Blog

Here you’ll find inspiration and practical advice all focused on your communication skills development, managing public speaking anxiety, improving your confidence in the workplace, developing effective leadership skills, knowing how best to find a new role or career, learning how to get promoted and understanding your strengths, skills and values.

Your audience loves it when you do this

Lying, relaxing floating on a blissful cloud with an “Oooh” and an “Ahhhhhhh.” Versus, lying with every muscle taught waiting for the moment when there’s pain followed by a series of sharp intakes of breath.

There’s a street in Amsterdam which has a gorgeous, nurturing massage place next door to a waxing shop. I’m not making this up. I’m wondering how that works.

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audience, engagement, public speaking Mica Allan audience, engagement, public speaking Mica Allan

Why you should know your audience

What are you doing to meet your audiences’ needs? How would you rate your connection with them? And what happens when you don’t get them and they don’t get you?

The short answer is that you look a bit daft and it teaches you to laugh at yourself. Here are two occasions when I did not do my homework about who was sitting in front of me.

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engagement, humour, learning design, training Mica Allan engagement, humour, learning design, training Mica Allan

Ten top tips on how to get more humour into learning and development

“That was a slow shuffle through hell – let’s do this again” said no-one ever. Are you a facilitator, teacher or trainer? Here’s how to use laughter to look after people’s energy and, equally importantly, your own.

Learning doesn't always have to be so serious. Here's how to get more engagement, more focus, more fun and more oomph into learning programmes and go from yuck to yay.

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Learning and development lessons from Spiderman - Part 3, Values

Spiderman keeps his identity secret in order to protect those he cares about, he learns how to develop his newly found superpowers and he meters out justice with a certain discipline. Spiderman has values.

This is the third and final blog about my reflections on the recent conference I attended, Brave New Learning, in Amsterdam. Here, I explore values and how two young women used peer led projects and community engagement to make a real difference through education.

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Ten top tips for public speaking

We are all public speakers. Whether it’s show and tell at school, being put on the spot at work to “just say a few words” or facing a sea of expectant faces from a stage. Here are ten top tips to help you.

It covers a range of topics from storytelling to the power of pauses, and why clarity, editing and learning the needs of your audience are your best friends when you’re preparing what you’re going to say.

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