Oxygen tanks and sherpas. Blisters and stunning views. The endless cycle of one foot in front of another. My husband and I recently went mountain climbing. And didn’t experience any of these.

But we did go to a place we’ve never been before. And saw sights we’d never seen.

You may have heard of where we went.

It’s been 3 months. I’m sitting staring at a wall. This isn’t working. It’s really not. It’s gone from being a nagging feeling following me around to something much bigger.

Now it’s time to talk to someone about it. And I’m about to develop my communication skills in a way I never thought I would be doing…

Many months before during my free time when not teaching, I’d been sitting at my dining room table in an Italian village, reading through brochures, sifting through pages, and filling in application after application.

It’s that time of year again when Christmas presents get gingerly peeled open, assaulted with total abandon or unwrapped with business-like efficiency.

How people unwrap their gifts, unwraps their preferred learning style.

Which style are you? And if you’re creating and delivering learning, whether it’s on top leadership skills or improving communication skills, what can you do to cater for these learning styles?

Using pauses in your public speaking can be your best friend. It can be one of the most effective ways to improve your communication skills. Here are three ways to use them.

Barack Obama uses them all the time. Eddie Izzard is a master. His brilliant Death Star saga is both a masterpiece of storytelling and pauses as God, Darth Vader and catering manager, Mr Stevens fight it out over the penne arrabbiata.

It’s coming up for Christmas and so it’s that time of year: The school nativity play.

Now, there are the favourite parts that everyone wants. And when you’re a 7-year-old girl, you want to be an angel. Except I didn’t get to be an angel.

But here’s what I did get: the chance to develop communication skills and public speaking.