Thoughts & Insights

The opposing sides of the House of Commons face each other across a strip of carpet two rapier lengths wide. When you stand at the dispatch box, you realise it looks a lot bigger on the telly. There was a time when MPs had a full dressing-up box to reflect their...

At the risk of being called Luddites, whenever a client asks us to teach them how to use technology to enhance their speaking, we tend to start with 'What to do when the technology fails, as it most assuredly will at some point.' So you won't be surprised to learn...

Everyone hates meetings, except for the people who make meetings hateful for others. That's not fair is it? But at PS Programmes, we took inspiration from the Christmas season, and realised that meetings in 2014 have the potential to be a really good game of Monopoly...

One of the challenges of a blog like this is that in commentating on a story in the news, we run the risk of walking a well-worn path, and the mere mention of 'Tom Daley' puts us in mind not so much of a path as a six-lane motorway. But if we take a moment to pull off...

'Always learn from your mistakes,' my dad would say, before adding: 'unless they are expensive, in which case learn from someone else's.' If you are speaking or presenting, it can be valuable to watch someone else do it. Obviously if they are excellent, you can pick...

In the world of communication, it can be tempting to think that the message received is the same one that you transmitted. When David Cameron announced this week that austerity was here to stay, some applauded the belt tightening. Others felt that he should have...

It isn't often that we come across a really good quote, from someone who is quoted a lot, that we hadn't heard before - an occupational hazard of seeing motivational speakers on an almost daily basis - but it happens occasionally. Allow yourself a feeling of...

Success Stories: 3 themes We are naturally drawn to successful people. But what is success? We were at the CMI (Chartered Management Institute) conference last week, doing the on-stage links between successful people talking to the audience, and it was hard to pin...

A tote bag designed to look like Mrs Thatcher's favourite handbag was the must-have accessory for men and women alike at the Conservative Party Conference this year, and, like the pint of milk left among the floral tributes outside her home when she died, it seemed a...

The Liberal Democrats are in Glasgow having their annual party conference - which means that for the next few weeks, each political party will enjoy some time in the glare of the media spotlight. It's an attractive proposition for a party: get a room, fill it with...

There is a good reason why certain people get invites by the van-load to events from awards to book launches. Any enterprise that needs a bit of publicity to work will chase the participation of a small number of people who will guarantee column inches, and an even...