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.

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…

Communication skills coaching has a lot to do with gardening. Are you after a brilliant pot plant, a section of your garden looking stunning or do you want the whole package: landscaping the lot, to create a wow factor among your colleagues and the leadership?

What I am talking about? Well, it all started when I went to the garden centre at the weekend. And it swallowed me whole.

It’s where, in addition to 15 other indoor and outdoor plants,  I picked up Chamaedorea Elegans, which sounds like a posh sexually transmitted disease but isn’t.

Here’s my third and final post on how to manage your inner critic, and today it’s all about changing the tune that you listen to.

Imagine the scene.

Something’s happened and you’re not happy about what you said or did. And in your head the “Ballad of Regret” is playing big time.

D’you know that voice in your head? Recently, I posted the first way to manage that. Here’s a second way you can tame the voice if it’s getting a bit big for its boots and all bossy and judgy with you. And it’s to do with having good manners.

Using this technique lets you create distance between you and your thoughts. And puts in a bit of a boundary.

And why’s that important?

Your inner critic. The sh*tty committee. Fred. Or perhaps Tabitha. Do you have a name for the voice in your head?

I’m going to share 3 ways of managing that voice, and this is the first of those articles.

This first method is to check in with yourself.