by Steven Maddocks | 10 February, 2023 | Communication, Presentation Skills, Written Communications
Smart BrevityJim VandeHei, Mike Allen and Roy SchwartzLondon: Nicholas Brealey Publishing, 2023. Overview The premise of Smart Brevity is that business writing has failed to move with the times. In the smartphone age, anyone can easily and freely send their every...
by Steven Maddocks | 24 May, 2022 | Building Confidence, Communication, Presentation Skills, Voice
Teaching people how to breathe might strike you as teaching grandmother to suck eggs. But there are different ways of breathing, and some are better than others. By looking first at the habits and consequences of bad breathing, we can make sure we are doing the...
by Nicola Hainey | 13 January, 2022 | Body Language, Client Skills, Presentation Skills, Voice
Our Head of Coaching, Nicola Hainey, reviews Microsoft Powerpoint’s new feature: Presenter Coach. An AI tool to help rehearse presentations? In honesty, we were slightly sceptical. However, having reviewed Microsoft’s new Presenter Coach in Powerpoint, we do think...
by Steven Maddocks | 17 June, 2021 | Performance, Presentation Skills, Public Speaking
Though we cover a range of disciplines at MSB Executive, a few core themes cut across all our specialist areas. Stress is one. The subject arises wherever we work, from executive coaching sessions to communication workshops. So when Martyn, our founder, told us...
by Steven Maddocks | 26 May, 2021 | Body Language, Communication, Nerves, Performance, Presentation Skills, Public Speaking
Lisa’s heart is racing. Her breathing is rapid and shallow. Her armpits are sweating, her hands are clammy, and her neck and face are red. Her legs are jittery, her mouth is dry and her teeth are clenched. Her brain is alternately racing, then going blank. She has...
by Steven Maddocks | 6 May, 2021 | Communication, Nerves, Presentation Skills, Public Speaking
Public speaking gets a bad rap. One well-known poll places glossophobia, the fear of public speaking, at the top – making it a more terrifying prospect than spiders, enclosed spaces and even dying. (As Jerry Seinfeld wryly observed, at a funeral, most people would...
