Answer the emotion, first
Often when a journalist, an annoyed stakeholder, or a frustrated board member asks you a question… it’s not just the information they’re after. They want to know you “get it”. You understand why they’re asking, why they’re frustrated, and why it matters. It’s very tempting to jump straight in and answer the question. But sometimes…
The question you hope you won’t get
Every leader has that question. The one you hope doesn’t come up in a media interview, a stakeholder meeting, a board presentation, or even a staff meeting. You’ve kind of thought about how you might answer it if it ever came up, but you quietly avoid it. The issue is, those kinds of questions come…
The moment the same answer landed completely differently
In a media training session with the head of a government agency, we were practising a tough but fair question. They answered it accurately.Carefully.Exactly as they’d been advised to. But it didn’t land. It sounded controlled. Slightly guarded. Not wrong, just hard to trust. We stopped. Reset.I asked them to answer the exact same question…
We Forgot How to Talk
We’ve raised a generation fluent in emojis, not eye contact. They can craft a perfect post, nail a caption, and hold a conversation entirely in memes. They’re funny, they’re fast thinkers, and they are plugged into the world in ways we never were. But hand them a phone and ask them to call someone or…
7 STEPS TO COMMUNICATE IN A CRISIS
Recently I ran an urgent crisis-communication session for a client I won’t name.They already knew their message. They knew what was likely to be said about them, what stakeholders would think, and what the headlines might be. They sort of knew what they wanted to say, but they didn’t know how to get it out.So…
The Boardroom Has Gone Quiet
I had a fascinating chat to a client yesterday who chairs several boards. As someone who coaches leaders on communication every week, what he said really resonated with me. He reckons boardrooms have gone quiet, and he had some strong opinions about why. You can feel it the moment you walk into some boardrooms. That…
Don’t be boring online
Nothing beats being in the room. You can read the energy, work the space, and feel when the audience is engaged. But here we are, years after lockdowns, and video calls are just… normal life. Now you’re presenting high-stakes information (board strategies, budget breakdowns, risk briefings, safety updates) while sitting at your kitchen table in…
5 Speaking Habits Every Leader Needs
Leadership speaking isn’t a TED Talk or a wedding speech. It’s real-world, high-stakes, under-pressure communication with people who outrank you, report to you… or both. Here are 5 habits to help you lead the room, not just survive it. 1. Nail the start and the endThe first 30 seconds matter. Show people why they should…
How One Client Took Control of the Room
One-on-one coaching isn’t about theory. It’s not about rehearsing your ‘corporate voice’. It’s about working through the actual moments that trip you up. The tricky meetings, the tough questions, the real pressure. It’s completely tied to what’s actually going on in your job. Last week a presentation coaching client of mine, found herself walking into…
Some Things Are Confidential. This Isn’t One of Them.
I ran a media training session this week. I can’t tell you where. I can’t tell you who.But honestly, the where and the who don’t matter nearly as much as the what came up. Here’s 3 things that stuck. There’s always a temptation to prepare a laundry list of strategic, top-tier talking points, and try…
10 Things I’ve Learned Since Shoulder Pads and Dial-Up Were a Thing
(Don’t worry, I’ve edited for time) I’ve been around long enough to remember when mobile phones were the size of bricks, internet came with a screech, and we waited a week for the next episode. Somewhere between floppy disks and FaceTime, before streaming, scrolling, and speaking in hashtags, I picked up a few things about…
Smart People Get Nervous Too: Why Public Speaking Feels So Hard (and What to Do About It)
Some of the smartest, most capable people I’ve worked with get nervous when it’s time to speak in front of others. Why? Because they care. They want to get it right. Being intelligent or good at your job, doesn’t automatically make you a confident presenter. In some cases leaders are the ones most aware of…