By Karen O’Donnell, Toastmasters International
The classic image of a common vision and purpose is the beauty of geese flying in formation.  In a small business, when we are in a similar supportive environment, a team has the potential to be actively engaged and adopt the business vision and purpose.  This clearly will impact the bottom line.
An interesting question is how many employees are this actively engaged. A recent Harvard Business Review survey of business leaders showed that this is less 25%.  However these actively engaged people are more productive, …

The Mums Enterprise Roadshow, has confirmed that their two-day event in London, will now be taking place on Friday 1st and Saturday 2nd February, 2019 (instead of 28th and 29th September 2018) in its new London home, Olympia London.
The decision to postpone the event for a further four months is a result of a company restructure, which will see Mum’s Enterprise Roadshow evolve from a Limited Company into a Community Interest Company.
Lindsey Fish, Founder and CEO Of Mum’s Enterprise Ltd comments, “The purpose of Mums Enterprise is to change the …

By Kay Heald, Toastmasters International
If you’ve been labelled as shy there’s a good chance you won’t relish the challenge of giving presentations.
All the way through school and beyond I blamed my aversion to speaking to groups on being shy. However, I now know that what I thought was ‘shyness’ for all those years was actually a predisposition to ‘introversion’.
Shyness and introversion are not synonymous. Introversion refers to a particular way we energise ourselves. Whereas extroverts are energised by being around people, introverts can also enjoy the company of others, …

When presenting or pitching it is vital to stand out. Particularly for a small business we need to grab attention if we want people to notice, remember and be persuaded by what we say.
Here are three opportunities for contrast when giving a speech or presentation:
Contrast in content
In most business communication, the goal is to persuade your audience to adopt your call to action.  This might be to buy your sales pitch, support your recommendations etc.  Effective persuasion requires contrast in content.
Evidence-based information, e.g. statistics, track record or a reinforcing quote …

Thriving local entrepreneurs will inspire and business specialists will educate at EventCity, Manchester on 22 & 23 June
Designed to support anyone aiming to grow a current or future commercial venture, The Growing Your Own Business Conference is co-located with The Northern Franchise Exhibition. The conference combines workshops with keynote presentations and the chance to network with industry experts and fellow entrepreneurs.
Keynote speakers will provide real-life illustrations of the path to success. On Friday 22 June, Karina Jadhav, award-winning entrepreneur and founder of Ménagerie Restaurant & Bar in Manchester, will share her …

The line-up for the first ever Mums Enterprise RoadshowManchester has just been announced and the event which is set to attract over 3,000 attendees promises to help those that attend find the confidence to make a change, retrain or upskill, find work, start or grow a business. 
 
Being a child-friendly event the vibe is relaxed and friendly but the one day event is dedicated towards provoking action and change. With a full agenda of over fourteen 30 minute practical and inspiring workshops with topics ranging from tech tools as a freelancer …

When you give a presentation you want your words to stick in the minds of our audience.  Luckily there are tools we can use to ensure that our audience members remember both the important points being made and the speaker as well.  The same tools also help speakers remember what to say.
Memory is a multi-sensory-process so first and foremost we want to use words that will connect all the senses.
Smell, taste and touch
Invoking aromas can produce impressive reactions; take for example wine descriptions on a menu, ‘Fruity’, ‘Leathery’, floral. These …

How technology is reshaping conferences, meetings and events 
By Rohit Talwar, Steve Wells, Alexandra Whittington, April Koury, and Helena Calle of Fast Future
Whether you are organising meetings and events or attending them changes are happening. These are being driven by technology as well as at a societal level as our expectations change.  Here we highlight nine of what may become strong trends and reshape our meeting and conference experiences – potential trends which business need to be aware of.
Smarter by Design – The use of artificial intelligence (AI) in the sector …

The Mums Enterprise Roadshow, now in its third year, has confirmed that to meet rapidly rising demand it will be hosting two large-scale exhibitions attracting over 10,500 attendees across these two events in Manchester and London with plans to reach Edinburgh in early 2019.
Mums Enterprise Roadshow Manchester will be a one-day event, taking place on Wednesday 20th June at Event City, in Trafford City Manchester.
Mums Enterprise Roadshow London will be its first ever two-day event in London in the larger venue; Olympia London which will take place from Friday 28th …

We are all brilliant learners from the day we are born.  If we’ve learned to fear public speaking we can learn something new and replace this feeling.  With the right approach we can get rid of the debilitating nerves and use the nerves that give us positive energy and an engaging stage presence. These are the good nerves that help us connect with our audience. To achieve this, Lyn Roseaman of Toastmasters International suggests we need to reprogramme our mindset and make our nerves our friend with the following …