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Meanwhile lets just say that we are proud Luan de Burgh contributed a whooping 233 entries.
All to often we are faced with a problem which is seemingly too hard to solve. What do most of us do? Give up? Procrastinate? Avoid? We are conditioned by a system that has tuaght us to pursue the best grades at all costs and so for many the ability to set about strategising is […]
When is the last time you did absolutely nothing for 10 whole minutes? Not texting, talking or even thinking? Mindfulness expert Andy Puddicombe describes the transformative power of doing just that: Refreshing your mind for 10 minutes a day, simply by being mindful and experiencing the present moment. Reassuringly there is no need for any […]
In 2009 and article appeared in The Guardian which named Gordon Brown as being one of the most boring public speakers around. Yet in the same year, when asked to speak on a topic dear to his heart, one in which he clearly believes and to an audience who are away from the &lsqulsquo;calm of […]
“First rule of leadership – everything is your fault.” Wise words from Hopper (A Bug’s Life). We have all worked with great leaders and been inspired by them and then there have been those whose leadership style can be described at best as being modelled on that of Vlad the Impaler. Leadership is about inspiring […]
The drive to do things for their own sake and because they matter is the best way to motivate people. In a high-energy and amusing talk, career analyst and former speech write to Al Gore Dan Pink examines the puzzle of motivation, starting with a fact that social scientists know but most managers don’t: Traditional […]
Who are the great leaders of the 21st Century? The world is full of leadership programs, but the best way to learn how to lead might be right under your nose. In this clear, candid talk, Roselinde Torres describes 25 years observing truly great leaders at work, and shares the three simple but crucial questions would-be […]
Sarah Kay is a spoken word poet and the founder of project VOICE – an organisation that uses spoken word poetry to improve literacy and empower people. Her TED talk is an enchanting combination of performance and public speaking delivered with captivating honesty. It is a beautifully crafted and meticulously prepared simple message. It is […]
What do you do in a recombobulation zone? Do you ever suffer from affluenza? Have you ever taken a legsie? Or is the whole lot just one big omnishambles? The English language is ever-changing – t’was ever thus and t’will always be and with that change comes a rich seam of linguistic inventiveness. And confusion. […]
Brené Brown is a research professor at the University of Houston Graduate College of Social Work. She has spent the past ten years studying vulnerability, courage and authenticity and poses the following question in an insightful and inspirational talk: How do we learn to embrace our vulnerabilities and imperfections so that we can engage in our […]
If you are very clear about your key message or core theme and you have given detailed thought to what you are going to say, then all you really need to do is tell your story simply and sincerely. Brother David Steindl-Rast does just that. All too often, the first port of call when preparing […]
You don’t have to watch Strictly Come Dancing for too long before you hear some hapless celebrity being critiqued for their ‘top line.’ It’s done for good reason as the results are instant. What they are saying is, quite simply, stand up straight and be ‘open’. In a situation where you need to be noticed and remembered […]
All too often, presenters hide behind the brick walls of never-ending numbers and charts under the erroneous impression that this is just what their audience wants. It isn’t. What audiences want is to be engaged, stimulated and changed in some way. Audiences do not appreciate the force-feeding approach to facts and statistics and will generally […]
There are some 30 million PP presentations created every day according to scientist John Bohannon. How many of those presentations are actually engaging in any way? Think about the amount of billable hours wasted in the interminable mire of monotonous slides. We all agree. It is rare to come out of a presentation and say […]
Pakuranga MP Maurice Williamson caused a sesnation in New Zealand’s Parliament with his impassioned speech during the third reading of the marriage equality bill. He had MPs roaring with laughter and his four-minute oration has over 1.3 milion hits in YouTube. His hearfelt irreverence is just one of the reasons it is so inspiring – […]
In a highly engaging and entertaining TEDx talk, beatboxer Tom Thum demonstrates just how amazing and flexible the human voice is. We are all born with the same equipment and yet the infinite variety of the human voice is a true wonder. Its range, its versatility and its power makes it possibly the most useful […]