There’s now less than 5 weeks until Christmas and at the end of the year your personal learning budget vanishes as quickly as a plate of gingerbread cookies.

Which means it’s use it or lose it time.

Are any of these 5 things as jolly as Santa’s chuckle, as sweet as a Christmas pudding or as magical as flying reindeer? And all of them can improve your career and get you ahead.

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.

Disclaimer - you can probably guess which side of the fence I’m on with that one… but read on. Have you ever shared a career challenge like this with AI?

Dear ChatGPT, it’s me again…I’ve had a heck of a week and, yes, I know it’s only Wednesday. Can you help?  I'm struggling with three deadlines that are getting increasingly close and one of those involves that presentation to a client who I think I’ve mentioned to you before, you know the one that always looks at me like I’m a bit slow.

I’ve a presentation to deliver tomorrow afternoon to senior management that I haven’t even started to look at yet but it’s hey, only 5 minutes…. so I can probably just wing it, can’t I?

How do you know your stakeholder relationships are strong? How do you know that your colleagues value your skills? How do you know that your communication skills are supporting your career and not creating stress – for yourselves and others?

And wouldn’t it be great if there was a simple way to check this out? Well, it turns out there is!

Welcome to the Power Audit. Here’s how you do it.

Tom Jones, Bryan Ferry and KT Tunstall. What do they have in common?

How can this help your career and get you noticed for all the right reasons? And how can it help you be a brilliant facilitator that brings people together?

If you’re anything like me you’ve been to a number of concerts. Live music is special, isn’t it? That energy in the room. Hairs on the back of the neck stuff. And yet it can be a very different experience. And for me, that's down to how good the performer's facilitation skills are.

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.

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…

I recently replaced a relic of an old phone. And spoke with someone who’s customer care and communication skills were off the charts. But it was one thing that he did which really impressed me.

And it’s a skill that goes a long way in developing rapport and trust with others. And we all love it when someone uses this skill with us.

Here’s what he did.

Emotional triggers. Grinning madly. Then welling up moments later. Giving a crap about something. Excitement. Every minute dripping with glamour. A few laughs.

There’s one show on the telly right now that's nailing all of these.

Mainly because of the range of emotions it manages and creates and the sheer excitement it can pack into a couple of hours.

I played a lot of badminton as a kid at school, regional and national level. And there’s one golden rule my coaches drilled in to me that improved my game and can improve your relationships with stakeholders.

You’ll stand out as a better listener and someone who has focus and attention.

Here’s how…

When we’re vulnerable and open up, it increases our ability to connect with people. It develops trust. And strengthens relationships.

And yet it can be safer to be neutral and not attract too much attention to ourselves.

Here’s what a tin of white paint and a recent networking event taught me about opening up to others.