“Oh no, surely not? Isn’t it enough already that I have to do a *@$% presentation?” Well, it depends… How much do you want your audience to buy into what you’re presenting, and how thoroughly do you know what they respond well to? If the answer to both those questions is “a lot” then you… Read more
Most of us who do presentations spend far longer preparing our visuals (the dreaded ‘deck’) than we do our voices. Yet our voice is an enormously powerful medium. Ask anyone who’s sat through a monotone presentation. Or listen to a brilliant orator. Getting some variety in our vocal delivery is vital to emphasise key points,… Read more
What IS a ‘tricky conversation’? You probably already know the answer and I’ll bet you can think of some people and conversations that you would immediately file under ‘tricky’. But just to clarify, a tricky or difficult conversation might be one where some or all of these elements apply: The stakes are high: one or… Read more
Us Brits can get in a terrible tangle when it comes to our emotions (OK, we’re not alone, but we do rather stand out). We have this fabulous, enormous vocabulary and yet we often misuse it to hide our emotions from others – and ourselves. We can all benefit from noticing our feelings more. Emotions… Read more
People who want to boost their confidence often compare themselves (negatively) to those who seem to be brimful and bursting with the stuff. Doing this negatively doesn’t help. However, we can make a really useful project of observing and studying the people who seem confident, and breaking down their ‘code for confidence’. Identify two or… Read more
I’m often asked about confidence: how to get it and then get more of it. The thing is, I think that confidence isn’t something we can just go out and get. It’s a combination of practising confident thoughts, feelings and behaviours – and then practising some more – these three aspects of confidence interact. Thoughts…. Read more
I often work with groups or individuals on goal-setting. It may be as part of the annual appraisal (yes, there’s a Zoomly bite-sized workshop for that), 1:1 conversations about development and progress, or a coaching conversation. Within the work context, I think it’s a bit simpler to set goals, because when it’s done right, there… Read more
Ah yes. The ‘raise your profile’ objective. This comes up in quite a few appraisals. Indeed, long long ago and far away, I think it may have figured in one of mine. At the time I thought, “OK, yeah, raise my profile, right”. Then as the days and weeks went by, I realised I… Read more
From my earlier posting on mentors, you can imagine I think they’re A Good Thing. How do you go about getting one? There are two main ways: formally and informally, and two main contexts: at work and beyond. Which works best for you? Depends on what you need, what’s available and what you can commit… Read more
Good question – one I’m often asked. There is a noticeable lack of agreement across various coaching and mentoring lead bodies, and often people use the terms interchangeably, so it’s no surprise that folks get confused. I think the trend to have coaching as part of line managers’ skillset is further blurring the boundary (although… Read more
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