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5 Golden Keys to Assertiveness and Setting Boundaries
Published 13 September, 2011 | Communication Skills
My girlfriend said she was impressed; but I wasn’t pleased with the way I’d ‘handled’ the situation. For years afterwards (and still now, it appears), I would use this incident as an example of how not to be assertive.
How to Read People
Published 13 July, 2011 | Communication Skills
People are perverse or - let’s be fair - they can be. You think you read them right and wham! They do something to confound your expectations. Were there any clues you missed?
Be a Great Conversation Starter: Talk to Strangers with Ease
Published 22 May, 2010 | Communication Skills
“Don’t talk to strangers!” To which a pedantic (and annoyingly bright) seven-year-old might reply: “What, never! How about when I’m forty; at a party or having a job interview?”
Are You Too Nice?
Published 18 March, 2010 | Communication Skills
Let’s face it: Lois Lane just didn’t fancy Clark Kent, did she? But why not? He was good-looking, gentle, kind, thoughtful, sensibly dressed…
Speak Clearly
Published 23 December, 2009 | Communication Skills
I was enjoying a self-righteously healthy salad in a café in town the other day, minding my own business, craning to hear other people’s conversation. Two young women with one guy were chatting:
“So, he’s like, you know, ‘No way!’ So, I goes, ‘Way!’ And he’s like, ‘What?’ So I goes, ‘What what?’ So he goes, ‘What you on about?’ So I’m like, ‘What are you like!’”
Best Man Speech Tips: Relax, Inspire, and Amuse
Published 6 October, 2009 | Communication Skills
He’d been so terrified of his best man’s speech he drunk half a bottle of whisky, tripped over the microphone, and belched casually at the audience before stumbling away. He’d made an impact all right, but not the one he (not to mention the bride and groom) had hoped for.
Public Speaking Techniques Tested at the Front Line
Published 31 August, 2009 | Communication Skills
A great speech should feel like you and the audience are discovering things together. As if you are making connections there and then from a solid base of knowledge. It needs to feel spontaneous, not like a pre-recorded playback.
