


Why, statistically speaking, your emails probably aren’t as clear as you think they are
At the time of writing this blog it’s estimated that 269 billion mails are sent a day. Once we’ve cut out all the spam (say 50%) that is still an awful lot of communication. But how effective is email as a communication tool really?

Negotiations in English – tips and phrases (for beginners)
Working within a central purchasing and logistics business unit, negotiation is a word that one cannot escape. Most of my participants have dealings with suppliers within Germany, though some negotiate with suppliers worldwide.

Losing my mind on a deserted island: My challenges of working virtually
I love the flexibility and autonomy of working virtually. There are a lot of advantages and it fits my lifestyle. This way of working is becoming the norm for many professionals and with it come challenges.

Linking and building to successfully influence others
In today’s business world of cross-functional initiatives, matrix structures and virtual teams, the ability to influence others is becoming even more essential if you want to succeed. And no matter what your influencing style is, to effectively influence somebody you need to connect with them.

Meetings in English are fine but the coffee breaks are terrifying
Martin, an IT Project Manager, was getting ready for a meeting with his European counterparts to review his bank’s IT security. As ever he was very well prepared so I was a little surprised when he confessed to being nervous.

Presenting in a foreign language
I’ve been involved in business English training since I left university, and over the years I’ve helped hundreds of executives, managers and experts improve their presentations in English. I’ve worked with confident presenters, nervous presenters,


The importance of staff training
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We're a training company. We meet with corporate clients and we ask them questions to find out their situation. They ask us questions too. If they like us, we send in an offer with a training concept. The answers to the questions (from both sides) are often similar.


Handling difficult and disruptive people in meetings
Naturally, some team members can feel uncomfortable when their processes and working methods are scrutinized and analyzed. It is not unusual for this discomfort to surface in meetings as difficult and disruptive behaviour.


What is active listening, how do I develop it and should I be making little noises?
The benefits of active listening are many. To start with you’ll hear more … much more. You can enrich your understanding through gathering information and understanding the emotions.


DEEP accountability conversations – How to hold your colleagues accountable
The DEEP model is designed to help you have a clear approach to tough accountability conversations. It helps you and your team focus on solutions when accountability problems arise. These kinds of conversations are rarely easy, but with DEEP you can approach them with confidence.



Train the trainer: Interactive presentations
Internal training is often done via presentations and companies often use an internal "expert" to deliver training to other members of staff. Slide after slide appears on the screen and by the end, there's a handout with the most important points and perhaps a summary.


Quick tips on editing your own work
When the editing work begins, you are no longer the author. An editor is not emotionally attached to the words. He/she will mercilessly cut out the most poetic of phrases and well thought out sentences if they interfere with the readability.


Stepping into management: the learning and development journey
In a recent young managers program the “eureka” moment came when, following a young manager’s “Maybe I’m not cut out for this job” statement, I shared the “Conscious Competence model”.


After the meeting ends – more practical ideas from great chair persons and facilitators we’ve worked with
This post keeps sharing the sharing. As trainers, we get to listen to and learn from our clients – and then you get to benefit from not only our knowledge and experience, but their’ s too!


Before the meeting begins – 4 added-value ideas from great chair persons and facilitators we’ve worked with
One of the best things about being a trainer is that you get to meet a lot of people from diverse backgrounds. As trainers we get to listen to and learn from our clients – and we then get to share ideas, experiences and best practices with other clients.


The business of apologizing
During my time working for a global IT helpdesk, I received more than fifty calls on an average day. We were the first point of contact for the client's 110.000+ employees, who called us with questions about just about anything to do with IT.


3 thought-provoking business books from 2016 that you may have missed
In How to Have a Good Day, Caroline Webb shares findings from behavioural economics, psychology and neuroscience and then shows how you can build on big “scientific” ideas to transform the quality of your everyday life.


What makes a great trainer?
We recently had the opportunity to ask a selection of managers what they think are the qualities of a great trainer. At the end of the session, they were pretty much in agreement. Their collated answers are summarized below.


Managing high performers – the Miles Davis way
Miles Davis, time and time again, brought together some of the most talented musicians in their own right to work with him in his musical exploration. How did he do it? This article will explore the lessons of Miles Davis in the art of leading the best to be their best.


TED talks on motivation and leadership
This week's post was meant to be about customer service skills.…


The negotiator’s dilemma
The most fundamental aspects of negotiation strategy are…


Dealing with change
Change management is an integral, complex and necessary part…


Keep your meetings alive
Unproductive meetings are a waste of everyone's time. There’s…