It's perfectly possible to produce bad charts despite knowing your subject backward, as my former company's consultants showed me.
Have you ever been astonished by a magician's trick, and then tried to work out how they did it? Maybe, in the cold light of day, you found yourself wondering why it was so easy for them to fool you! If so, then you've done more than just try to solve a particular bit of […]
"The difference between real life and a story is that life has significance, while a story must have meaning." ― Vera Nazarian, Russian-American writer I'm sure many of you enjoy watching a good movie. I do too. But isn't it disappointing to leave the theater feeling that the story didn't live up to your expectations? […]
In Dianna Booher's view, you can't separate leadership and communication. Indeed, she believes that learning to communicate "is the essence of leadership and the reflection of your thinking." So, if you're a poor communicator, you’ll always be a poor leader, regardless of the merit of your ideas. Put like that, this soft skill packs a […]
Communication, Expert Interview, Leadership, Project Management, Uncategorized
I've been fortunate in not having to sit through a presentation that completely "bombed," and I've been doubly fortunate in that the few presentations that I've delivered left me, my audience, and my organization unscathed! But I've seen one or two that suffered technical hitches – projector bulbs blowing, dodgy microphones, and the like – and, once […]
Maybe you're the exception to the rule and you absolutely love meetings, but many of us don't enjoy them. Some meetings drag on for hours, without adding much value. Other meetings are held for no better reason than that it's the usual routine to have them. Regardless of how we feel about them, we all […]
#MTtalk, All Posts, Communication, Decision Making, Team Management, Uncategorized
Business jargon is made up of words and phrases which - out of context - don’t make a lot of sense. Anyone who has worked in a big company will know what I’m talking about! Honestly, I’ve heard it all. I’ve had to “think outside the box,” indulge in “blue-sky” and “helicopter” thinking, and “pick low-hanging fruit” […]
If you've read our recent article on increasing your visibility at work, you'll know that one of the most effective ways to do this is to improve your presentation skills. This helps you speak up in team meetings, deliver persuasive and engaging speeches, and facilitate events confidently. When you can do all these things, you'll […]
Do you sometimes feel overloaded with information? Every day, you probably experience a deluge of written reports, emails, newsletters, tweets, texts, and telephone calls competing for your attention. Just think how much more time you'd have for the really important things, if everyone got to the point quickly and clearly. In our Expert Interview with […]