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

“What, presentation tips from my Gran?!” No. Not quite. Presentation tips from the ancient Greeks: specifically for this post, from Aristotle (384 – 322 B.C.). The philosopher has some handy presentation tips for us that have survived remarkably well down the years. To influence and persuade an audience, he said, we need to achieve the… Read more

You’re working hard, getting stuff done, getting good feedback from your manager and colleagues – so promotion will surely be headed your way, right? Wrong. OK, you might be lucky: the right opportunity appears at the right time. For most people who get promoted, there’s more judgement than luck involved in getting that promotion. ‘I… Read more

You’ve completed a training course of some kind – what action do you take to ensure that new learning sticks? It’s great when people tell me how they’re using what they learned from some Zoomly training and how it’s benefitting them – and that’s because they’ve made it stick. When I ask people in organisations… Read more

Yes, it’s almost the half-way point of this year. Many of Zoomly’s clients will be conducting mid-year reviews, performance check-ins, appraisal updates – whatever the label, you get the idea. In the overwhelmed, always-on, everything-needed-now everyday rush, it’s all too easy to lose sight of the big picture; the things – and the people –… Read more

You’ve got a huge long list of items on your ‘To Do’ list. You’ve been trying to figure out where to start. You’re thinking it might be good to check with your manager(s) to get their input – but then you realise they’re bound to say ‘it’s all top priority’. You conclude it looks as… Read more

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

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

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

Poor you, that doesn’t sound good. Yet what strikes me most is that you believe you’re stuck. Who says you must stick around and can’t leave? I wonder if you’re finding your present situation so tough you’re struggling to find ways through, around or out of it. If that’s the case, possibilities may not spring… Read more

What is International Women’s Day and how did it come about? We have The United Nations to thank; they officially began the Day in 1975, the year designated International Women’s Year. But #IWD’s origins go back to 1908 in USA, when women working in the garment industry took strike action over poor workplace conditions. A… Read more