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…
The Secret to Holding an Audience’s Attention
I recently ran a ‘presentation’ training workshop where we zeroed in on one of the biggest challenges presenters face: How do you keep people engaged from start to finish? Public speaking is an important skill. But audience attention spans are short. If you want people to stay with you, it’s not just about what you…
Why Leaders Should Master Video Communication
It’s now widely accepted that video creates a stronger connection than emails or newsletters. More businesses are using video internally to engage their teams for company updates, goal setting, professional development etc. But being a great leader or a strong business operator doesn’t automatically make you great on camera. Speaking to the lens is a…
3 Media Training Tips
Spending a day working with the RSPCA comes with benefits. Cuddling the animals? Obviously the best part.Working alongside people who are aligned to a cause? Brilliant.Being around open-minded people who are eager to learn? Incredible. I always find the feedback from our ThinkBox Media training sessions fascinating.Yesterday, when I asked each of them their biggest…
How to engage your audience
It’s wild how much body language and energy shape someone’s performance, even on radio. For me, talking with my hands has never been an issue (must be my European heritage!), but so many clients start off reserved. I’ll be standing there saying, “Bigger! Bigger!”—and they think they’re overdoing it… until we play it back. The…
Coaching for the Stage: How My Dream Client Nailed It
Today I ran on online coaching session for a client I absolutely love working with. She’s preparing for a big public event and wanted one-on-one online coaching to refine her performance, stage presence, crowd engagement, storytelling, and skills for interviewing guests live on stage. We structured the training into three focused sessions: Session 1: Preparation…
Why Video Communication is Better Than Email for Your Staff
Effective internal communication is essential for keeping teams aligned, informed, and motivated. Nothing beats having an actual conversation with your boss, but we know this isn’t always practical. Traditionally, email has been the go-to method for communicating important information to staff. However, video has emerged as a more effective and engaging way to share messages…
The truth I learned at work
Call me old-fashioned, but I actually like to phone people. When there’s something important to say in business: I’m a ‘pick up the phone and just work it out’ kind of person. In my personal life – I’m all about the text message, but professionally – I call. There’s nothing worse than sending an awkward…
Top 5 Media Fears (and how to tackle them)
People often share their ‘dealing with the media’ fears with me. Here are the top five concerns I hear from my clients, and how my journo mates respond: Journo response: We will never intentionally take you out of context. If we do, we haven’t done our job. That doesn’t mean we get it right all…
Buying Yourself Time When Answering Questions
What happens when you’re asked a question and you need a few moments to think about your response? In a workshop I facilitated last week, someone asked me an interesting question (I love when workshops take a different direction because of questions like this). The question was about… answering questions. They asked, “What do you…