Be a Q&A jiu-jitsu master. What happens when a Q&A session turns nasty? Sometimes the questions at the end can be the most enjoyable and rewarding part of a presentation. At other times it can feel more like a firing squad! There are some people who enjoy being...
Pause before answering a question. Confident speakers pause. They pause before they begin and when switching to a new topic. They pause to allow their words to sink in and when deciding what to say next. When asked a question, they pause before answering. A pause...
When presenting, always have a glass of water to hand. The most obvious benefit is hydration. A moist mouth and throat are vital when we are speaking for longer than usual. A dry mouth feels unpleasant and makes strange noises. A sip of water also gives us an...
In the autumn of 2021, we decided that MSB Executive would embark on the journey to Net Zero. I was appointed to guide us there. Three years later, we are a transformed business. Consciousness of our carbon footprint now informs every choice we make, from how we...
Best Laid Plans One of my favourite hobbies is triathlon. This year I was particularly excited, as I’d signed up to do an Ironman 70.3 (a Half Ironman) in Les Sables d'Olonne, in the west of France. The setting is beautiful and the course pleasantly flat. As we...
I have been watching the Netflix documentary Simone Biles: Rising. I am utterly awe-struck by this extraordinary and inspirational person. I could wax lyrical about her mind-boggling gymnastic feats or about the profound courage and determination she has shown in...
How to Get a Job? An article in The Metro caught my eye this week. Under the headline ‘This Zoom trick could help you nail a job interview,’ the writer recommends looking at the webcam during an online interview. When an interviewee looked down (at the interviewer’s...
It’s general election day in the UK, which means tomorrow we will have a new government and possibly a new Prime Minister. If opinions polls are to be believed we will wake up tomorrow with a Labour majority, and Keir Starmer will be heading to see the King to be...
‘Make sure you have a glass of water to hand.’ That is a piece of advice we always give our clients at MSB Executive when helping them to prepare for important presentations. Pausing to take a sip of water fixes a dry mouth, calms jitters, and buys you a moment to...
The Setting South Warnborough is an idyllic village in Hampshire with a busy little shop at its heart. in 2001, kind, bubbly Jo Hamilton took over the shop. It included a Post Office counter, a vital service that many villagers depended on. Little did Jo know that the...
MSB Executive’s filming day was long in the planning. We had decided late last year to video the team talking about our work. We felt this would be an excellent way to showcase our special combination of expertise and passion. With the possibility of shooting...
Assertive communication – some people want it, some people fear it, other people overdo it! Life is too short to not speak up and be heard or to be so focussed on exerting control that you damage relationships along the way. It’s important to speak up, but how can we...
