The key to being able to give and receive effective feedback is to create a psychologically safe environment at work where people feel accepted and respected. Amy Edmondson (Harvard University) describes a psychologically safe environment as “one exuding a sense of confidence that the team will not embarrass, reject or punish someone for speaking up”. It takes courage to speak …
6 Tips To Help You Take Care Of Your Speaking Voice
If you were competing in a sport or playing a musical instrument or singing on stage you would take care of your body and your instrument. You would do this by warming up and stretching your muscles or by practicing beforehand in the warm up room or by fine tuning your instrument (guitar, violin etc). Opera singers warm up their …
6 Tips To Deal With Stage Fright
Stage fright is a normal occurrence experienced by a lot of people when placed in front of an audience. In fact, 90% of people feel nervous or extremely nervous before speaking up. Stage fright and fear of public speaking can also make you tremble and shake, feel dizzy, have increased heart rate, turn bright red and sweat profusely. These experiences …
Keeping Assertiveness Simple
Are you assertive enough to become a confident and effective leader? One of the most valuable traits of an effective and respected leader is being able to communicate assertively and confidently. An assertive leader is not afraid to speak up, to disagree, say no and participate in difficult conversations. Assertiveness Communication Tips Although assertive communication is such a critical and …
Courage Alone Is Not Enough
We all know the importance of conquering our fears, having the courage to speak up, doing the things we need to do and “Feel the Fear and Do It Anyway”©. And courage is often put forward as the antidote or remedy to help you overcome fears. “If I am courageous, then the fear will be gone!” What is courage? Indeed, …
Be Wary Of Unsolicited Feedback
“Feedback is the food of champions” Ken Blanchard Feedback is how we learn, grow, become more self-aware and find out if we have done a good job or not. It shouldn’t be something to avoid or to be scared of. Most often, it is the fear of not doing a great job, negative criticism or being judged that gives …






