Here’s another funny piece to make you think, from Ed Reid, a brilliant independent consultant based in the UK . How Microsoft killed the art of public speaking « EdReidYork’s Blog. I’m not soooo likely to blame Microsoft. I’d rather have Bill Gates’s rampant commercialism that Steve Jobs’ hippy schtick any day. And we punish the guy that…
Imagine the scene. You’ve spent days preparing a major presentation to a new client, and you’re coming to the end of the pitch. You’ve moved from what they need, to what you can do for them, how you will proceed, the costs carefully explained in context of the results to be delivered. Now is…
It’s a question I’m often asked by clients- The honest answer is, obviously, ‘It depends on who’s in the audience’ but in reality you have to choose an influencing strategy before you start to prepare your pitch. Most people only have one approach, and use it without thinking, and some people know a few strategies, but are…
It happens a lot doesn’t it? We have a proposal to present to a group of clients, and we know that the clients don’t agree on how to proceed, but we have a plan and we have to present it. Our success depends on our ability to find favour with all of the influential interest…
It happens a lot doesn’t it? We have a proposal to present to a group of clients, and we know that the assorted senior people from the same firm, don’t agree on how to proceed, but we have our plan and we have to present it. Our success depends on our ability to find favour…
We’re restoring our house. A beautiful, but bedraggled victorian place, in Oundle, UK. The previous owner lived here for thirty years and spent virtually nothing on maintenance. Unfortunately he was a DIY enthusiast and had very little skill. We bought the house for its potential and saw past the tacked-up, bodged and home-made titivations that…
Here’s a great clip from YouTube with Michelle Pfeiffer explaining how she got the most important role in her life- Elvira, in ‘Scarface’ with Al Pacino- It reminded me that- Acting is a very tough business. Constant rejection, sometimes hundreds of auditions without success and often with no feedback on why you didn’t get the…
England was humiliated yesterday. Not by its football (soccer) team, or football ‘fans’, for once, but at the FIFA held unveiling of the countries chosen to host the football world cups for 2018 and 2022. England pulled out all of the ‘big guns’ to help. The shiny new Prime Minister, a squeaky clean sporting royal in the perfect…
A successful business proposal begins with a compelling framework – a structure for your proposal that sells your ideas in the context of the customer’s needs, wants and preferences. It’s applied thought, not just an explanation of what you do. Let’s Talk Proposals It’s easy to get caught up in thinking too much about the…