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Archive for the ‘Communication Skills’ Category

How questions can help others find their own way home…

Posted by Jessica Sedler

Why do we so often give advice instead of asking questions?

We are being constructive, no? We simply want to help:

 Oh, I know just how you feel. I felt the same way…

I had that same thing happen to me…

Let me tell you what I did in a similar situation.

Do these sound familiar?

We want to help solve the problem, take the problem away quickly. And yet, so often, our advice only serves to put more distance between the individual and the solution. What’s more, particularly when it most matters, it can erode the very trust and rapport we were intending to build.

So what else can we do?

Read more

How to be calm and cool in a crisis (or a presentation…)

Posted by Liz McKechnie

If you can keep your head when all about you

Are losing theirs….

This famous quote from Rudyard Kipling’s “If…” poses the question so many of us face on a daily basis in our work lives but also at home as the stresses and strains of domestic life pull us and push us sometimes to breaking point.

How do some people seem to remain calm so much of the time?

On our Presentation Skills courses and often on Personal Impact and Assertiveness courses people ask us for advice on how to handle nerves and anxiety when facing intimidating or downright scary situations.

Well here’s one practical thing you can do that you probably already exercise elsewhere in your life.

You can change your focus. Read more

Walk a mile in their moccasins

Posted by Bronia Szczygiel

We’re often asked whether we ever find it difficult to do the stuff that we train others to do – like understanding where someone else is coming from or how they are motivated.

And the answer is a resounding

Yes

If we didn’t we wouldn’t be human.

It takes effort, time and energy – so it’s got to be worth it.

And some people are just not worth the effort!

Read more