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How do your listeners perceive you?

By Richard White – Master Trainer: Think on Your Feet®, Writing Dynamics™ and Grammar on the Rocks™. The impression we make when we’re speaking is important. Whether we’re presenting, speaking on the phone or having a chat at the watercooler; … Continue reading

Making communication style work for you

By Richard White – Master Trainer: Think on Your Feet®, Writing Dynamics™ and Grammar on the Rocks™. When we talk about communication style we are referring to the expression of ideas. Whatever you have to say, expressing it well will … Continue reading

Getting complex and technical information across

By Richard White – Master Trainer: Think on Your Feet®, Writing Dynamics™, The Skilled Presenter™ and Grammar on the Rocks™. Communicating complex or technical information to an audience that has no special knowledge of the subject is always challenging. We recently … Continue reading

Making emails work

By Richard White – Writing Dynamics™ Master Trainer When you glance down the list of senders in your email inbox, do different names create different expectations? Some people’s emails are a pleasure to read: you know they’ll be clear; to … Continue reading

Engaging stakeholders

The skills required to understand, engage, manage and communicate with stakeholders. By Trish Thurley, Indigo Master Trainer and Richard Evans Stakeholder management can be the difference between success and failure for anyone who has to deal with other people. Who … Continue reading

Five most common presentation mistakes

By Richard White, Master Trainer – The Skilled Presenter™ We’re often asked for the most common errors people make when planning and delivering a presentation. We’ve helped hundreds of people to improve their presentation skills so we have a good … Continue reading

Why The Skilled Presenter™ will benefit you

By Richard White, Master Trainer – The Skilled Presenter™ Presentations can pose a real dilemma in as much as we all want them to be professional, clear and persuasive but we also want them to be authentic, genuine and inspiring. … Continue reading

The Skilled Presenter™ for sales professionals

By Richard White, Master Trainer – The Skilled Presenter™ A successful sales presentation must win over the client in order to win the business. Great speakers and speechwriters know that the three essential elements of effective public speaking are: Logic. … Continue reading

Are you an occasional presenter?

By Richard White, Master Trainer – The Skilled Presenter™ People who plan and deliver presentations regularly have plenty of opportunity to develop and hone their skills. But, if you are an occasional presenter it’s not so easy. So, if your … Continue reading

The (ugly) truth about workplace communication.

Excellent verbal and written communication-skills is a standard requirement in today’s workplace. Communication plays a vital role in your company’s success and productivity. And ignoring it can be dangerous. Download our FREE infographic: The (ugly) truth about workplace communication. It reveals the … Continue reading

My Writing Dynamics™ experience

Having recently started at Indigo Training, part of my induction programme was to attend the two-day Writing Dynamics™. I was really excited about the opportunity to develop my professional writing style. Not only was it an insightful learning opportunity, the … Continue reading

Listen – to be more influential

Experts say the ability to express yourself verbally often reaps influence. There is evidence (Journal of Research in Personality) that being an effective listener is also as important. Effective listening is two-way, it: Prevents miscommunication. Confirms understanding of the message. … Continue reading

Understood and remembered – add structure and IMPACT to everything you say…

‘Brain fog’ – that’s what happens when you get asked a question you know the answer to, where your response is unclear, often a little confused and long! There can be many reasons for this: An intimidating audience (your team, … Continue reading

The three P’s of dynamic, persuasive presentations

Public speaking is a top fear for many people. It’s okay to be afraid as long as you try to keep that fear at bay when you give a presentation. Here’s our three P’s of dynamic, persuasive presentations: Plan Probably … Continue reading

Good writing leads…

I had a discussion recently with someone who didn’t think writing was a leadership skill, rather, something to be learned by new hires versus the old hands. I found this interesting. Only recently I’d heard of a senior executive being … Continue reading

Improving how your graduates write

Madison Abernethy recently graduated from the Ivey Business School at Western University in Canada, where she developed strong interests in marketing, media and corporate communications. Throughout University she was plagued by writer’s block. She admits that 95% of her designated writing … Continue reading

Top tips – communicating with difficult stakeholders

Stakeholder management can be a challenge, you often need to juggle between positive and negative groups or individuals. A logical way to build good relationships, especially when communicating with a difficult stakeholder, is by using techniques learnt on our Internationally … Continue reading

Selling your ideas – stakeholder communication

Our blended, computer simulation based, Stakeholder Engagement (including Simulation)™ defines a stakeholder as ‘anyone that can affect what you are trying to achieve.’ Engaging and communicating with these groups is core to business and project success. These include colleagues, customers, … Continue reading

Selling your ideas – cutting though the noise…

Guaranteeing clarity of your message is becoming harder because of increasing disruption and distraction in today’s business environment. You still need to get people to read, see, listen and understand what you are trying to say. How can you be … Continue reading

Before starting a project…

We’ve heard from our clients that no matter what the individual’s role, they will have projects to look after. Large or small, simple or complex, these individuals are often not project management qualified. This is presenting a challenge for organisations … Continue reading

Stand out reports

Do you hate writing reports, yet find you are writing more and more of them? We’ve been working with business professionals to improve their written communication skills for nearly 15 years. By listening to the challenges and objectives of our … Continue reading

Breakthrough in communication DNA

Think on Your Feet International, Inc. have recently announced some interesting findings from the results of their study about how the left- and the right-side of the brain influences communication. The brain is an amazing organ that we still need to … Continue reading

Calculate the readability of your documents.

Everyone loves a clear and concise document. What’s more, the easier your document is to read, the more likely your message will be understood and actioned. The Fog Index is a simple way you can assess how accessible your writing is. Follow these simple steps to calculate you readability statistics. Continue reading

Presenting boring facts and figures in an interesting way…

One of our recent Skilled Presenter delegates (thanks John Shaw) saw this pretty impressive way of communicating those dull statistics and sent it to us. Take a few moments to view this and tell me your not impressed with Stockholm… Continue reading

Surviving Projects in the Oil & Gas Industry with Stephen Carver

This highly practical, engaging and interactive workshop focuses on the skills and behaviours that make Project Managers and teams highly effective. In adition to the workshop, we are proud to announce Stephen Carver – a globally renowned Project & Programme Management expert – will be streamed live for an interactive Q&A session. Continue reading

Presentation Panic! How to Control Your Nerves

Public speaking is a top fear for many people. It’s okay to be afraid as long as you try to keep that fear at bay when you give a presentation. You can be successful and be remembered by your audience. Here’s how: Continue reading

Love from Indigo – your Valentine gift from us…

With love in the air, and as Valentine’s Day approaches, we at Indigo would  like to share the love by giving you a heart warming 20% off selected open workshops – but only for the next 48 hours. There are 27 open … Continue reading

Did you miss the Skilled Presenter webinar today?

If you missed the Skilled Presenter webinar, or would like to forward it to a friend to listen / watch, simply go to this link: https://www3.gotomeeting.com/register/430260254 Continue reading

Think on Your Feet: 3 Steps to Success – Top Tip No. 3 – Remember the rule of threes to stay on track.

Our final ‘Top Tip’ is this series looks at when we are subject matter experts and get wrapped up in too much detail. If we are passionate, our emotions override our logic and we ramble. Continue reading

Think on Your Feet: 3 Steps to Success – Tip No.2 – Identify triggers to know how to respond.

In our last blog of this series, (see http://www.indigobusiness.co.uk/blog/?p=1108), we discussed listening skills, to gain understanding before reacting. The example we used was when you are talking to your team about implementing a new process and you hear “Why is this company always making things more complicated”. A good listener will acknowledge that change can be challenging. If spoken with sincerity it will help move the conversation in the right direction. Continue reading

Think On Your Feet: 3 Steps to Success – Tip No.1 – Listen before reacting.

How many times have you been asked a question that causes ‘brain fog’ even if you know the answer? Maybe your audience is intimidating. Perhaps the topic is sensitive or emotional. Suddenly, you find yourself stammering or rambling. And after the damage is done you remember what you should have said. Continue reading

Presentation Tip: Know when to quit!

The Skilled Presenter™ always does at least one dry run to focus on timing. Be willing to remove major sections of your presentation. Ask the following questions: Do my listeners really want to know this? Is it engaging? Is it persuasive? Continue reading

How to master the art of thinking quickly on your feet.

Caught off guard by a question at work, do you blurt out the first thing that comes to mind? Or do you take a moment to marshal your thoughts? Continue reading

What makes a Best Man?

I made some pretty big decisions around that time. One such decision was ‘who to have as my Best Man’. So what are the criteria for a good ‘Best Man’? Well, my Best Man, Andy, was first and foremost a great friend. He was (and still is!) liked by many for being trustworthy, great fun and a witty. Continue reading

Do you sound like the expert that you are?

“I know everything there is to know about my product, business and industry”. We are all specialists and experts in our given field/areas. We can speak for hours on end in terms of what we do, how we do it, … Continue reading

Why should I read this?

When asked to produce a document, what is the first thing you do? Personally, mine was to turn on my computer, open Word and start typing. A professional writer however will spend up to 40% of their time planning, 25% drafting and 35% editing; that’s why their writing gets read. Continue reading

Indigo sponsor scientists through a “Dragons Den” style competition…

Indigo are thrilled to announce that, for the third successive year, we are a proud sponsor of the Environment YES (Young Entrepreneurs Scheme) competition this December 2013. This innovative scheme raises levels of entrepreneurial awareness amongst PhD students and post doctoral researchers working in the environmental sciences. Continue reading

Last Managing Stakeholders Simulation places available – London, 26 November 2012

Indigo Simulations – Because practice make perfect projects…

We are thrilled to say that we have just a handful of places remaining at our Managing Stakeholder Simulation on the 26 November 2012 in London. The one day workshop blends team interaction, expert training and live interactive computer simulations for a truly remarkable and very different learning experience. Continue reading

Try Before You Buy – The Free Webinar Line-Up

In these cost conscious times,we appreciate that it is often difficult to get approval to attend a workshop. For this reason we have created a number of FREE webinars to help you gain a clearer understanding of our events, before you decide which one to attend. Continue reading

Mastering the art of high impact communication – a journey from ancient Greece, to 17th century France and now to the UK in 2012.

In around 500BC, the renowned Greek Philosopher and Mathematician, Pythagoras, was attributed with saying “do not say a little in many words but a great deal in few”. A message that today’s business professionals can relate to when listening to long-winded, directionless communication in the workplace. Continue reading

Free Webinars – Indigo’s “try before you buy” series.

In these cost conscious times, and with travel budgets being cut, we appreciate that it is often difficult to get approval to attend a workshop, without a full understanding of how it will meet your training requirements, and link to your companies strategic plan. For this reason we have created a number of free webinars to help you gain a clear understanding of our events, before you decide which one to attend. Continue reading

Is there an elephant in the office? Eat it!

Occasionally you will be asked to lead enormous projects of epic proportions. The problem is the bigger the project; the more complex they become, in every possible way. From the number of intended deliverables to the budget, to the breadth and importance of stakeholders; these are what I call ‘Elephant Sized Projects.’
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