Point Taken

Reflecting on A Christmas Carol: A Timeless Reminder for Today

This past weekend, I watched A Christmas Carol, and it struck me how relevant Charles Dickens’ classic story remains today. On the surface, it’s a tale of ghosts and redemption, but at its heart, it’s a powerful story about accountability and the transformative decision to cha... Read More

COMMUNICATION AND PRESENTATION COURSES FOR ONBOARDING TECHNICAL PEOPLE WHO ARE NEW TO SALES / BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT ROLE:

YOU HAVE A NEW SALES TEAM FOR YOUR TECHNICAL PRODUCT – YOU NEED TO IMPOVES SALES AND YOU’RE CONSIDERING TRAINING – BUT YOU’VE READ THAT MOST COURSES TEACHING SALES SKILLS WILL FAIL TO DELIVER SUSTAINED RESULTS, AND YOU WORRY EVEN IF YOU FIND A GOOD TRAINER, THEY WILL STRUGGE ... Read More

CLEAR COMMUNICATION IN THE AGE OF DISTRACTION: A GUIDE TO PRESENTING ONLINE VIA POPULAR VIDEO CONFERENCING APPS!

Love them or loathe them, Video conferencing and messaging apps like Teams and Zoom look set to remain as part of our work lives for the foreseeable future. With everything from job interviews to board level presentations now likely to include an online component. We look at some of the pros and con... Read More

How to use empathy to get more from your team and improve workplace communication.

Empathy is fundamental to building strong, trusting professional relationships. What more could you be doing to manage your team with greater compassion and understanding in order to improve communication, increase productivity and minimise loss of team morale? In my job as an elocution teacher and... Read More

I'm scared of heights!! That is my phobia.

I’m scared of heights!!! That’s my phobia!! My heart beats out of my chest, my body shakes and I let the negative thoughts in that tell me I can’t do it and that I am going to fail or worse still fall off this cliff and plunge to my death. But rather than let those fee... Read More

Nailing that first interview - 10 tips for coming across well in job interviews.

You might think you are the perfect candidate for the job, and, chances are, if you have reached the interview stage, your future employer thinks you are too. On paper at any rate. But, there’s a big difference between selling yourself on paper, and selling yourself to a roomful of executives.... Read More

Why do we get nervous? - 10 tips for channelling and conquering nerves

Blame the cavemen.Ever heard of ‘fight or flight’, the body’s age-old response to danger? Evolutionary biologists believe that when primitive man was faced with a perceived threat, such as the approach of a wild animal, his limbic system (which is part of the midbrain) immediately ... Read More

Class might be dead, but accent snobbery sure ainâ€™t! - We explore the enduring popularity of the Queenâ€™s English and discover why your accent can still make or break your career.

The cut glass inflection of 1940s spoken English was once de rigueur for all who wished to convey a notion of intelligence, influence, status and wealth. It was the accent of education and enlightenment, of pomp and politics, and it was as delightfully and quintessentially English as cricket, Crufts... Read More

I don't know what to do with my hands!!!

The most nerve wracking thing about getting up in front of an audience can often be what to do with our bodies and most importantly our arms and hands. Here is some of my advice. 1. Know your material and practice over and over again. I know it can feel odd practicing out loud to an empty room but... Read More

Professional women â€“ how to fight the confidence recession

It’s a fact: Women have lower confidence and self-esteem in the workplace than men. As a professional, high-achieving woman, how can you to fight against the status quo and ensure that fear of public speaking, presenting, networking and boardroom debate doesn’t curb your potential? It&rs... Read More

Benefits of learning online.

I remember as a little girl going to lots of different clubs, and every evening Mum or Dad would ferry my sister, my brother and me to the deepest, darkest corners of Cambridgeshire for piano lessons, drama clubs and French lessons, to name a few. The winter was always the worst time. Leaving the h... Read More

The benefits of learning Phonetics

Phonetics: /fÉ™ÊŠËˆnÉ›tÉªks/ relates to speech sounds and their production. I made the decision early in my career as an elocution teacher to teach all of my students phonetics because I strongly believe that it is vital to improving the strength of your speech. I teach phonetics not o... Read More

The history of Modern English. Why is English so damn hard?

“I knew you would see the ewe by the trough under the bough of the yew tree as you rode on the road through Worcestershire.” For a native English speaker, reading this sentence aloud (not allowed!) will create few problems. For everyone else, it demonstrates just how tricky the mother t... Read More

Is technology killing conversation?

According to Ofcom’s 2015 Communications Market Report, we as Britons now spend an average of almost two hours a day on our smart phones (1 hr 54 minutes) in addition to an hour on laptops or PCs (1 hr 9 minutes), while we spend a whopping three hours and forty minutes in front of the televisi... Read More

What leaves me speechless

Well, I have done it! I have completed my first 10k race; something I thought I would never be able to do. I have always liked to keep fit, but running was never part of my programme. People would always tell me how good it was for me, and every time I tried it I would lose weight, which was great.... Read More

Be brave, your comfort blanket will always be there.

By definition confidence is: ‘Belief in oneself and one's powers or abilities; self-confidence; self-reliance; assurance’. Most people are great at giving advice to others about having more confidence, seizing the moment and being brave in a situation. When it comes to taking that advic... Read More

From drama student to elocution teacher

For as long as I could remember I had wanted to be an actress. I am not ashamed to admit that I love to be the centre of attention and always have done. I was a regular at the local drama club and studied acting throughout secondary school and sixth form. At 18, I made the decision to go to drama sc... Read More

Cambridgeshire Elocution Blog