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Two questions for busy event organisers
We jokingly called them the “Croissant Department” at Microsoft. The Events Team put on dozens of conferences each month. They were stunningly good at their job. Real legends of the industry. But occasionally even they got caught up in the event management hamster wheel, churning out events because someone wanted an event, not because that…
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How to Rehearse Like a Pro
The Speaker Awards took place in London, UK, last week. This year I was Head Judge, and proudly presented some awards and hosted a quick-fire ‘Ask The Expert’ session. The topic I chose to explore with my fellow speakers: “How to Rehearse Like A Pro” The advice I’m sharing here is relevant to anyone who…
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Adventures in Improvisation for a Keynote Speaker
I’ve been learning improvisation skills for a couple of years now. I find it helps me become a better speaker by developing my performance muscles, but also tests me in ways that motivational speaking sometimes cannot. In simple terms, improv helps me ‘be in the moment’, surviving on my wits. It’s a country mile away…
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Millican’s Law – you’re not as bad (or good) as you think
Recently, I was helping a client think about the pros and cons of failure. I invited them to imagine a world without failure: it would be a dull, predictable, unchanging place. Failure rocks! But some people still view ‘failure’ as something to avoid, not promote. This is silly, because being open to try (and potentially…
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Change is Inevitable
Did anyone say it better than John C Maxwell? “Change is inevitable. Growth is optional.” Change, whether or not you like it, will happen. Just as sh*t happens. And most change in your life will be for the better. That’s how the world moves forwards towards better times. Without change, you’d be staring at your…
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How to be more curious
Curiosity is an essential step in the ReadyAlready cycle that helps busy people rapidly develop a Future Ready Mindset. It’s also a skill that some humans excel at, but that computers find virtually impossible to master. Even the most advanced artificial intelligence (AI) tools struggle to show humanlike curiosity. And perhaps they never will. For…
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Go for the quick wins
I love a quick win. Who doesn’t? Compared to those tiring, drawn-out, long-term successes, quick wins seem to have everything in their favour. I’m a big fan. In fact, I don’t know why we even have slow wins anymore. Except I do. Slow wins are usually just the culmination of lots of quick wins. Those…
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Embrace your Inner Idiot
We’re all flawed. None of us are perfect. And I was reminded of this while reading Pippa Evans’ excellent book ‘Improv Your Life.’ Towards the end of the book, Pippa shares a “post-revelation poem” entitled ‘The Glorious Idiot,’ where she lays bare the realisation that it’s OK to be yourself. For reasons I cannot fully…
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Is future-proofing a magic trick?
I sometimes meet people at conferences and events who are frustrated in their job, but confident working life will soon be a lot easier . They talk about improvements that are coming, new IT systems or simpler processes that will eliminate many of their daily struggles. Work will be smoother, better, more fun. The business…
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How to book a motivational speaker
Booking a motivational speaker for a business conference or industry event can be a nerve-wracking task. You don’t want to make a mistake by booking a clown who can barely string a sentence together (unless a mute clown is what you’re really after), nor do you want to spend over the odds to hire a…
