Round 2 of the Brexit talks got under way officially on 2nd March1, with the discussions no longer about the ‘divorce’ but about the deal/s that will exist between the UK and the EU after 31st December 2020. This time things feel very different. The posturing in the media started somewhat earlier with both sides […]
“speak up” articles archive
Breaking down the breakdown of communication
March 27, 2020
There is a quote in our business often attributed to George Bernard Shaw: ‘the single biggest problem in communication is the illusion that it has taken place.’ Whilst running a presentation skills workshop earlier this week I found myself saying something that I have brought up many times before: a key part of our job […]
Striking the Balance
March 27, 2020
If you can, in these turbulent times, cast your mind back to a time when you were going about your normal, daily routine. It’s likely that, at some point over the last month or two, you were on public transport; a train, a bus or the tube. An aeroplane, perhaps. There was probably more than […]
Long live the telephone, the modern saviour
March 27, 2020
‘The telephone gives us the happiness of being together yet safely apart.’1 Mason Cooley. How apt just now… We’re not sure about all of you, but within two weeks we have entirely switched from face-to-face to communicating by phone and video conference. Emails of course continue, but there seems to be a sense of boredom […]
‘They that have the voice of lions’… and of lionesses
March 27, 2020
Shakespeare’s Cressida1 refers us to an animal admired for its authoritative ‘voice’. Both male and female lions deploy ‘very loud and low-frequency vocalization’2 to communicate effectively over long distances. While lion cubs, by contrast, make quieter, higher-pitched sounds. These cub vocalisations carry much less authority, and less distance – partly to reduce the threat level […]
