“The only certain thing about the future is uncertainty” Ever since I lost my parents, I’ve embraced my lack of control over much of the world. When we’re young, we feel an almost limitless sense of certainty, but the truth is the world is random and uncertain. Because of this, I put a great deal […]
Several weeks ago, I wrote about the work I’m doing on a website rebuild, and promised to use the work as a case study which could provide some insight to the way I carry out website builds. The last article in the series covered my work around auditing content, how I was carrying out the
Last week, my concern over the political performance of the Labour party was compounded during a rout of voters in the local elections. It’s highly unusual for a political party to grow their share of the vote whilst being in power, but the Conservatives seem to have managed this during both the 2015 General Election
I was lazily scrolling through Twitter this morning when I spotted a tweet from one of my Cousins who has a politically engaged friend. This friend has always seemed willing to engage in an honest discussion, so I thought I’d respond to their message that politics needs ’a new way’. My first thought was that
I was once asked in an interview what my greatest career skill was – and I answered that I believed it was the ability to communicate, clearly and effectively, to people at multiple levels of a business. I believe I first learned the power of effective communication shortly after my Father died, when I began
Last night, I celebrated a milestone birthday for my Grandmother, taking her to a fine dining establishment in Nottingham called Harts. It’s a nice restaurant based in the Park – about a million miles away from where I grew up and certainly not a location I would have ever expected to find myself when younger,
Earlier this month, I was talking to a mentor about improving the visibility of my public speaking coaching business, which has largely dropped off a cliff since I first came to London nearly a year ago. When I was in Oxford, I attended multiple evening events each week, constantly growing my network in a positive
I was once told that as a public speaker “I always knew what to say”. No matter how difficult the topic, I’d always seem to find the right way of addressing it and keeping my audience onside. When it comes to negotiation, having the right words is often a powerful tool to enable success, but
Several weeks ago, I was commissioned on the build of a new website for a client. Their existing site is huge, spanning multiple service offerings, but with extraordinarily variable copy. As one would expect, the largest segment of the business has well-developed case studies and brochures, with glossy pictures and video content, but the smaller
Attempting to conduct a negotiation over the phone is never an ideal scenario. Whenever I’m negotiating face-to-face with someone, I’ve got more control of the situation – I’ve usually got a team with me and can physically see the other side of the negotiation to gauge their responses and reactions to my suggestions. When I’m
How to level the playing field when conducting negotiations via phone Read More »
I once used to work with a chap who was a consummate salesman. Everyone’s best friend, he knew people all over the country; all over the world in fact. No matter what the problem was, he ‘knew a guy’ who could help fix it. This colleague would come out of the boss’s office with an
Those of you that follow me on social media might have noticed a few patterns over the last twelve months as I tried various tactics to grow my following. Some of these have been more successful than others, so I decided to carry out a quick review of the plan to determine whether I’m likely
Earlier this year, I published an article on this blog about Donald Trump and his election to the American Presidency. A few weeks have gone by and, rather predictably, the world seems to have gotten ever more hysterical about his election. The first week of his Presidency saw global protests, the firing of the Attorney
I’ve been responsible for multiple freelancers in my career. Some were engaged directly by me, others were engaged by the company I worked for, but all reported directly to me. I’ve often heard people singing the virtues of hiring freelancers – they’re cheaper, they’re experts, they’re dedicated. In some situations, hiring freelancers makes total sense,
I’ve written before about the importance of seeking feedback, but what about providing it? Thanks to my work with Toastmasters International and the projects I’ve run with freelancers, I’ve recognised the importance of being able to provide good quality, useful feedback. There are countless ways to provide feedback, but it all starts with being clear
