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
Customer service – the make, or break, of your brand.
“Their Customer Service was awful, I’m never using that company again!” – how many times have you heard people say that? Companies spend thousands of pounds every year on their marketing budget ensuring they portray a positive image of their … Continue reading
Evaluation – just an add-on?
You have probably done it yourself. It’s the end of the course, people are starting to think about the train home or tomorrow’s meeting, and the trainer smiles and gives you an A4 sheet asking for your feedback.The course was … 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
Think on Your Feet – Tell ’em, tell ’em and tell ’em again!
What if your sound bite is only a minute? Isn’t this too much ‘telling ‘em’? If so, try what we call the ‘informal’ standard format. 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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The Indigo Summer Newsletter is out!
FIGHT THE FLAB IN YOUR COMMUNICATIONS: We cut the ‘fat’ out of your conversations, presentations and written documents with our featured workshops – Think on Your Feet, The Skilled Presenter, Writing Dynamics and Thought Leadership, leaving only the best bits for your audience. We can’t turn you into experts, but we can make you sound like the expert you are! Continue reading
Death vs. Public Speaking – And the winner is…
I read an article the other day about the comedian Jerry Seinfeld – recalling his standup routine lampooning a survey, which found that people’s number one fear was “public speaking”, with “death” coming in second. Continue reading
LinkedIn passes the 100 million user milestone… but what now?
On the back of LinkedIn’s planned IPO, a whole raft of new initiatives and new tools and platforms are being rolled out to build a really robust and valuable tool for business professionals. Unfortunately most users miss these new innovations unless they stumble across them and manage to work out how to use them – the great mystery is why LinkedIn does not communicate better with its users when it brings out new tools, especially since they are so powerful. The only way to find out what’s happening is via the LinkedIn Blog – if you know where to find it! So apart from me, what are the other 99,999,999 LinkedIn user actually doing with it – sadly the answer is often, very little. Continue reading
Sometimes you just have to speak up…
My 17 year old niece Ella has made it through to the final stages of Channel 4’s called www.battlefront.co.uk . Ella’s campaign is called Let’s Talk Disability. See why we need a rethink at http://www.battlefront.co.uk/the-campaigns/lets-talk-disability/feed:video/
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YES! Indigo help science and commerce mix at London’s County Hall
Indigo sponsor Environment YES 2010 – An innovative competition harnessing the best science brains with commercial know-how. Continue reading
What do an Investment Manager, Head of Engineering and Patent Attorney have in common?
Well, for a start they are all experts in their chosen professions. But, my reason for sharing is that they were all delegates at Indigo’s August Think on Your Feet® workshop in London. Why? Because while they are experts, they need help to … Continue reading
How loud is your Leadership Vuvuzela?
You are probably asking yourself – how does the Vuvuzela relate to leadership? Well, during the Thought Leadership workshop Robin talks about one of the fundamental principles of leadership: amplification. Some leaders do not realise the power and affect their words and actions have on others in their organisation. Because of their position, everything they do is amplified and then analysed. This is especially true in times of uncertainty. This amplification effect is not always fully understood. But to be a great leader you need to embrace it and use it effectively. Continue reading
What is the secret to writing success? Indigo’s writing expert, Richard Spencer, spills the beans…
An exciting mix of private and public sector clients have gathered at Indigo’s 2-day Writing Dynamics™ workshop in London. Everyone at the event is there to improve their written documents. The great news is that they are in the right … Continue reading
Mastering Skills
Skill, innovation, Edward de Bono, communication, Project Management Continue reading
Think on Your Feet – LIVE!
For many people uninterested in politics, this way of viewing candidates may lead to people voting for the politicians communication skills – not thier policies. So for a masterclass in Think on Your Feet® plans in action, watch the debate to see Think on Your Feet® LIVE! Continue reading
ROI with ROEye
Clients are telling us that Return On Investment (ROI) is the primary consideration when making any strategic decision. And rightly so in these turbulent times. Whether in the private, public or charitable sector competition is fierce. Each pound spent needs … Continue reading
Can’t beat Tiger Woods? Give up golf!
· Certain people are born excellent communicators. Correct. · Others are naturally creative. Correct. · I am neither, and never will be. Wrong! Vital business skills, such as communication and creativity, can be learnt practised and mastered using practical techniques. … Continue reading
Fog on the Leith! Writing Dynamics to the rescue!
June 30th 2009. Just back from a successful Writing Dynamics™ workshop at Malmaison hotel in the Leith Docks of Edinburgh. One of the aims of the programme is to help people cut down the amount of waffle, jargon and cliche in … Continue reading
James Arnum-White ‘thinks on his feet’
I am one of the client managers at Indigo and recently spent a couple of days at our recent Think on Your Feet® workshop in Barbican, London. I went through this training during my induction, so I was there to make … Continue reading
Communication is the response you get!
I had a really enjoyable evening last night! It was the end of day one at our latest Think on Your Feet® Communication workshop, taking place at our training venue in London (CCTV Barbican). We decided to invite our twenty or … Continue reading
Good Communication – the most important aspect of staff recruitment and retention..!
I read a recent survey of recruiters with interest. In essence, the conclusion of the survey on companies with more than 50,000 employees, cited communication skills as the single most important decisive factor in choosing managers. The survey, conducted by … Continue reading
