They smile. Laugh. Scrunch up their eyes a bit as they think. "Wow. That was fun, Mica!” This is the answer. But what’s the question? The question is “What’s it like to work with me?”

One of the ways I work with clients is through doing a series of communication skills exercises. They’re short and snappy. And – the important bit – they get results.

My clients get promoted. They take on new, big pieces of work that would have scared them before. Their words are more fluent, natural, and calm in those important meetings. So, what exactly happens in a coaching session when we do these communication skills exercises?

That meeting. You know. The tricky one. Here's how to manage that. With some tips taken from swimming in cold water….

A few times a week I go to a local outdoor pool. They say it’s heated and I think it was probably was - shortly after the last Ice Age.

And so getting in the pool as you can imagine is quite the experience.

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.

Picture the scene: you’re at the top of the table. Sitting around you are people from different departments and organisations, and they all know their stuff. They’ve got facts and figures at their fingertips.

They’re looking to you to run the meeting. And you’re looking to put your public speaking tips into action to impress. What do you do?

Read on a for a simple check list of what to do to chair and facilitate a meeting effectively.