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How do we spend most of our time communicating? The amount of time we spend communicating prepared presentations in a formal setting to groups of people is tiny compared to the amount of time we spend in informal, impromptu one to one discussions. The diagram below shows this graphically – most of our time is [...]

A series of tips and hints on energy and well-being taken from a new pocket book written by Gillian Burn, one of our expert trainers and a specialist in health and well-being. KEEPING HYDRATED The body loses two and a half litres of fluid in normal body functions daily. This needs replacing. Try and drink [...]

Most creativity techniques are concerned with forcing us out of our usual ways of looking at things. The lateral thinking techniques of Edward de Bono are typical. De Bono is renowned for his highly effective systematic approaches to generate alternative points of view. However, while the term that De Bono popularised, ‘lateral thinking’ is often [...]

3 Steps For Making Writing Easier Planning – professional writers often spend twice the amount of time planning comparted to non-professional writers. It is key – it helps the writer gather all their ideas and information and it helps stimulate creative thinking. Mind Map your ideas – allows you to put all your various associated [...]

Every day we are learning. Whether we are taking a qualification, studying a new client or assimilating the information in a report, learning is import. With the time constraints put upon us by business and personal lives the way we learn can be the differnence between make or break. The Pyramid of Learning Learning is a [...]

Types of Memory There are a number of distinct types of memory and a process by which long term memories are generated: Sensory Memory Information is gathered by our senses and sent to a sensory store Sensory store is distributed between different regions of the brain Data lasts for a fraction of a second Auditory [...]

Most of us start learning to read when we are very young. We also stop learning to read when we are very young! Which is fine if your lessons taught you how to read quickly and assimilate information efficiently. It is fine if your lessons got you into the habit of setting out your objectives [...]

Facts and Figures Absence costs British Industry over £10 billion per year (CBI Absence Survey data) A loss of around 192 million working days 3% working time lost Average of 7 days per employee in absence In an Industrial Society survey 9 out of 10 workplaces are affected by excessive stress Main causes of absence [...]

Look at your life and all its aspects and activities, and consider, one by one, reversing everything! This exercise will give you a fresh look at who you are and what you do, and will allow you to make changes where appropriate, and to leave things as they are when you realise they are satisfying [...]

The TEN keys to Accelerated Learning Give the BIG PICTURE first, then follow up with the details. Some people prefer to think in large-scale concepts while others prefer smaller parts which fit together. Involve POSITIVE emotions. Examples might include; fun, anticipation, excitement, wonder, challenge. Maintain RELAXED ATTENTION. Help learners to maintain a relaxed and resourceful [...]

We are all creative. It is self evident that some people are more naturally creative than others, but we are all capable of developing our creativity from whatever level it is currently at. Creativity is about seeing or making new connections. As Albert Szent-Gyorgy, the discoverer of Vitamin C put it, ‘Genius is seeing what [...]

A common problem for teams who work towards a common purpose but do different things for most or all of the time, is how to build co-operation and understanding across the team. Most enlightened team leaders recognise either explicitly or implicitly the unique and valuable contribution each team member is able to make. However, it [...]