Category: Human communication skills

Using the analogy of a child stand in front of a fridge full of cold drinks to understand the impact of choice overwhelm. The fear of making the wrong …

Avoid dumping data and confusing your audience in your presentations. “Consultant’s disease” is giving too much information, without discovering what the listener’s actual needs are. A simple example is …

The Tipping Point, for teams and individuals, is a Positivity Ratio of at least three times (3:1). Every interaction impacts your positive to negative ratio. Operate inside the three-times-positive …

Learn how to use Presenter's View. Stop boring power point where the presenter reads what the audience reads and everyone falls asleep. Presenter's View, on Power Point (2007+) or …

Your audience wants to be moved, inspired, persuaded ... not be bored to death with data dumps and cluttered slides. So use simplicity, San-Serif fonts and contrast for powerful …

TED talks aim to persuade, influence and change the way we Think and Act. We should be aiming to do the same thing in our business presentations. No more …

Giving and receiving feedback is potentially some of the most important communication we can engage in with the members of our team. Once, or twice, a year we deliver …

Giving and receiving feedback is potentially some of the most important communication we can engage in with the members of our team. Once, or twice, a year we deliver …

What leaders do the rest of the organisation will imitate, bad or good behaviour. Organisations with a strong feedback culture tend to perform better. The transparent approach ensures the …

When we don’t have an appropriate method to express ourselves we may bottle up the emotion, or blurt out our feelings at the wrong moment. Both are destructive in …

When we don’t have an appropriate method to express ourselves we may bottle up the emotion, or blurt out our feelings at the wrong moment. Both are destructive in …

The Tipping Point, for teams and individuals, is a Positivity Ratio of at least three times (3:1). Individuals and Teams with these high ratios had higher profitability, better reviews, …

You may have try an element of a process numerous times before you succeed. It is essential to pay attention to the process and get feedback as to what …

Deliberate practice also often involves specific feedback from a skilled teacher or mentor. It is not repeating the action in a familiar way but stretching beyond your comfort zone …

When we praise intelligence we tend to put people in a fixed mindset where intelligence is fixed, and they have it (increasing the fear of new challenges as they …

As speakers we can learn to overcome our fears through the vicarious experience of watching others grow personally and professionally. Then, when we are ready, we try it for …

Imagine your parents had tried to help you learn to walk like most managers try motivate their employees? Would criticism, cajoling and feedback once a quarter have helped you …

We want to be acknowledged, to be recognised as individuals, and to know we matter. Take these first steps to Employee Engagement and see the impact on the triple …

Positivity creates the opportunity for human moments that transcend a smiling face and hopeful thoughts. A positive work environment impacts our body chemistry, reduces stress and improves creativity and …

Walk the talk. As a leader what you do gets noticed, even when you are not in the front of the room. Whether as a leader in your work, …

Start by determining what training is required, in order to deliver products or services to the customer (internal or external customers), in a manner that increases customer engagement and …

Change is a part of every organisation. Unfortunately many change initiatives fail to consider how the changes impact the people involved, and thus most change initiatives fail. In order …


Change efforts often succeed or fail on the strength of communications. Research shows it’s almost impossible to over-communicate when instigating and leading change. Focus on the “Why should I …

Do your staff waste valuable time with poorly formatted search queries? Use this simple table of our top Google search tips to make communication with this amazing search engine …

Too many speakers rush to say something. Allowing too little time for you and the audience to engage each other, and settle in. The pause before you say a …

A lack of information can cause more harm than an oversupply, as fear can start rumours. Congruent Communication should be a priority for managers at every level of the …

When building a relationship, speaking or making a sale remember to appeal to the emotional nature of your audience. People make decisions, and buy in, emotionally and then intellectually …

We teach other people how to treat us .... by the way we treat ourselves and others. We each have different experiences - frame of references ...how is anyone …

Change creates a path that is easy to follow with small wins along the way, to enable a successful change process. Be patient with yourself. Significant change does not …

Conflict can be an opportunity to build relationships ... or the demise of one. Here are some communication tips to help manage and build your relationships in the face …

In our business and relationship communication this means we need to create a clear path for clients or our partner to take once we raise the issue. If we …

When customers give us feedback that something should be better, we can take it as an attack ... or as an opportunity to grow and develop better service. We …

Don't wait for others to smile at you ... take this life altering step first ...Smile! :-D Nothing changes things like the power of a genuine smile. A smile …

Think of your Brand as the promise you make to the consumer. If a promise is made it needs to be kept. If this promise is made on behalf …

We teach others how to treat us by the way we treat ourselves. Self esteem is how we honestly feel about ourselves, appreciate and value who we are. When …

Multi-page wads of reports just don't get read, especially when they are dry and dull. Top management don’t have time to read your multi-volume ramblings, start with a synopsis …

Do you know how to engage your readers? Clear writing helps engage our readers and communicates our message more effectively. Clear writing is logically arranged making it almost effortless …

The Miracle question forces you to think about exactly what it is you want from life, how it will look and feel. Without a clear idea of what you …

Are you a mind reader? If not, you, like everyone else need to ask questions to discover what your clients, business partner’s and friends mean, want and need.

How often have you wondered why someone listening to you talk is "slow" or "stupid"? The message seems blatantly obvious to you. Maybe you are falling into the tapper, …

Storytelling is a great way to activate these 'mirror neurons', allowing us to experience new behaviour or a new culture. We can watch someone do something then trying it …

Does too much choice cause paralysis? Whether it is medical aids, retirement funds or jam, if it's a lot of work to choose among the options many people will …

The customer is a human being who deserves to be treated with dignity and respect. It is our job, as customer service, sales people or management, to listen and …

The person who is engaged, feels like the company cares, what they do matters is more energised, has less sick days and presents a better face to your customers. …

We all look to add meaning to our lives, if we are able to discover and craft that meaning; we can deal with far more in our lives. When …

Do your employees understand what your vision and mission statement mean? Strategy Stories can help people understand what is meant by the vision and mission statements Leaders are so …

The audience and message matter. Focus on your audience, answer their questions “Why should I listen, why should I care?” Forget your own anxieties and focus on your message, …

Be careful of assuming we all understand what you mean. Write so you aren't misunderstood. Write so the meaning is clear. Using longer more complex words don’t make you …

Long words and sentences make the writing more difficult to read. If we shorten the length of sentences and words, we can make the writing easier to understand and …

A great “sound bite” or elevator pitch is aimed at a specific audience. You might want to prepare a unique pitch for each type of listener.

PowerPoint Karaoke is also a form of Improv comedy (think, “Who’s line is it anyway?” on TV) and can be used effectively for team building and PowerPoint skill education …

Team building games can effectively improve the experience of empathy, enabling members to see a different side of each other. As human beings we naturally want to care. We …

Who has the greatest feel or empathy for what your customers need? If you need to maintain your connection to your clients then follow the example set by Harley …

Is there a correlation between business relationships and dating? Definitely. If on a date, on their best behaviour with you, and they treat people like that, be aware, they …

In any communication between two people, there is a sender and a receiver; for example me writing this blog, and you reading this. The problem is that the ideas, …

Corporate culture is the personality, values, conduct and attitude of the business or individuals comprising the business. The culture lies between plans made, the written rules and the reality …

In a businesses where employees feel that someone cares for them, and is looking out for their progress they are substantially more engaged and it positively affects the bottom …

Crave feedback and improve your speech on every level. This is the difference between good and great! Also remember feedback is an opinion, one perspective. You need to own …

I'd like to add HQ or HI - Humorous Intelligence to the list of Quotients. The ability to laugh and see the funny side of life is a much …

We all love the sound of our own voices. In order to connect with clients and build relationships we need to take the time to listen, pay attention and …

Beware not all praise is created equal... In work or parenting situation be aware - sometimes praise of an individual can set them back. When praising children or adults …

Why Kaizen? It helps bypasses fear, fight-or-flight, amygdala flooding response, and helps creates new connections in the brain. Small steps are far easier to make that large steps. Many …

The 4 Poisons that kill business and professional relationships. The combination of these are the death-knell of your business or professional relationships. Your clients or so-workers will vote with …

Here are some presentation tips on using the pecha kucha presentation style. Simple 20 x 20 (only 6 minutes and 40 seconds). End "Death by power point" forever. Become …

What stories do you tell in your organisation? Stories are more effective at changing culture in an organisation than lists and bullet points. A study with MBA students discovered …

The Kiss Test is how we kiss, or how we communicate, a business communication tip. Kiss Communication as it relates to business, an analogy of using feedback to improve …

Ensure the humour is relevant. Humour that is simply there to make the audience laugh can be distracting, and may make your audience miss the important point of your …