When my parents married they were dirt poor. My father had walked away from a life in the steel mill in South Wales and wanted to be a journalist. Living in a rented flat with two young girls in the early sixties, every penny was counted. He taught himself Pitman’s shorthand – a skill now […]
‘Things could go crazy quickly.’ ‘That’s a world war when Americans and Russians start shooting at each other.’ If you want people to listen and take note of what you say, keep it really, really simple. President Biden wants Americans to leave Ukraine, and leave now. So, he chooses very compelling language. The Guardian pulls […]
If you are going to be the public face of an organisation you need to understand how normal people will react to your words. Bank of England Governor, Andrew Bailey, got it badly wrong last week when he called for workers to moderate their wage demands. A call that predictably and reasonably caused outcry and […]
The news can be dull, repetitive, and tedious despite the best efforts of journalists. But creating or just reporting the witticisms that come naturally from some people, really does make it all a lot more fun. I just loved the ‘Pork Pie Plot’ so-called because one of the alleged political plotters comes from Melton Mowbray. […]
My boss has the attention span of a gnat…how do I get her attention? I’ve been told I need to communicate better…how do I do that? I lose the meeting as soon as I start speaking – what am I doing wrong? I think I am boring people on video calls…but don’t know how to […]
If you haven’t seen this Arnie movie I recommend it right now. A seven-minute-long piece to camera, which shows just what can be done with minimum tech and minimum production. At a time when corporate and organisational leaders are looking for ways to connect with their teams via videos or zoom town hall meetings, there […]
I have been asked to share with a group of young people, future leaders, a few tricks and tips for what I think of as ‘effective professional communication’. Nine Top Tips for Communicating Strategically I think the following rules cover anything from job interviews to fundraising pitches, conversations with teachers or negotiations for an internship. […]
There it is again, leading the news. I have lost count of the number of times I heard the ‘reset’ phrase in the last week. As Lee Cain walked out of Number 10 the phrase started to do the rounds: When Cain was followed by Cummings, every political player or commentator it seemed, led perhaps […]
Watching Kamala Harris’ victory speech from my settee on the other side of the Atlantic, I felt emotion rise in my chest to the extent that for a few moments I couldn’t speak. And yet this is a woman I know very little about. I am not an American and while I care about the […]
How do you create rapport over Zoom? I hear this question from all sorts of people, most days. Some are genuinely asking, and some are already resigned to it just not being possible. Rapport Online is Entirely Possible Well, it is something I have spent a lot of time thinking about and also done a fair […]
