When we talk to clients about communicating with impact, body language is a key building block. This starts with authoritative posture and getting rid of unnecessary tension. Once we've worked on these, we ask if there are any questions—and almost always, someone...
We work with our clients on questioning skills for various scenarios, including interviews, panels and fact-finding conversations. One of our top pieces of advice is to ask a single question at a time. This takes discipline. It is surprising how prevalent stacked...
When a colleague asked me a few weeks ago if I’d heard of ‘body doubling’, I replied that I was an actor, of course I had. In the film business, a body double is someone who stands in on set for one of the leads. They are used to perform a dangerous stunt or special...
In a post earlier this month, I reflected on the dangers of communicating over-certainty about the future. Naturally, if we are selling our services or asserting our credentials, we want to gain an edge over our competitors. One way of doing so is to envisage the...
“My clients expect a degree of certainty from me that I am not always able to give.” If you work in an advisory role – for example, as a consultant, lawyer or investment professional – that probably sounds familiar. The future is by its nature uncertain. Yet many...
“The Rain in Spain Falls Mainly on the Plain” Once upon a time, a voice coach might have asked you to repeat this sentence over and over until you were placing your vowels in exactly the right region of the soft palate. Thank goodness the days of elocution lessons,...
A couple of weeks ago I was at the Institute of Physics. There I watched an excellent presentation given by Gavin Pretor-Pinney, founder of the Cloud Appreciation Society. The audience were hanging on his every word. What did he do to achieve that? Here are the three...
I was lucky enough to see a brilliant production of Much Ado About Nothing at the Theatre Royal on London's Drury Lane last weekend. It’s had lots of hype and 5-star reviews. When your two leads are Hayley Atwell and Tom Hiddleston (both of Marvel-movies fame) you’re...
This week I ran one of my favourite MSB Executive masterclasses, Great Written Communications. I have a deep background as a linguist, and it’s fun to share my passion for language in general and the English language in particular. One tip I share for clear, concise...
In Part 1, I discussed handling challenging questions. As an example, I used Boaz Weinstein’s interview with Investor’s Chronicle. This week, let's flip the script and explore how to ask challenging questions effectively. Challenges of Asking Questions We often assist...
Fielding Tough Questions We are often asked by clients to help them prepare to deal with tough questions in high-pressure situations. Listening to two completely different interviews over the past couple of weeks has highlighted some key lessons on this topic – not...
A few weeks ago I was running a filming day for swimming guru Steven Shaw, founder of Art of Swimming. We used a wonderful device called an Eye Direct. It helped Steven to speak directly to camera with all the charisma and good humour he has in real life. "Just Be...
