The Low Down on Slogans
The art of assonance adds poetic rhythm and medial rhyme to the words that you use. Unlike alliteration when the reader is aware at the start that there is a […]
Every step you take …
So how do you emulate the shoe retailer, Clarke’s superb strapline – “enjoy every step”? It is not easy – your strapline needs to convey a combination of customer awareness; […]
Want v. Need
Don’t think, because people might need what you want to sell, that they will want to buy. Being needy is not attractive and none of us wants to feel unattractive. […]
Name of the Game
Recently, I came across Alison from JoJo Maman Bébé with thanks to Val Down and Jane Buswell. Alison is a four wheel driver, with a husband in finance in the city. […]
Perception V Reality
In his book ‘How to Win Friends and Influence People’, the late Dale Carnegie tells the story of Two Gun Crowley. This is a man who was sent to the […]
Back of an Envelope
It’s another of those quirky idioms. It refers to a quick and dirty calculation jotted on a scrap of paper. However quick and dirty, the impact is only achieved if […]
Keep it Simple Stupid
A cliché symbolised by the mnemonic KISS. I have always found the phase slightly insulting. What is so stupid about keeping things simple? Or is it saying that if you […]
What’s in a Word?
Improving our word repertoire gives flavour to speeches and presentations. Whilst we don’t want to use jargon or words that are incomprehensible, elaborating our vocabulary can improve the listener’s enjoyment […]
Fancy that!
I have just received one of those round robin emails; which … I have thought is worth sharing. Count every “F” in the following text: FINISHED FILES ARE THE RESULT […]
Two Tribes go to War – Personal Musings
Over the last year, I’ve taken to writing myself letters. I am heading into a time of life that I flippantly refer to as the mental pause. This has something […]
No Go Sligo :0(
Last May, I spent a weekend in Cirencester with 200 people that I had never met before. I know it seems odd! The Friday evening buffet was a fancy dress […]
Orchidaceae
Here’s hoping that I am out the other side of a blog block period! It’s been going on for a couple of months now. It’s not that I don’t have […]
Dungeons and Dragons
Many, many years ago – 22 to be exact I played Dungeons and Dragons down the pub with a bunch of Debenhams colleagues for the best part of a year, […]
Our Loss; God’s Gain – Eulogy
Heaven won’t know what hit it last night! The Passionate PA has left us wanting. Sarah Howells died this afternoon after a short but courageous and public fight with breast, […]
In the Air Tonight – Brand Recognition
It is possible you can learn a lot about communicating by checking out some of the big brand success stories. We receive somewhere in the region of 3000 commercial messages […]
Information Booklets
Writing a series of information booklets that can be downloaded from your website is a great way to gather contact data for target consumers of your product or service, especially […]
The Knowledge Economy
Knowledge is very powerful. It is the single most important asset the country owns at the moment. It differentiates the UK from most other trading nations. The majority of businesses […]
Little White Lies
I can’t make my mind up about little white lies. So I thought I’d open it up for public debate! You see, I think that deceit has a strong tendency to […]
Four Hugs a Day – leadership
You need four hugs a day just to start feeling good! Indeed the moment you feel an all embracing hug you can’t help but smile – you really can’t. It’s […]
Love Letters
I have been thinking about love letters this week; a lot, and wondering if they are a dying art. I wrote and received love letters when I was a teenager […]
The Games We Play
It is often said that body language plays a huge part in conveying the feeling behind what we are communicating. This is followed, not closely but, by tone of voice. […]
What’s in a name?
Valery Coburn gave a wonderful seven minute Toastmasters speech on how important your name is. Her take on this was that your given full name was very powerful in terms […]
Perfect for Blog Unblocking – Personal Musings
It’s a tiny bay situated on the Southcoast betwixt Crowlink and Beachy Head. Nestled between the third and fourth of the Seven Sisters, Birling Gap was once a smugglers cove, […]
Slippery Paws – a Toastmasters Speech (6)
There once was a fox and a wolf that set up cave with one another, half way up a steep cliff near to the seashore. Although this may seem odd, […]
Postscrips from Sir Benfro
You have got to listen to this whilst reading this post! Have a nice day by the Welsh band Sterophonics … http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1rPe0BtYvTA I have just returned from a long weekend […]
Just Ask – Strategic networking
Actually – it isn’t that simple, is it? I do think you need to consider whether, what you are asking, is something other people can answer. I am an active […]
The Point of NO Return
If only I could learn to say the word no …. I mean; how hard can it be? no, no, nO, No, no, no, nO, no, no, no, no, no, no, […]
Brilliant is the New Black
Back in Black Those of you who don’t know what I do for a living, I run the ‘brilliant’ BusinessXchange programme. I have been referring this Business Link service with […]
Ladies who Lunch
Now you need to know that I am on holiday this week so you must allow me a little leeway in my thought meanderings on this little idiom. This stopping […]
Out of the Blue with Blisters!
I had a weekend planned for interest factor. A family wedding took me to Glasgow but in a city that ‘doesn’t sleep’ I didn’t think it right to miss out […]
Going nowhere slowly
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZTXJfOd3qv4&feature=related “There is nothing wrong with going nowhere babe, but we should be going nowhere fast!” Love this line. This is partly because I have no vision. I really don’t […]
