That’s the uncomfortable truth at the heart of confirmation bias — the tendency to seek out, favour, and remember information that supports what we already believe, while quietly discounting anything that contradicts it. It happens to intelligent, well-intentioned people every day.
Make This the Year You Become a Confident and Persuasive Speaker There is a version of you that commands a room. That lands a message […]
In every workplace, on virtually any day, there will be one, six, ten, a hundred meetings and every one will be “led” by someone. Whether that person sees themselves as “chairing” the meeting or not, the other people do. And so every day throughout the world there are tens of thousands of people chairing meetings – it is perhaps the most common universal activity which occurs in workplaces in every part of the globe every working day.
Can Charisma Be Learned Charisma: The Invisible Force That Makes People Follow You Every so often you encounter a speaker who stops you in your […]
What is your organisation’s dress code really saying – and does it matter in today’s world? It started with a simple workplace disagreement: one team […]
Why do so many leaders reach the top without learning the skills of an effective speaker or presenter? It’s one of the genuine mysteries of […]
How many times should you practise your presentation when the stakes are high? Everyone knows you should practise before you present. But when the stakes […]
Here’s how the traffic light system works: at the end of a meeting, ask every person present to rate it – green for “this meeting was a good use of my time,” amber for “mixed – some value, some waste,” red for “I could have been better employed elsewhere.”Rank your agenda items by priority to improve your meetings
When a husband and wife serve on the same committee, is that a governance problem? Nepotism? It’s a question that comes up regularly in community […]
Design and delivery are both crucial components in making a presentations powerful and effective
Every piece of music has a drummer setting the pace. It’s the same in meetings and it is not necessarily the chair. Who’s the drummer in your meetings?
There are the two words which determine whether you move forward, stay still or move backwards? Are you a “yes, but” person or a “yes, […]
Decisive leaders are admired and respected. They gather a following where, as the saying goes, people will walk over broken glass for them.
Imagine if your meetings ran in half the time. What would that do to productivity?
The brain doesn’t think in words. It thinks in pictures. And pictures are created in our brains by metaphors. There are metaphors everywhere. We just need to notice them.
It takes drastic change and a willingness to change to create effective meetings. But it can be done. Move some items to outside the meeting and efficiency can skyrocket.
I’m waiting on a parcel today. I’m genuinely looking forward to what’s inside. But here’s the thing — if the delivery fails, if it ends up at the wrong address, arrives damaged, or simply doesn’t show up at all, it doesn’t matter what’s in it. The contents become irrelevant, because I never received them.
That’s the relationship between content and delivery in a presentation.
Presence – the elusive quality
A few years ago the term psychological safety would never have been used ain a discussion about meetings. Now it’s an essential part of every meeting whether it is spoken about or not.
Leading a meeting and playing chess are strategically similar Would you like to lead a meeting as strategically as Beth Harmon plays chess? Would you […]
Virtually every meeting can take less time than it does. There are simple strategies that shorten the meeting and make it better.
The way an organisation looks at time can be very telling. Few businesses in my experience, look at time, through the customer’s eyes. Managing time is more important than you may think
Robert’s Rules of Order is one of the most frequently cited and least understood procedural frameworks you’ll encounter — particularly in Australian meetings
Adding a bit of formality has the potential to improve your meetings – but you have to do it in the right way. It needs a really good chair. Don’t be put off by the nay sayers. Formality on your meetings can be biggest productivity boost you could apply.
The biggest barrier to better meetings, is the boss, or chair, who wan’t consider another approach. They to get out of the way and let other people with new ideas have a trial meeting – you may be surprised at what happens.
If you ask this question, chances are no-one will know, or there will be a range of answers from the boss, the PA the minute taker, or most commonly – Fairy GodMother. And that’s the problem. No-one knows whose job description says “organising meetings”
Ever been in a situation where a very insistent person does not agree with how a meeting is heading and refuses to accept the will of the majority? Their tactic is to keep asking questions that are designed to rattle the group so the discussion and decisions go their way. An external impartial chair can manage this.
Here’s something I’ve learned after decades on the speaking circuit: speaking opportunities don’t wait for you to feel ready. They knock, and they knock quickly.
The ability to communicate clearly and confidently isn’t a professional advantage. It’s a professional necessity. And yet the single most common thing I hear from people who’ve missed opportunities — who turned down the invitation to present, who said no to the speaking request, who declined the chance to lead the room — is some version of “I didn’t feel ready yet.”
Leaders who see their role as to serve the meeting are always admired an respected. They run effective meetings which generate huge results
Most committee members are honest, hardworking people giving their time freely for a cause they believe in. After decades of consulting with community groups, boards, and not-for-profits, I know this to be true with confidence.
Do you know how to smell a rat?