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Why we work with strengths in presentation skills training

In this great Ted talk by Shawn Achor entitled The Happy Secret to Better Work he is not only giving an example of a brilliant presentation (some great ideas to steal here!) but also, eloquently and sometimes hilariously, he outlines why it’s a good idea to think positively about life and work.

 

So, he tells us, in days gone by his little sister fell awkwardly onto her hands and knees from the top bunk. To distract her from her pain he pointed out that she looked like a unicorn and, indeed, probably was one.
He quickly looked for and saw the positive in the situation and she was happy.

And happiness, it seems, like the unicorn has a magic of its own. Surprisingly, it supercedes IQ as a key ingredient to being an effective and successful person.

This is why in all our training programmes we try to focus on working with peoples’ strengths… and it’s not always easy. Read more

The Duchess of Cambridge public speaking – building on your strengths in presentations

So, at last, Kate Speaks!

What’s the verdict? Any feedback for her?

The Duchess of Cambridge makes her first public speech on her own. With the world’s press hanging not only on what she looks like but, now, on the words she utters, and indeed how she utters them. She only gets one stab at this. No pressure there then…

Bearing in mind this is something she’s going to have to do a lot more of, what would be most helpful to Kate as she progresses along the rocky road of presentations and public speaking?

Do we criticise or do we praise?

Have a look and see how you think she’s doing……honestly….

Whatever your thoughts, there are some things that work well and others that don’t work so well.

The thing is, what will be useful to her to hear? Read more

nerves

Assertiveness, feedback, the declaration of independence, and being OK

800px-All_men_are_created_equal

The opening of the United States Declaration of Independence, written by Thomas Jefferson in 1776, states as follows:

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness

Who are we to argue with that one? (well….assuming when we say men we’re including women and children in the mix…but that’s another blog…)

And when it comes to the way we relate to other people and looking at the reasonable assertion of our rights – Jefferson’s statement roughly translates into the healthy psychological positions described in Transactional Analysis:

 

“I’m OK, you’re OK”

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