The timing of difficult conversations is an essential skill within this activity. Whether you are a leader delivering bad news, or a new member of staff wishing to have a difficult conversation, picking the RIGHT time where the other person or people are focused is essential. In the last few weeks I have been reflecting on the impact of timing. More specifically the timing of bad news. Having difficult conversations is a challenge for any leader, but the timing could make it easier to manage the whole situation. And it could backfire if you get it wrong. I was prompted to write this topic fol ..read more

I am often asked how to engage your audience, whether you are sharing an opinion; presenting; pitching or even delivering a speech. There is a lot of noise around storytelling to connect with an audience. In the right context, this is a powerful – but not the only way to engage your audience or to make your message memorable. I am sure I am not the only person who has attended a conference where EVERY speaker has attempted to hook the audience’s attention with a story: some even starting with “When my grandfather was a boy….” . Some of these are effective; others – including a speaker who mana ..read more

Are you arranging International Women’s Day speakers – why not book keynote speaker Susan Heaton-Wright to inspire your audiences? Susan Heaton-Wright is an inspirational, international, motivational speaker. She empowers audiences to make more impact when speaking in all business conversations, so they are respected, valued and listened to. Women don’t need fixing: we’re doing really well. BUT there are small points that increase our impact. Susan shares essential tips to ensure you are making a positive impact. This year’s theme is Inspire INclusion. I believe this is a brilliant theme for ..read more

International Women’s Day 2024 campaign theme: #InspireInclusion For International Women’s Day 2024 and beyond, let’s Inspire Inclusion.This is the most brilliant theme. Inclusion is about including everyone – including women into decision making; participating in the world and not being excluded from conversations, living and being involved. Unfortunately some people consider that ‘inclusion’ is unfair: that individuals are given advantages. How many times have I heard “Oh they got that job because they had to tick the woman box” without respecting the credibility of this person and the ..read more

At the beginning of the year, there is so much to look forward to. In my case, there were lots of exciting plans in place in my calendar. But things aren’t always straight forward: you have to adapt to challenges thrown in your way and adjust accordingly. This is all part of being a business owner and although this is cliched, it does build you up. In January, I was waiting for my first appointment for a seriously damaged shoulder, when I slipped and fractured my wrist. I was in significant pain and only had use of one hand and no driving for months. But here’s the learning: reach out to your ..read more

One of the most interesting and rewarding things to do is to judge awards and her I have some tips on how to judge awards. e Earlier this year I was invited to be a judge for a speaking award. On previous years I had been a judge for preliminary, regional rounds of the competition but this year had the elevated position to be a judge with 2 other distinguished judges. Before the semi finals and finals started we discussed how we could independently judge the contestants and then compare notes, taking into account our own biases. In addition we discussed the criteria for the competition; there ..read more

Top 5 Tips from “Talking on Eggshells with Sam Horn” Podcast Episode: 1. Master the First 60 Seconds: When presenting or pitching, focus on getting people’s eyebrows up, winning respect, and generating buy-in. Craft a concise and attention-grabbing opening that highlights the issue and introduces your solution. Instead of faffing around, grab the attention of the audience from the word go; intrigue them; raise their curiosity; demonstrate why they should be interested. 2. Address Objections and Resistance: There are often occasions when people don’t agree with our opinion or what we have to o ..read more

How do you improve your influence in business conversations? How do you ensure others listen, value and respect your opinions? These are points we considered when creating the SuperStar Communicator 30 day plan, because we knew that many people want just this: to be able to influence others when they speak and communicate in business. Here are 5 ways you could improve your influence in business conversations: Be Prepared: if you know what you are going to say; have established the purpose of the conversation and are clear in your mind about what outcomes you desire, you will be perceived in ..read more

We are delighted to announce that the new SuperStar Communicator 30 Day Plan book is now available from Amazon in both hard format and on the Kindle. Here at SuperStar Communicator HQ we are all about supporting talented individuals to present the best version of themselves, so they are valued, listened to and respected. Our aim was to create an easy to use 30 day challenge, where you are set a specific communications related task every day. But it doesn’t end there. After you complete each task, you do some reflecting to consider the success of the task. The SuperStar Communicator 30 day pla ..read more

Here are 5 reasons why storytelling is useful in meetings. So often in meetings there is a sharing of data; opinions; complex information. Guess what happens? Even the brightest mind will wander. Our brains get very tired from the language heavy information. But our brains don’t like gaps in information and we replace this with what we thought we heard. If you ever attend a very complicated meeting, I will guarantee that everyone’s brain will switch off at some point. And everyone’s brain will fill that information with what they thought was discussed. If we were to ask everyone what was discu ..read more