Blog
I am ……. a runner
6 weeks ago I started on the Couch to 5k app, my goal to run a race for life this year. Yesterday after running for 25 minutes non stop my “coach” Michael Johnson declared ‘you can call yourself a runner now’! What a powerful statement to say to 55 year old me. In the...
Confident Communication – lessons from the Wizard of Oz
When it comes to talking about confident communication my favorite behavioural model is one which talks about balancing two things. Consideration for the wants and needs of others and the Courage to express your own wants and needs. Courage seems to be a very apt word...
Laugh your way to greater confidence
Do you laugh enough? As I am doing a comedy course at the moment, I laugh a lot. At myself, with the other people in the group and at the many comedians that I am watching and admiring on youtube and live locally. Laughter therapy is just that - it makes you feel...
The 6 stages of stepping out of your comfort zone
Over the last 3 months I have been on a stand up comedy course every Monday evening at the Midlands Arts Centre. Why on earth I hear you ask? Because the idea of doing a stand up routine in front of a group of people terrified me. To be "Limitless" I know I have to...
The Confidence to Say “I Like Myself”
Do you like yourself? A strange question for some people I have no doubt, but an important one! Why .... because I don't know that many people who would answer "Yes of course!". From the beautiful teenager who simply cant see how amazing she is to the retired friends...
Confidence and Age part 2 – Creating Confidence
In my last blog I explored the idea that at different times in our lives, our levels of confidence can vary. Creating confidence is all about harnessing the best parts of you, so that no matter what age you are you are able to convey a confident and limitless...
Confidence and Age – Are they linked?
People will often ask me about confidence and age. Does confidence develop with time, is there a point that our confidence starts to decline? Confidence may vary with age but growth certainly isn’t a straight line. There are some well publicised and quite worrying...
Can you be too Assertive?
Hands up who thinks you can be too assertive? If I asked this in one of my communications skills workshops I can be sure at least half of the group will agree. So what does too assertive look and sound like? Muffled responses, murmurs about shouting and pointing,...
Learning Something New Everday
A VIP in my life gets her 'A' level results this week. She has spent years learning something new every day and has astounded me at how hard she has worked in recent months to reach her goal of studying Economics at university. When she goes there she will start...
Woman of a Certain Age – I have never been more uncertain in my life!
I have noticed over the last 12 months or so that I have joined a new club. Its called the "women of a certain age" club. I dont know how I joined it, have no idea what the criteria was to join and to be honest I have no idea what age "a certain age" is !! The irony...
Building Confidence- Everyone has a role to play
Watching the new last night I was shocked that in the space of 5 minutes, two separate news stories highlighted to me how important it is to value others, building confidence in those around us. In a story about mistakes being made in breast screening, a woman in her...
Joke telling – lessons for confident communicators
I was driving to work today, pining for the comedy course I have just completed. It was fun, the group were amazing and it was great to have a reason to laugh on a daily basis. But what I realised this morning was how much I had learned from writing jokes that could...