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Saying Sorry Like You Mean It

Saying sorry doesn’t come easily to most people. It’s a word that so often gets stuck in the throat of politicians and business people, and you don’t even want to ask for a lawyer’s opinion on the matter! Why don’t we like to say sorry? None of us get it right all of the time […]

Does Sport Need More Personality?

Professional sport in the Twenty First century owes almost as much to business as it does to feats of sporting prowess. These days successful sports stars are global commodities that can be traded for exorbitant fees, their marketable image just as significant as their silky skills or athletic attributes. As such the rise of the […]

Brexit: EU Negotiators Roll Up Sleeves

The clock is ticking… One year and counting until Britain leaves the EU. Recently I focused on the prominent figures representing the UK in the next round of negotiations. This week I am taking a look at the key characters on the European side of the divide. In the UK we have a rich tradition […]

Sit Down and Learn from a Stand Up

“If you don’t do  stand-up… don’t do stand-up.” When giving a presentation, using humour is good. It can create a connection with an audience, warm up the atmosphere and – dare I say it – introduce an element of fun to proceedings.  Imagine that! However, I am always surprised at how people (many of whom […]

With Great Powerpoint Comes Great Responsibility

Are you a big Powerpoint fan? Many of us are these days. The presentation tool has been around since 1987 and is said to be used by 500 million users worldwide – for the most part very badly. I have lost count of the number of badly prepared Powerpoint sessions I have endured wondering just […]

Three Brexiteers, One Year to Impact

A year from now we will be standing on the edge. Depending on your point of view this will be a springboard or a precipice, as Britain officially severs its ties with the European Union albeit with a handful of bungee chord caveats to slow the leap. I think I speak for the nation when […]

Time to Review your Body Language?

Donald Trump likes to race to the front but doesn’t handle silences so well. Vladimir Putin is often on the back foot while listening but grows as he speaks. Richard Branson likes to fist bump instead of handshake and Mark Zuckerberg will often mimic those he is speaking to. Do you have a signature body […]

Death by Autocue

An ability to stare down the barrel of a camera, or hold eye contact with a crowd while delivering a long and perfectly flawless speech is an enviable skill to have.  It is also a skill that most of us don’t naturally possess! The autocue may not count as one of man’s greatest adventures, but […]

The Quirky Side of Doing Business With the British

One of the less obvious rewards of travelling is catching a glimpse of your own culture through the prism of other nationalities’ perception. For many in business here in the UK, a placement abroad is an expected part of the job and with that comes some form of cultural training relevant to the destination. Imagine […]

An Appreciation of Yodeling

When was the last time you yodeled? In our super shiny digital age this pastime has been consigned as a relic of a prehistoric, and rather naff, era in history when fun was defined by methods of cheap (ergo free) entertainment. However, fun it was, and across the world, between the 1920s – 1940s, have […]