A friend told me a story recently that made me feel incredibly proud. Irene cares for an elderly woman and last week, she explained to Mrs C that she would no longer attend at night because Mrs C’s children had varied the contract. Mrs C heard something entirely different. She heard that her children had […]
As the cars lined up on the starting grid at the Barcelona Grand Prix recently – 20 drivers, all masters of their craft – I was struck by the parallels between Formula 1 drivers and successful communicators. Both are masters of their craft, exhibiting precision, control, and creativity under intense pressure. ➡️ Preparation is Key: […]
I once gave a talk to a group of senior lawyers. I showed up with my best “speaker face”: confident and well-rehearsed. They smiled politely. Clapped politely. But I felt it a distance. I knew I wasn’t connecting. Like I am hopefully connecting here with you. I even tried humour, but oh no, never do […]
I remember having to give tough feedback to someone I was mentoring at work. He was under-performing and holding the team back. The conversation couldn’t wait. My first instinct? Be crisp and clear so there’s no mistaking my message. But before I spoke, I paused and asked myself: “Would I want to hear this in […]
Toto Wolff’s farewell message to Lewis Hamilton at the end of his final race with the Mercedes team is a masterclass in leadership communication. It wasn’t just about parting ways – it was a reminder of what makes leadership powerful: sincerity. The kind that creates connection, trust, and loyalty. “Who would have thought that when […]
Have you ever found yourself in a conversation where things started to feel… tense? It happened to me recently when someone on my team said: “You didn’t send me the login, or I would have been able to do it.” I instinctively replied: “You didn’t ask me for it, or I would have given it. […]
I recently tested my Toastmasters contest speech at a club, eager to see how it landed. After delivering it, the feedback started coming in – some points I expected, others I hadn’t considered. At first, I caught myself instinctively wanting to defend my choices. “But that’s intentional,” I thought. “That’s my style.” Then I stopped. […]
It’s frustrating that when I hear executives dismissing communication as just “soft skills.” Soft? Really? Why don’t we examine the evidence? 👉🏽 David Grossman reported in “The Cost of Poor Communications” that a survey of 400 companies with 100,000 employees each cited an average loss per company of $62.4 million per year because of inadequate […]
Twenty years or so ago, I walked into a Toastmasters meeting for the first time. I did not know then that the organisation would become one of the most consistent threads in my professional life, through the years I showed up regularly, through the periods I drifted away, through the competitions, the club presidencies, across […]
Most leadership communication problems do not come from saying the wrong thing. They come from leaving out what people need to be able to act on your message. Clarity is costing your team lost productivity time. That’s why I’ve come up with a formula to use before you send that all important email to your […]
