Articles and News

Neuro-Linguistic Programming or NLP is an approach to psychotherapy which encourages people to actively use the mind, body and emotions to run their life more successfully, and communicate with others in an enhanced and extraordinary manner. It is said that becoming skilled in NLP will allow you to:
- Achieve better success at things you already [...]

Sensory memory and short-term memory work in cooperation in order to help the brain store information for later recall. When information is first received by means of one of the five senses (sight, hearing, taste, touch, and smell), it is retained for a very brief period of time in the sensory registers. The amount of [...]

Employee engagement and motivation are vital for any business to thrive. An engaged employee will be willing to work harder for your company and is less likely to leave. According to Scarlett Surveys, “Employee engagement is a measurable degree of an employee’s positive or negative emotional attachment to their job, which profoundly influences their [...]

Every business needs engaged and motivated employees in order to thrive. All business managers know that employees who are motivated are less likely to have time off for stress related issues, are likely to be vastly more productive and less likely to resign and move on. Something that can prove difficult is empowering employees to [...]

This article is written by the developers of the PassionWorks!™ engagement model. PassionWorks!™ is at the heart of our Employee Engagement and Passionate Leadership courses. It is based on in-depth research into the nature and components of passion – or engagement – at work. That research led directly to a new definition of passion at [...]

To open up an interesting conversation with your team and to check-in on each person’s PassionFlow!™ (PF) as well as the overall team’s PF, try the following activity:

Draw our PassionWorks!™ Model on a flipchart.
Next, ask each person to think about what phase they think the team is in, predominantly. What is the primary phase at [...]

It has long been recognised that a certain amount of challenge is a good thing. This is true in both the business and academic worlds. Challenges serve the useful function of motivating workers and learners to strive for excellence. This leads to such positive behaviours as time management, developing new levels of efficiency, and delegating [...]

It is no coincidence that students just beginning to learn to read are offered short, simple sentences of only two or three words each. This practice reflects the general understanding that the level of complexity inherent in a piece of writing will affect the reader’s ability to understand it.

The ability to write in an informative and authoritative manner is vital for businesses. The advent of such sites as Twitter with its 140-character limit, promotes writing that is immediate, brief, and somewhat informal. In this ‘Twitter Age’, much business writing has been influenced by this brevity, which can sometimes lead to cut corners and [...]

Many of us in the business world are required to make presentations, whether we are delivering to a customer or colleagues.
We may also feel that verbal communication skills are not one of our best attributes, it is something that you will be required to think quickly about and use on-the-spot. It is easy for us [...]

Spontaneous speaking is an essential skill for leaders, managers and front line staff who want to engage their audiences.
Say the right thing at the right time… speak off the cuff… improvise… we can’t help but admire those who have the ability to be spontaneous – and rightly so. If you want to become [...]

Talking to your boss, a colleague or customer…
Creating a podcast…
Being interviewed…

Good verbal communication skills are important in business, so that you can communicate effectively with people in a wide variety of situations. In some cases you may be dealing with people in other countries, people with different cultures, varying ages and with different levels [...]

WARNING: This article contains the top 3 ways to avoid creative thinking!
Clive Lewis, Founder and Managing Director of Illumine Training looks into this very important, but widely ignored subject from the perspective of a senior manager and business leader.
I looked at the first question above and was reminded of the single question, two hour philosophy [...]

Stop for a moment and consider the most successful companies of the last 50 years. Do you know what made them successful? Their employees and the fact that the company heads tapped into the creative thinking of those working for them. The more you use the talent at your disposal, the better your company will [...]

Need to bolster your creativity? It’s easy if, first, you remember that creative thinking and creativity isn’t the preserve of the marketing team or the R&D department and, second, you learn, develop and practice the appropriate thinking techniques. And here are some of the key techniques on offer:
1.Edward de Bono’s Six Thinking Hats® approach
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Many companies today engage in personal and employee development. This helps give them a competitive edge in the business world and it ensures that their employees handle themselves in a professional manner at all times. It is important that employees show that they are empathetic to the needs of their peers and customers, are self-aware, [...]

Is mind mapping a serious business tool? Anthony Landale reports on a technique that is easy to use across a range of business requirements, challenges and tasks.

The nature of perception itself depends on one’s view of the world. Some people believe in a theory known as strong direct realism, which holds that our perceptions are generally accurate. The broad representative theory, in contrast, teaches that what we see and hear in the physical world is only understood through a filter consisting [...]

This philosophical question has been debated by some of the world’s greatest thinkers. Jean Paul Sartre, for example, argued that an individual’s personal development could be limited by other people as they act in ways that interfere with a learner’s ability to absorb and retain information. This scenario, however, only suggests that humans may fail [...]

…caused by incomplete knowledge and skills…or disengaged people

Inefficiency in your organisation could appear in the form of constant running around without reaching a decision. It could be colleagues without the necessary skills or confidence to do their own work, or colleagues who are not [...]