Andrew Mitchell is in big trouble. He’s the recently promoted, multi-millionaire, son of a Politician, well-connected, minister. He’s in trouble for getting into some kind of contra-temps with a policeman. Did he or didn’t he call him ‘a pleb’, a ‘fucking moron’ and a few other things too? Well it seems like he did. With…
Charisma is one of those words that causes confusion. From its roots as an, apparently, God-given gift, to its modern application to pop stars and TV celebrities, it’s confusing and difficult to define. Well I’m determined to define it and turn it into a measurable, trainable, concrete human competence. I’ve spent most of my professional…
In my previous post I talked a bit about charisma as the defining characteristic of any speaker. Here’s the acid-test. How do you do? 10 things that show you’re a charismatic speaker You’re confident enough in yourself to treat every audience you meet as (at least) your equal in most things, and your superior in…
I made a speech a few weeks ago to a business group in Cambridge, UK. I had a great time and met some really interesting people, as usual. One of the people I met was a guy called David Smallman, a business consultant, entrepreneur and radio host of some renown. We chatted for a few…
I wrote a post the other day about how I remember people’s names, and how the ability to do it is a really simple way to help you stand out from the crowd. It’s powerful because remembering people’s names is a sign that you’re bothered about them. And we all know why forgetting someone’s name…
I was doing a short session for RBS in London the other day, and the question about how to remember people’s names came up. I learned the skill from my first boss, who had this amazing knack of walking into a room, shaking hands with everyone there and knowing their names as if by magic. …
I work abroad a lot, and I spend 50 day plus a year in Barcelona that beautiful, hot, dripping in culture city in Catalunya, Spain. I love Barcelona, and I know it pretty well, so I was asked to speak about the city at my son’s school as a part of their ‘different cultures’ week….
In a previous post I talked about the tools you can use to help you stay in touch with people you meet in work and life. In this post we’ll explore what can you share using these tools? It’s a dilemma for even experienced networkers. The common questions that I get asked are- What should…
I made a speech yesterday to a group of 90 Interns at RBS (Bank) in London. They were 1st and 2nd year university students working for a week at Easter to get experience in the sector, and more importantly, to make such a good impression that they get asked back to be summer interns at…