Most organisations have a leadership development programme, whether it is a comprehensive system of training or an informal process. However, only a fraction of these companies will consider their programmes truly effective at developing their employees to the desired levels. Despite the willingness of individuals to progress and build skills to enhance their capacity and performance within a company, unless ...

At some point in your life you will be criticised, perhaps in a professional way. Sometimes it will be difficult to accept – but that all depends on your reaction. You can either use criticism in a positive way to improve, or in a negative way that can lower your self-esteem and cause stress, anger or even aggression. To deal ...

How often have you needed to persuade others to do something? It’s a situation that arises almost every day, whether it’s getting your teenager to tidy their room, or your preschooler to get dressed, or a colleague to attend a meeting on your behalf. Some people seem to be able to do it effortlessly, and almost without anyone noticing, whereas ...

Looking after a new baby can be very daunting. You have a small being totally dependent on you for everything. Fortunately, new babies, although demanding, have fairly limited needs. Learn to address those needs and both you and the baby will be just fine. The most important thing to remember is that with small babies, there is no difference between ...

Pregnancy is supposed to be a really positive time in any woman’s life. Unfortunately, for many people, this just is not the case. From morning sickness to anaemia and tiredness, pregnancy affects your health, and it affects some people much more than others. Common Ailments During Pregnancy Morning Sickness Everyone knows, or thinks they know, about morning sickness. Sadly, though, ...

Do you think that: Making your writing complicated will impress your readers? Inflated vocabulary and convoluted sentence structures will make you look clever? Seven words or phrases are better than one? Lots of abbreviations, jargon and all the latest management buzzwords are required? Or do you just want to use lots of words to fill up that word count?   ...

Many applications for jobs, college, school or university places, require candidates to submit a personal statement. For some people, this may be the first time that they have ever had to write anything like this, and it can feel like a daunting prospect. What should you include? What should you not include? And how do you promote yourself without seeming ...

In the course of your career, as well as in other times of your life, you may well be asked to take the minutes of a meeting. You may even be asked to take on a formal role as secretary to a group or organisation, whether voluntary or as a paid position. In this capacity it is essential that you ...

The use of gender-neutral language may seem unnecessary to some writers.  However, the consistent use of masculine pronouns provides an impression that women are excluded from the group to which the writer is referring. While some may respond that the masculine pronouns “he” and “his” refer to men and women both, the impression that matters is that of the reader ...

A press release is a document sent to the media, Used to explain the message you or your organization wishes to convey. Think about the audience you’re writing for and focus on the key information you need to put out a press release, This is very important. Why a Press Release? The aim of a press release is to get ...