-way conversations with these people. No, asking the right… Read more

A question that often comes up when I facilitate Zoomly’s ‘How to give effective feedback’ workshop is who to ask for it. After all, feedback isn’t just about commenting on others’ performance; we need feedback on ours too. Some people seem to think there’s no-one to ask or feel a bit awkward about asking. I’m… Read more