A little story about learning to walk. 14865 kilometres from home. And how this can help you communicate well in your new job with new colleagues.

I was in a freakishly high top bunk bed in a shared room, even with sunglasses on, the seering white light of the afternoon bouncing off the pavements was blinding and I really was far, far away.

But the thing that freaked me out? Walking.

Great questions to develop rapport, the Dalai Lama telling it like it is and the mighty power of a handwritten card.

You know how it goes, your manager’s keen that you go to that networking event, get the word out about a new service and come back with a host of eager customers that want a follow up meeting.

But networking doesn’t quite work like that. It’s about creating connection, solid listening skills and being helpful to others. Here are real, practical ways to successfully network and be a good asset to others in your network.

It takes 1.6 seconds and reaches a speed of 48 kmh. And it takes a huge impact on the wrists. What am I talking about?

The 10 metre Olympic dives I’ve been mesmerised by. It’s quite something to look down from that height never mind dive from it. 

And it’s something else when the diver goes to the very edge of the board, turns around, stands on their hands, goes into a full handstand, and then pushes themselves into the air, twisting and turning as they speed towards the water.

How would you rate your influencing skills? And how good are you at influencing the influencers?

When you know how to do that well your career picks up pace. Meetings get more productive. Communication is easier. You start getting noticed for all of the right reasons.

In my 1 hour bitsesize workshop “Influencing the Influencers” I help you explore the different needs of your stakeholders.

“You can find out a lot about yourself up a chimney.” Did you know that the actor Bill Nighy comes from a long line of chimney sweeps?

Sometimes we can learn a lot about ourselves in unusual situations.

Before I went to university I worked for a few weeks in a warehouse. It was dark, there were hardly any windows and it felt a little like being trapped.

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 that time of year again. Communication skills are in the spotlight, entire evenings of public speaking, and winners connecting with their audience.

It’s award season, with a number of glitzy, glamorous TV and film ceremonies toasting the great and the good, applauding and awarding performance.

But what 24 things does award season and the annual performance review have in common?

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.

Maybe you’re wanting to make improvements in your life. Go for that promotion at work. Get a new job. And get more balance and control into your life. Or perhaps you want to develop your communication skills, be better at public speaking and raise your visibility at work and being heard and seen more.

When we communicate well, say what we mean and connect with others, it can do wonders for our reputation at work and boost our career prospects.

But where do you start? How do you know what exactly needs developed? Try this fun and creative exercise.

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 and meet your learners' needs? Try this approach to understand your learners’ personas and needs.

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 and some nods to a politician and a comedian who are brilliant at using 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, aren’t there? And when you’re a seven year-old girl, being an angel is pretty much the top of that list.

With dreams of floating about a stage in a delicate, white dress.

Except I didn’t get to be an angel in the school nativity play. But the role I did play taught me a whole bunch of communication lessons that have benefited my career in a way that flouncing about in a gorgeous white dress may not have.

Developing strong writing skills saves you time in the workplace and makes your audience happy. And a clear writer is often the sign of a clear thinker. Here’s one place you can read brilliant writing and one exercise that you can do to develop your writing muscle…

Big things in a small space. Mining meaning out of millions of minutes. A lifetime on a page. 

There’s a place where you can see brilliant writing. Often it’ll be about someone you never knew. And now sadly never will.

A website’s a place to announce things, isn’t it? And I’ve just done one small thing that’s made a big difference.

Chosen words to shape a message and get clearer about what I do and the benefits I bring to others.

Which leads me to this question and short exercise that you can do to strengthen your profile and raise your visibility to others…

Raising your visibility and value at work. Deepening your engagement with your clients and stakeholders. Developing more trust and connection with colleagues. These are big, bold asks. And you can improve all of them by doing this one thing. And, speaking from direct experience: not many people do this at all.

I used to work as a receptionist. A role that mostly gets ignored by folk. You’re in the background in many ways. Almost invisible, really. And not many people really talk to you.

But one person did.