Numbers are the nub of many presentations, yet the challenge is not to numb but inspire, nourish and nurture our ideas with numbers. One way to do this is by adding an interesting fact, or sharing a customer observation, after the number. A presenter at a large conference started by saying: One in three people will suffer from public speaking anxiety …

I saw a children’s movie recently and came away – somewhat surprisingly – with a fantastic business hack. Big Hero 6, an action-packed comedy-adventure movie, features Baymax, a plus-sized robotic health care companion, and 14-year-old protagonist Hiro. To fight evil, Hiro is always ramping up Baymax’s powers.  Every time he gives Baymax a new power, the robot’s first response is “How …

It was an early-morning flight to Brisbane.  The severe storms in Sydney meant delays, long queues and grumpy passengers.  The crew came around offering coffee and tea.  The man next to me, with a smile and cheeky glint, said “Any Champagne, please?” The hostess replied, laughing: “It’s a bit early for the C word!” They bantered back and forth and …

A torched pharmacy, burned down by rioters, forms the backdrop.  April 2015, Baltimore USA: a city on fire. After days of riots, a peaceful protest turns ugly as a bottle is thrown at the police. The advancing line of policemen launches pepper spray in retaliation. The media converges knowing this is going to turn ugly, fast. Suddenly, a line of …