Like the best Christmas presents, it’s something that stands out, leaves a lasting impression and makes others feel confident in your abilities. But unlike a gift under the tree, executive presence isn’t something you’re handed, it’s something you develop. What … Continue reading
Tag Archives: Communication
Struggling to get your message across to a non-technical audience?
Bridging the communication gap: How Think on Your Feet® transforms technical experts As a technical expert, I’ve often found myself in the challenging position of explaining complex solutions to non-technical audiences. Whether it’s during a meeting with stakeholders, a presentation … Continue reading
Combat information overload and unlock your team’s potential
Get your message across, supercharge productivity and spend less time in meetings Information overload is a significant and growing challenge, impacting both individuals and organisations. It slows down cognitive functions, affects mental health, disrupts decision-making and reduces productivity. The constant … Continue reading
Miscommunication – how much is it costing you?
Do you ever feel like miscommunication is slowing down progress or causing unnecessary complications in your business? You need to be able to Think on Your Feet® and master clear, confident communication. Think on Your Feet® is a proven program designed … Continue reading
Effective stakeholder communication and engagement
Effective stakeholder communication is the backbone of business success, but it comes with hurdles that can derail projects, strain relationships and jeopardise long-term goals. When they attend the Stakeholder Engagement™ and Think on Your Feet® workshops, our clients tell us … Continue reading
The rise of communication overload in the modern workplace
In today’s hyper-connected work environment, communication is at an all-time high. According to the latest State of Business Communication Report, the volume, pace and channels of communication are increasing, making work synonymous with constant communication. The report reveals that: 88% … Continue reading
Did your team really understand what you just said – and what you expected?
We’ve all been there – in a discussion with your team – you were sure you were being clear, yet they heard something else? They either didn’t get it or didn’t want to get it! One way to deal with … Continue reading
Transform your graduates into effective communicators, get their documents seen, read and remembered.
Experts often describe graduates’ written work as clunky and long-winded, lacking clarity. The excessive back-and-forth on what to edit, change or remove between graduates and their senior colleagues wastes valuable company time. This poor writing not only confuses peers but … Continue reading
Talk less, say more. Why business globalisation means clear verbal communication is critical to your success.
Effective communication is the bedrock of successful professional relationships in the globalised business world. For business professionals working with English as their second language (ESL), mastering clear verbal communication is not just an asset – it’s a necessity. Being able … Continue reading
Charity Challenge (May 2024 – London) – Think on Your Feet®
We had a fantastic Think on Your Feet® workshop in London this week. Thanks to everyone who attended and contributed to making it a fun and engaging couple of days! Picture this A room filled with eager minds, each armed … Continue reading
How Willy Wonka showed us that AI can’t always get it ‘write’!
On the 24th February this year, hundreds of excited children queued up waiting to see a spectacularly advertised ‘Willy Wonka Experience’ in Glasgow, Scotland. Their parents had paid the princely sum of £35 per ticket and all were expecting great … Continue reading
Presenting to an audience that is not an expert like you
Gilly Meek, Accredited The Skilled Presenter™ Trainer You’ve been invited to present to a non-technical audience. Excited to share your expertise and insight, you open PowerPoint® and start building your slides. You include lots of information and data, as you … Continue reading
When you need to get technical – do people really understand you?
In every industry, there are technical teams with specific skills. These teams have various internal stakeholders, (executive teams, managers and other employees) and external stakeholders (customers, providers and the public)… …success or failure hinges on the team’s ability to clearly … Continue reading
Ensure your sales team can confidently think on their feet
Sales can be a challenging profession and the way businesses sell is constantly changing. Effective communication is a cornerstone of success for sales professionals. Our clients tell us their sales teams consistently face communication challenges that impact their ability to … Continue reading
Collaborative Writing
Richard Morris, Accredited Trainer With the introduction of hybrid working, we are spending less time in face-to-face conversations. So when you send that business report – you may not have a chance to talk someone through it. Having great writing … Continue reading
Allowing people’s creativity to flow when writing for business
Richard Morris, Accredited Trainer Creativity in business enhances success. It fosters engagement, teamwork, innovative ideas, product and service enhancements. Breaking old thinking habits and work patterns. But how often do businesses actually promote creativity in their business writing? In creative … Continue reading
Be more John Wayne – the lost art of brevity.
I have always talked about clarity and conciseness as an entry point into good, professional communication. Lots of management books tell us that managers with good communications skills, are often more effective leaders. ‘John Wayne in pinstripes’ was a term … Continue reading
Converting from academic to business writing
Richard Morris, Accredited Trainer Remember those good ‘ole university dissertations when you were 150 words short of the minimum word count? What did you do? You added in words to extend sentences and paragraphs to get you over the line! … Continue reading
Forget the “Big Resignation” – what about “the Big Presentation”?
Gilly Meek, Accredited Think on Your Feet® Trainer When taking on a new role, client or job, you will likely be asked to make “that big presentation!” You know the one… the career-defining introduction, the presentation that ties your stomach … Continue reading
Virtual selling – the new sales disruptor
Richard Morris, Accredited Trainer The world of the sales professional has changed. Consideration needs to be given to the skills that are now needed. The COVID pandemic has meant virtual selling has become the new reality of the sales function … Continue reading
Impactful and effective virtual communication
Richard Morris, Accredited Trainer 2020 made businesses adapt their channels of communication. Lockdown meant a focus on virtual platforms, with internal and external stakeholders working remotely. The emphasis for many was ‘Do we have the right platforms in place?’ Perhaps … Continue reading
The big presentation
Gilly Meek, Accredited Think on Your Feet® Trainer We all have that presentation, whether it’s online or face-to-face, the one that we really want to go well – the big presentation! Maybe it’s presenting our new strategy to the board, … Continue reading
Giving a project update
Gilly Meek, Accredited Think on Your Feet® Trainer Project updates are a key part of landing projects successfully – it’s really important to keep stakeholders updated on progress. The way you deliver your updates can be the difference between your … Continue reading
Deal with tough questions that make you feel nervous
Gilly Meek, Accredited Think on Your Feet® Trainer Nobody likes tough questions. Especially when you aren’t prepared for them! The feeling of a loss of control, that we might not be able to answer the question or that we can’t … Continue reading
Writing virtually: collaboration and clarity make for great documents that get results
This is a critical time for most organisations and more than ever, documents and communications need to be clear, understandable, and to the point. Have you thought about how you are helping the people on your teams to achieve this? … Continue reading
Navigating the new normal: getting your message across
Imagine that you have just concluded an online meeting or briefing. Everyone who was in that virtual space heads to the kitchen to make a cup of tea. Their partner joins them. “What was your meeting about?” they ask. Are … Continue reading
Crucial conversations
Gilly Meek, Accredited Think on Your Feet® Trainer There are times in our career when we all have to have difficult conversations. As Managers, we may need to have a conversation with a team member to discuss a required behavioural … Continue reading
Getting your point across to a difficult stakeholder
Gilly Meek, Accredited Think on Your Feet® Trainer We all have those colleagues and customers that we find difficult. More often than not, it’s one of our important stakeholders. They might be demanding. They might talk over us or appear … Continue reading
Stop talking over me! Making the most from online meetings.
This weekend I decided to attempt a family ‘Mother’s Day’ get together on Zoom – given the social distancing rules in place. We are not a particularly quiet family, but we are polite and usually observe the informal rules of conversation … Continue reading
When your mind goes blank, when writing…
You’ve got a great idea. You need to sell your idea. Your fingers hit the keyboard. Your mind goes blank? Absolutely nothing! Your mind goes blank. You’ve got writer’s block. This happens to all of us at times. So how … Continue reading
Indigo Business Services Named Exclusive UK Distributor for Think on Your Feet®
RICHMOND, UK, 30 August 2018: McLuhan & Davies Communications, Inc. has appointed their exclusive UK distributor, Indigo Business Services Limited. Indigo will be the sole provider of their suite of business-communication workshops in the UK. “From September 2018 our 17-year relationship … Continue reading
Getting your message across when presenting
By Richard White – Master Trainer: Think on Your Feet®, Writing Dynamics™ and Grammar on the Rocks™. Most people are very nervous about public speaking and giving presentations. There are a number of ways to deal with nerves in our … Continue reading
Getting your message across when writing
By Richard White – Master Trainer: Think on Your Feet®, Writing Dynamics™ and Grammar on the Rocks™. We’ve all been writing for most of our lives and have developed our own style and method. Most of us probably haven’t questioned … Continue reading
Getting your message across in conversations
By Richard White – Master Trainer: Think on Your Feet®, Writing Dynamics™ and Grammar on the Rocks™. Conversations, unlike formal presentations and written documents, give no time to prepare how to get our message across. In conversations, we can’t try … Continue reading
Do you plan what you say?
During my career I have received and delivered communication skills training, achieving both effective and candid outcomes. Much of this development has been preparing what I would say in any given scenario – and it’s served me well. However, there … Continue reading
Add IMPACT To What You Say
There have been times in my career when I had business VIP visits and opportunities to make an impact; to show just what an expert I was. I would be asked an easy question such as “how’s the project going?” … 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
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
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
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
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
Indigo Update – Autumn 2015
Welcome to our Autumn Indigo Update. There’s been a lot going on behind the scenes here at Indigo. We’ve been listening to your feedback, and over the next few months we’ll be bringing you some more exciting launches and offers – fulfilling our mission to … Continue reading
How do you turn a complaint into an opportunity?
Nobody likes hearing customers or stakeholders complain. So here are some suggestions from the globally delivered Think on Your Feet® workshop. 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
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
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
