success | Let's Talk

Are they listening – or playing Catchword Bingo?

Like many I’m an inveterate people-watcher, but as a soft-skills trainer I have an extra level of professional fascination, particularly when it comes to watching those in customer service roles.

On the first morning of our Xmas fly-and-flop getaway, our holiday rep gathered us all together, to do what holiday reps are paid to do – make us feel welcome, answer our questions, and . . . → Read More: Are they listening – or playing Catchword Bingo?

Fake It Until You Become It

I recently watched a great TED Talk by Amy Cuddy, Social Psychologist and Associate Professor of Business Administration at Harvard, called “Your Body Language Shapes Who You Are“ which has profound implications for anyone who gets anxious before giving a presentation – i.e. all of us.

Channel a Confident Speaker

For many years I have been encouraging those who suffer from performance nerves to “fake . . . → Read More: Fake It Until You Become It

Talk To Me

It’s been a busy period of late, and both my partner and I have been spending a lot of time travelling and working. Consequently household chores have taken a bit of a back seat. Last night we had one of those typical domestic conversations that I’m sure all couples have, about who has been creating all the mess, and who doing all the cleaning . . . → Read More: Talk To Me

The Boat That I Row…

There are more books than ever out there to inspire and instruct. Alas, there are also many others that are more, shall we say, humdrum, and which do less to repay the time spent reading. Sometimes it’s hard to do the wheat/chaff sort, so I’d like to recommend one that I came across recently, which I found informative and thrilling in equal measure.

It’s called “Will it Make the . . . → Read More: The Boat That I Row…

And that’s why they call it a Play...

It’s been 11 years since I hung up my spurs as a professional theatre director, and refocused my working life as a trainer/facilitator/consultant. Since then I have been asked many times whether I missed the theatrical life, and had any plans to stage a return. My answer has always been a steadfast and happy “Nope!” The multitude of things I do now . . . → Read More: And that’s why they call it a Play…

Nothing to fear but fear itself....

Last week saw the first ever “Fear of Flying” course, and what an inspiration it was!

I had advertised it as a “Presenting for the Terrified” course. I am approached countless times by people who want to tell me how much they dread having to speak in public, how they wake up sweating at the thought, and of their experiences of shaking, mumbling, blanking, and . . . → Read More: Nothing to fear but fear itself….

Champions - Skydiving and Otherwise (pt. 2)

At the risk of giving the impression that my life consists only of parachuting, and that I do no work at all, I feel the need once more to write about a recent skydive experience. I spent last week at a training camp in Spain with my primary team, who have just moved up to the “big boys” league of AAA in 4-way formation . . . → Read More: Champions – Skydiving and Otherwise (pt. 2)

Champions - Skydiving and Otherwise (pt. 1)

Over the Easter break, during all that glorious sunshine, I was having fun being a skydive cameraman, jumping with and filming a team that is learning to compete in 4-way Formation Skydiving – a discipline within the sport which comprises 4 skydivers turning a series of pre-determined shapes in the air during a timed 35-second freefall. It takes excellent freefall flying skills, clear mental . . . → Read More: Champions – Skydiving and Otherwise (pt. 1)