Following on from my previous blog on How to Talk to Anyone and Start a Conversation, I thought it would be relevant to discuss the Power of Silence. Silence is very much like the ugly sister in the house of communication, misunderstood and underrated. Many people are uncomfortable with silence and view it as hostile and unpleasant. In the words of Charles de Gaulle “silence is the ultimate weapon of power”...

How would you describe yourself? If I were to ask you to list your top 10 best qualities what would you say? “I don’t know” tends to be a common response. We all seem to find it easier to list our faults than our qualities. It is almost as if we haven’t dared asking ourselves “What’s great about me?” You may be waiting in anticipation for me to answer that question. Well maybe not, regardless,...

Business management combines an interesting mix of theory and practice. There are numerous studies on various management styles. Then there is also the debate about management versus leadership. More on this in future blogs, yet for now I will leave you with the words of management guru Peter Drucker “Management is doing things right; leadership is doing the right things.” Do you think you are a good manager?...

What makes people happy? How do you define happiness? Can you measure it? How do you know you have it? If I knew the answers to all of these I would be super happy! I think it is safe to say that happiness is something that everyone searches for yet it seems virtually impossible to define as it so personal. Science has nonetheless provided some interesting research into what makes people happy. Happiness Research Positive...

Have you ever wondered if you would be a different person if you had another name? At a pub quiz the other day I learnt that Barbie’s full name was Barbara Millicent Roberts and I started wondering if she would have been equally successful had she used her full name. People tend to make judgements based on first impressions and your name is likely to be the first thing that someone learns about you. Your name...

First and foremost congratulations if you have an interview! That in itself is commendable, so now you just want to make sure you come across in the best possible light. I have been asked numerous times what to do in preparation for interviews. Whilst there is no way of predicting exactly what you will be asked, here are 20 common questions that tend to come up. This is by no means an exhaustive list. The purpose...

It is all too easy to get bogged down in the day to day things in our lives and we often forget to take a step back and think about what is really important to us. We are faced with challenges every day. Just remember, you are the PAINTER of your own life. You can design it however you chose to. Here are seven common items (one for each day of the week) you may wish to include in your Daily Survival Kit. Try...

Have you ever wondered where the expression to know something or someone “like the back of your hand” comes from? Despite not knowing its origins I have recently learnt that in several studies that have been conducted only 5% of people are able to recognise their own hands (“Definitive Book of Body Language” by Allan & Barbara Pease). So where is the discrepancy? Have we been conditioned...

Can we create a new Murphy’s Law? Most of us are familiar with the principle of Murphy’s Law or Sod’s Law as it is often referred to. It is most commonly stated as “if anything can go wrong, it will”. So what exactly are some of these famous laws? Murphy’s Laws If anything can go wrong it will If there is a possibility of several things going wrong, the one that will cause the most damage will be...