The most underrated attribute when it comes to inspiring others is certainty.  Certainty in what you believe.  In what you value.  In what you know, deep down in your gut, to be true and important.  Simon Bucknall, from Toastmasters International believes that If you have this certainly you can also be inspirational when giving a speech or presentation or talking to others less formally.
In business, a leader’s ability to inspire through the spoken word has never been more highly prized. You may be rallying your team, seeking to engage the …

Looking back to my first big presentation I now understand why it was not a success.  Weeks went into designing the content. What didn’t get work on was the performance “mindset” which I needed. In the 20 year since then I have developed my own method: Communicating with P.O.W.E.R.  Follows these steps and you’ll deliver successful speeches and presentations every time.
Presence
For effective communication you need:  presence of mind, body, and voice.
To connect with your audience on a mental level needs presence of mind.  You can prime your audience for your …

A new report from Young Women’s Trust, Trust for London, flexibility experts Timewise and Learning and Work Institute today reveals that potentially thousands of people are missing out on the opportunity to train because of a lack of part-time apprenticeship opportunities.
Just one in ten apprentices are contracted for less than 30 hours per week, leaving the training out of reach for many who are unable to work full-time – particularly women, people with caring responsibilities, disabled people and young people leaving the care system. Instead, these groups often find themselves …

Many entrepreneurs have turned to the self-help industry for inspiration – and for some it has certainly been a good move. But unfortunately, like any industry there is good and bad within it. The 2016 CNN documentary ‘Enlighten us’, on the deaths of three self-help devotees, issues a warning: beware the self-appointed guru on a giant ego trip.
Increasingly accused of exploiting the vulnerable and the weak, the self-help industry appeals to a fundamental desire in all humans: to find meaning, gratification and simple solutions to life’s complexities. So potentially, almost anybody can be drawn in.
Given the …

Many of us develop great depth of knowledge and experience over our careers. But are we good at advertising this?  Do all the right people know just how valuable our experience is?  If not, one powerful way to raise your profile is to give fantastic presentations.  Here are some tips on how to make the most of your hard-won experience.
Choose your topic and prepare
With a broad knowledge of your industry, it may be difficult to pick just one topic. Find something that will truly interest your target audience. In The …

Ever dreamed of a career in law but are worried about the time it takes and the amount it costs to train? Or are you concerned that perhaps it’s too late for you – just that bit ‘too old’ to change career?
Training to become a Paralegal could be the answer.
It costs around £27,000 to study for a law degree (full-time over three years). Then an extra £15k to undertake the one year professional course (either the Legal Practice Course (LPC) for solicitors or Bar professional Training Course (BPTC) for barristers).
That’s …

Ally Yates, author of ‘Utter Confidence: How what you say and do influences your effectiveness in business’ tells us:

Most leadership books tell us that to be a successful business leader, we need to be able to:
1. Establish a clear vision
2. Share that vision with others, in a clear and compelling way
3. Provide others with the resources to realise that vision
4. Co-ordinate, the sometimes conflicting, interests of all stakeholders
This is true. But there is one more trait that every leader needs; flexibility. A business with its back against the wall, requires a …

Brothers Chris and Dan Morgan established online learning website New Skills Academy in 2013. Here Chris discusses the challenges they faced – and the milestones they’ve since notched up…
In 2009 I left a comfortable job in recruitment to start my own business with my brother. The company involved generating leads for an online training programme which would eventually develop into a successful, multi award-winning business providing online training for over 100,000 students, called New Skills Academy.
Taking those initial steps into the world of business – the risks and decision-making …

When delivering a sales presentation, one of your aims is to build trust with your audience. As sales guru Zig Ziglar says; if you get people to like you, they will listen to you, but if they trust you they will do business with you. So how do you build trust? Essie Rewane-Adejare from Toastmasters International suggests eight ways to gain your audience’s trust during a sales presentation:

Demonstrate your personal credibility.Know the product or service, and your company, inside out. Be knowledgeable about your industry and relevant news. Trust depends …

If you’re planning to monetise your knowledge and skills into e-courses and info-products then you may like to offer audio content to your online “tribe.” Here are two surprising reasons why you might like to deliver some of your learning materials as audio files.
Learning Styles
Offering audio content as well as videos and reading materials means that you will appeal to several different learning styles. Neil Fleming’s VARK model suggests that people learn in four different ways; visual, auditory, read/write learning and kinaesthetic or physical learning, (using your body, hands and …