Want to be seen as more credible and impactful?

A lot of my one-to-one coaching clients want to make a stronger impact. Many of them come to me (either in person or via telephone/video chat) wanting to make a stronger impression during job interviews or when giving speeches and presentations. Others want to be more credible during client or business meetings – or even when dating.

If you want to … Read more

Do you want to get promoted?

If the answer is yes, then you need to read this piece and act on the advice. Doing your current job well is not enough to get promoted. People who get promoted tend to do more – they pursue promotions – they don’t just sit around waiting for promotions to be offered to them.

Click the image below to enlarge the article and read … Read more

A lot of my work involves job interviews. I have observed and trained literally hundreds of managers in how to interview properly. I also coach individual candidates to make a better impression during interviews. Here are four questions that candidates often struggle to answer well – as well as my advice on how to beat them:

“To begin with, could you tell us a bit about you please?”
Technically, this … Read more

I’m going to tell you how you can have a happier relationship. But first, let me ask you a few questions. To what extent do the following statements describe you?

1. “I want close friends and family members to understand my weaknesses and flaws.”
2. “I have a good understanding of why I behave the way that I do.”
3. “I often assess myself critically.”
4. “I want people who are close to me

In my consulting work, I get to meet, work with and interview so many interesting people. For example, I was introduced to Richard Canterbury. Someone suggested I interview Richard because he started a business from literally a market stall and has since turned it into an award-winning, multi-million pound business.

Here are just a few of his personal insights.… Read more

Is confidence something that you are born with – or can you develop it? The research (as well as my experience) suggests that it’s both. It seems that many personality characteristics and qualities have a genetic basis; however, our upbringing as well as what we choose to do as adults do affect how we continue to develop.

If you ever struggle with confidence in public settings, consider some of my … Read more

How would you like to earn around 10 per cent more every year – for the rest of your life?

A recent study led by Tilburg University researcher Jaap Denissen found that people’s personalities had a significant relationship with their earning potential. But the researchers did not find that certain personalities were better all of the time. No, they found that people earned more when their personalities matched the needs … Read more

When you fail at something, how long should you keep going? I often hear famous people saying that you should “never” give up on your dreams. But is that really realistic for most of us?

Say you want to be an artist or a TV presenter. Sure, you can keep applying for jobs. But if you’re not earning much money at all – how long can you keep going?

Some … Read more

What’s your strategy for having a productive day?

Unfortunately, a lot of ineffective people subscribe to the pinball method: allowing themselves to bounce from one task to the next, being diverted by requests and other interruptions as they come in, and generally being directed by other people’s whims. Clearly, that’s not a very productive way to get through life.

Instead, here are 5 research-backed methods for getting through your workload:… Read more

Do you ever worry that the people around you are judging you silently? Or do you sometimes receive comments or criticism from people that make you feel you’re being attacked?

If you ever feel judged or attacked, you’re definitely not alone. Here are five tips on coping in such situations:

1. Defuse the thought
Identify the specific thought that’s worrying you. Are you telling yourself something like “I’m going to … Read more

I’ve been working with someone I’ll call Marco, a wealthy business owner and managing director who mentioned recently that he doesn’t really know how to send emails. When he meets people, he gives out the email address of his assistant. Or he directs customers and other contacts to the relevant directors within his own business.

He doesn’t know how to use Excel, PowerPoint or Word to create spreadsheets, presentations or … Read more

I’ve been coaching so many job hunters recently. They have been men and women ranging from recent graduates in their early 20s to experienced executives and workers in their late 50s. In most cases, they had good experience that they could talk about. However, they weren’t selling themselves and coming across as capable and credible.

If you want to improve your interview performance, work through the following five steps:

1. … Read more

A client of mine I’ll call Joanna had a tendency to take things personally. When projects went wrong at work and her colleagues pointed out her mistakes, she either got irritated and angry or she retreated and sulked.

Another client called Rupert wanted to change his life. He wanted to get a new job – but he wasn’t able to find the motivation within himself. When we first met, he … Read more

I coach a lot of people who want help in pursuing their next promotion, the next step up in their career. But it’s tough. There’s a lot of competition out there for not that many opportunities.

One of the best ways to distinguish yourself is by proving that you can be not only a good people manager but a truly great leader. Not that many years ago, it was assumed … Read more

Do you want to be able to communicate more compellingly and effectively? If you do, then consider using a simple 3-step structure for organising your message.

You can use it whether you’re giving a quick update in a meeting or delivering a lengthy formal presentation. You can write a set of presentation slides using this structure. You can also use the 3 steps to organise a report or email.

The … Read more

Ask people what they ultimately want from life and many will say that they want to be “happy”. But happiness can often seem elusive. So here are five science-based pointers on how to be happier.

1. Understand that happiness is to do with attitude as well as circumstance
Yes, your circumstances will have an impact on your happiness. For example, experiencing an illness or experiencing conflict at work may reduce … Read more