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

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

People often talk about confidence as if it is just one thing. But that broad term actually encompasses a number of different skills. For example, I distinguish between two main components. One of these is internal-emotional confidence, which is the extent to which we feel confident in our own minds – the private part of ourselves that may feel nervous or insecure, even if the people around us can’t … Read more

Humans are not rational beings. We all have feelings. When we’re positive, we feel excitement, joy and hope. When we’re negative, we feel sadness, disappointment and anxiety.

And it’s entirely natural to feel negative emotions at least some of the time. But people often fall into thinking traps that make them even more anxious than they need to be. In my experience, here are three of the most common patterns … Read more

I run a lot of workshops on how to give better presentations – for people ranging from junior employees who want some basic guidance to experienced executives who need to come across as more charismatic and leaderlike. But whatever the seniority and experience level of presenters, I typically find that most people can improve or polish their presentations by focusing on four main areas.

Broadly speaking, the four parts of … Read more

A lot of clients come to me for coaching because they want more confidence. Some want to be more confident and assertive at work. Quite a few want to be more confident in job interviews so that they can get a new job. Some want more confidence so that they can go on dates and find someone special. A few want to work out a plan so that they can … Read more

To what extent do you perform at your best under pressure? That may be in a job interview, a written exam or when giving a presentation.

Unfortunately, many people perform worse under pressure. And the more motivated they feel, they worse they may perform.

If you have an anxious desire to perform well, you may begin to worry about the situation and its consequences. If your worries take up even … Read more

Would you like to make a better impression on people? That could be say when you need to give a presentation – perhaps you’re pitching your product or services to customers. Maybe it’s pitching yourself in a job interview. Or it could be in a social setting: perhaps you want to make a stronger impact on friends or a date even.

Whatever the situation, here’s a quick technique that you … Read more