Yes, it’s that time of year: the tinsel is out, carols are playing and countdown clocks with the number of days until Christmas are popping up everywhere. Like we could forget! It’s also the time of year when I get reflective. If I were to describe 2014 in one word it would be Blockbuster. It’s been very exciting with lots of repeat business with existing …
#putoutyourbats : When words aren’t enough
For a few days last week the entire country was on a knife’s edge, watching reports on the wellbeing of Australian cricketer Phillip Hughes, who was in hospital after a freak blow to his head during a cricket match. Suddenly, the wait was over – but not in the way we hoped and prayed for. Last Thursday visibly distraught cricket captain …
What’s your ‘impact per minute’?
We recently concluded a phenomenally successful series, training speakers on how to craft and deliver a TED talk. During the process Jon Yeo, the curator of TEDx Melbourne, challenged the speakers to think about their impact per minute. Impact is the cognitive or emotional ‘a-ha’ moments you create as a speaker. Without impact points, a presentation is dead in the water and …
The grass is resting
When was the last time you tuned into the safety briefing on board a plane? It’s amazing to consider that even when our lives could depend on the information, we are recalcitrant with our attention! Similarly, every day our audience battles an information tsunami. Unfortunately, it multiplies our challenges as communicators: How do we grab eyeballs (attention)? How do we …
Lonely in Las Vegas?
What do you do when you are bumped off two flights and stuck in lonely, deserted Las Vegas airport overnight? Shoot a music video on your iPhone lip-syncing Celine Dion’s All By Myself to share with all your friends, of course! This is exactly what Dion super-fan Richard Dunn did and he was amazed when his video went viral with over 3.7 million views …
How would you like….?
“How would you like your hair cut?” a talkative barber asked a client. “In silence”, the man replied! This is one of the oldest recorded jokes, attributed to Roman times. Most people shy away from silence as it is awkward and scary. We often see silence as a vacuum that needs to be filled, quickly and furiously. Yet silence can also …
Emotion: Tapping the final frontier
The roar of the crowd watching football on a large-screen TV on Saturday immediately drew me into the cafe. And it wasn’t even my team playing! What makes sport such a spectacle to watch is the emotional rollercoaster it unleashes on players, fans and even unsuspecting passers-by. Could you imagine watching sport and feeling nothing? No emotion – that would …
The pit of despair – and the perils of getting out alive
On a recent Saturday run, I was feeling despondent. Here I was far behind the rest of my group, running alone. As adults we hate being bad at stuff. Especially in PUBLIC. My dark mood continued and at one point I wondered should I stop running, as I am not making much progress at all and it has been a year. My thoughts started …
Girls don’t like dinosaurs….
Find out how a leader shares a story to tap into unconscious bias.
You might be over him, but is Covey still relevant?
Is Covey relevant? Has his legacy stood the test of time? Read this post to find out…