By signing up to our emails, you will also be the first to know when we publish educational articles and new podcasts.
Please see our privacy policy.
It’s easy to unsubscribe anytime.
You never know who is about to walk into the room
It is said you have around seven seconds to make a first impression. A thoroughly rehearsed few lines that come off as robotic and unnatural will not achieve this and will come across stilted and awkward. But knowing exactly what you need to communicate the key information in a short space of time, and having a number of ways you can do this flexibly and instinctively, will give you the edge and make you memorable.
There’s more in you than you think
The senior school I went to has a motto: ‘Plus est en vous’ or ‘there’s more in you’. It’s a statement that comes to my mind most days. During challenging times, if I am doubting myself or if things are going well, this motto grounds me and inspires me to deliver...
Practice makes Perfect…or does it?
Practice gives us potential – it makes us adaptable, resilient, and able to deliver a top-quality performance, regardless of any obstacles that come our way.
The true cost of working remotely
Thankfully the days of lockdown are long gone, and our freedom has returned. But many of the ‘emergency’ procedures we put in place when we had no other choice have remained.
What does this mean for business? In the simplest terms, everything is taking longer and as a result opportunities are being missed.
Looking Ahead to more Success!
Reflection is essential before effectively planning for the future and as I look back over 2022 and what we as a business achieved, I feel proud, motivated and excited about what 2023 has in store. We had a busy year behind the scenes improving our digital platforms...
Managing the effects of adrenaline when presenting
For 75% of the population, it is a fear of public speaking. Here are a few thoughts on how to manage the effects of adrenaline
Inclusive communication is crucial to #BreakTheBias
Inclusive communication is crucial to create a more inclusive workplace. Here are five tips to help you achieve this.
Preparing for a Job Interview Presentation
Do you need to prepare for a job interview presentation? It is a crucial part of the process. Make sure you are getting it right.
Answering Interview Questions
It can be difficult when you are put on the spot answering interview questions, here are some tips to combat this.
Preparing for a Question and Answer Session
Download Our Q&A Tip PDF Imagine cooking a sensational meal and then serving it on paper plates and using the kids plastic cutlery to save on the washing. It might still taste great (and you are doing your bit for the environment) but a vital part of any...
Making Visual Presentations work for you
Research has shown that an excellent visual presentation can significantly improve the retention of information and ensure a far better experience for your audience if it is delivered well. Source - PropelGrowth There are many different visual aids and software...
Speech Writing – Finding the right words
A lot of my time is spent supporting people on the technical side of communication; the pace of a speech, managing non-verbal communication, maximising silence, among many other areas. However, one of the most critical aspects that people often dismiss when speech...
How To Improve Public Speaking – Script or No-Script
The majority of my job is advising clients on how to improve public speaking. My advice is always predicated on being yourself, but that’s easier said than done when you’re in the heat of the moment and the adrenaline starts to flow.
Four public speaking techniques from the best
Just as the top sportspeople and finest actors make it look easy, so the world’s most inspiring speakers have a calmness and a flow that keeps us captivated. However, as with anyone who's successfully mastered their craft, the hard work that goes into the final...
Finding Confidence With Assertive Behaviour
Assertiveness, to some, comes with negative connotations, and it shouldn’t. There is nothing wrong with being assertive; it is a crucial trait of great leaders, as long as it doesn’t stray into aggression.
The Fundamentals Of An Investment Elevator Pitch
We speak at 130-140 words per minute. If those 60 seconds are an investor elevator pitch, make those words count.
We help you perfect the fundamentals and include the key elements you require.
Negotiation Pitfalls – how to avoid them
Negotiation should be a positive experience for both parties and ultimately, a win-win for both sides. However, when I deliver Negotiation training, I often find clients falling into the same pitfalls that result in a poor result for them or the people they’re...
Negotiation Skills – all about win-win
Negotiating isn’t easy but it doesn’t need to be difficult. There are a number of techniques and tips that can help remove many of the challenges. We deliver a number of training sessions on this. Find out how to achieve a win-win.
Tell Me About Your Background
There was a time when I’d ask clients this question and the answer required a thumbnail sketch of their career so far. Nowadays, it leads to an entirely different discussion. As we all present and pitch online, the time you have to capture the attention of the...
The Presentation Tips You Need To Succeed
For many people, giving a presentation is not easy. Doesn't matter if you are presenting virtually or in person. Some are comfortable standing in front of a crowd, clicker in hand, attempting to impart a message. However, comfort doesn't necessarily mean competency. I...
Public Speaking Tips To Overcome Your Fear
I am regularly asked for public speaking tips from the people I work with. Often people have built up such a fear of public speaking they are convinced they will never be able to do it. The good news is that anyone can become a good public speaker with the right advice and some hard work. Find out how…
How to be more assertive at work
I am regularly asked ‘how to be more assertive at work’. It is not easy for many people, but it is well within everyone’s ability to change their approach and find that confidence with the right approach.
We have developed a number of sessions that will help you overcome your problems with confidence and start making positive moves at work.
How to improve communication skills as a leader
Successful leadership and excellent, effective communication go hand in hand, but how do you improve your communication skills if your message isn't getting through? One does not exist without the other. I’m often drafted in to support leaders looking to improve their...
Converge 2020: Inside Innovation
I couldn’t be more thrilled to have been involved in Converge again this year! This annual event – now in its 10th year – showcases the best ground-breaking business ideas from Scottish universities. When Covid- 19 struck, the Converge team hit the ground running and...
Video Conferencing Etiquette – A Simple Guide to Best Practice
Detached yet connected, with no rule book or established etiquette, online calls can feel like a professional and personal minefield. The following simple guidelines will help you to present yourself as professionally as possible. Treat your call as you would treat a...
CivTech® 4.0: Solve a challenge, build a business
I'm delighted to be working with the Scottish Government's Digital Directorate again. The CivTech® Programme brings together public sector expertise and private sector creativity to deliver significant benefits to public services. More challenges than ever were...
9 Workshops, 4.5 Days, 54×60 Second Pitches…
9 workshops, 4.5 days, 54 x 60-second pitches... phew! EIE20 is set to be an amazing event. Over the past couple of weeks, I have worked with up to 60 innovative tech companies from ICT, Life Sciences and Energy Sectors to prepare them for the main event: EIE20 on...
Entrepreneurs of the Future at Broughton Primary School
What a privilege it was to work with P7 pupils at Broughton Primary School in December. The young entrepreneurs were working towards presenting their own inventions and ideas at a Dragons' Den event organised by staff at the school. I worked with the pupils to create...
EIE19 Films: Every Second Counts
It's great to be able to see the films from EIE19 60-second pitches! Every single one nailed the timing and lots of fantastic meetings and conversations were started as a result. Congratulations to every company that took part - I look forward to your continued growth...
Prepare to get Pitch Fit
"A champion is not made when they succeed; a champion is made when you look back at the seconds, minutes, hours, days, weeks and months they have spent preparing." Eluid Kipchoge - Kenyan long-distance runner and 2016 Olympic marathon gold medallist. The levels of...
More Than A Day – EIE19
The McEwan Hall, Edinburgh was last week's venue for Informatics Ventures' showcase event EIE19. Since its inception, EIE has provided a platform for 400 tech startups and spinouts who have raised in excess of £650 million in funding - a mind-blowing sum! I worked...
University of St Andrews
This month I was delighted to work with the University of St Andrews in the Centre for Academic, Professional and Organisational Development. I presented a workshop as part of the University's Professional Skills Curriculum which aims to strengthen the employability...
CivTech® 3.0 Demo Day: Putting our Public Services in Scotland firmly on the map in terms of world-class innovation.
February saw CivTech® 3.0 Demo Day continuing to grow: 11 dynamic companies presented their innovative solutions to key business challenges set by public sector organisations in front of a 500-strong audience. Alexander Holt, Head of the CivTech® Programme emphasised...
Scotland CAN DO
'Scotland CAN DO is our shared statement of intent towards becoming a world-leading entrepreneurial and innovative nation: a CAN DO place for business.' I am delighted to be involved with Signature Events taking place during the CAN DO Fest in Spring 2019. Read more...
MIT Entrepreneurship Development Programme 2019
When HIE approached me about this year's MIT EDP, I was thrilled to be involved. For the second year, I am providing two x one-to-one coaching sessions in Pitching and Presenting Skills via Skype to all applicants who have been shortlisted for interview. Following...
Developing the Young Workforce
As part of our continuing partnership with Developing the Young Workforce, I was involved in a session at Earlston High School in the Scottish Borders. I ran a session on communicating with confidence with eight S6 students. The aim was to help them think about how...
Perfecting Your Elevator Pitch
I recently worked with TalentSpark, the Start-Up Recruitment Specialists in Scotland, to produce a short guide to pitching. I hope that you find it interesting! You can read more from TalentSpark.
HIE Entrepreneurial Academy Workshops
I am delighted to be involved with a series of free workshops aimed at boosting business skills in the North of Scotland. Highlands and Islands Entrepreneurial Academy will be running workshops on skills such as Sales, Branding, Digital Media. The programme is...
Converge Challenge Top 30 Showcase to Business Leaders
I was thrilled to be involved in training this year’s Converge Challenge Top 30. Launched in 2011, Converge Challenge is a high-profile company creation competition and entrepreneurship development programme for staff, students and recent graduates of Scottish...
Prepare to Step Out of your Comfort Zone
Do you find yourself considering whether it’s time to climb the career ladder or look for a new job? Perhaps you are thinking of ways to bring in new clients or want to get out there and pitch your business to new investors or at a funding competition? We constantly...
Countdown to EIE18
I am delighted to be working with Informatics Ventures again this month to prepare the companies participating in EIE18 for their elevator pitches. February saw 8 intensive, interactive workshops where I worked with the 60 companies who will be pitching for seed to...
CivTech® 2.0 Demo Day: Embedding Innovation within the Public Sector
CivTech® 2.0 from the Scottish Government’s Digital Directorate launched in May 2017 with a series of Public Sector Challenges ranging from remote visitor monitoring at historic sites to outpatient re-design and a unique system to combat bird of prey...
Scottish EDGE 11
My warmest congratulations go to Dianne Teo of T30 Fitness Training and Jack Ng of Sansible Wearables on their success at the Scottish EDGE final last week. Their outstanding pitches won them £50k each to expand on their business plans! I have worked closely with...
RICS Success for APC Candidates
Many congratulations to the successful APC candidates who I worked within the Autumn! I was delighted to hear of the five candidates' success, four from Galbraith and one from Bell Ingram. Both firms maintain an excellent pass rate. I ran a half-day session...
Stateside Success for Scottish Startups
Highlands and Islands Enterprise is sponsoring 4 places on the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Entrepreneur Development Programme in January 2018, a week-long, high level, intensive executive education course teaching skills for high impact entrepreneurship...
Making IT Work For Women
I was delighted to lead a session this week at Making IT Work For Women. The event, presented by Informatics Ventures and Women's Enterprise Scotland, was the inaugural annual summit on female participation and thought leadership in the fast-growing tech industry....
Novosound wins Converge Challenge 2017
Huge congratulations go to Dave Hughes, founder and CTO of Novosound on winning Converge Challenge 2017! Dave was presented with his prize, which includes £50,000 cash and £28,500 worth of business support, by Scotland’s First Minister at the Converge Challenge Awards...
Are you Pitch Fit?
"A champion is not made when they succeed; a champion is made when you look back at the seconds, minutes, hours, days, weeks and months they have spent preparing." Eluid Kipchoge - Kenyan long-distance runner and 2016 Olympic marathon gold medallist. The levels...
Busy Start to the New Season
We have hit the ground running this month with workshops both north and south of the border for Scottish Enterprise, CivTech, Citi, London Business School, Royal Society of Edinburgh, SmartestEnergy, Bell Ingram, Galbraith…phew! Great variety and always a pleasure to...
Turtle Pack scoops £110,000 at Scottish EDGE!
My warmest congratulations go to Michael Harkins, creator of the alternative swimming aid Turtle Pack, on his huge success at the Scottish EDGE final last week. Michael’s outstanding pitch won him the top prize of £100k and to put the icing on the cake, Turtle Pack...
Smart Thinking at SmartestEnergy!
I have greatly enjoyed working with SmartestEnergy over the past couple of months. With 170 employees and offices in London, Glasgow and Ipswich, SmartestEnergy is the UK’s leading purchaser of independent generation and supplier of 100% renewable energy. In April, I...
EIE17: What An Event!
“Seeing an event of this size in Edinburgh is mind-blowing,” Duncan Logan, Founder & CEO of RocketSpace and keynote speaker at EIE17. May saw the culmination of months of planning, preparing and training for Scotland’s largest technology investor showcase: EIE17....
Impressive Results from Converge Challenge
I have been involved with Converge Challenge for some time now and have always been impressed at the ambitious, innovative talent that is harnessed, developed and supported at all stages. A recent report by BiGGAR Economics has independently assessed the impact of...
Most Promising New Business of the Year 2017
My congratulations go to Paula Fox of Nixvis Ltd who I worked with at RSE in the autumn. Earlier this month, Paula was awarded winner of Most Promising New Business of the Year 2017 at the Women Ahead Business Awards. The WABA highlight the ‘hard work, vision and...
RICS Exam Candidates Pass with Flying Colours
My congratulations go to all 5 RICS APC candidates who I worked with towards the end of 2016. In a stressful exam, consisting of a lengthy presentation followed by 45 minutes of questions from the panel, it is vital that candidates feel fully prepared, confident and...
‘This could transform Scotland…’
11th January saw the long-awaited CivTech Demo Day with nine teams revealing their products for the first time. Each team presented for 10 minutes, explained the public sector challenge they were set and how they have harnessed technology to solve it. I was involved...
EIE Boot Camp
2 intensive days… Day 1 lasted 13 hours…with 58 companies…all wanting 1-1 having had a couple of 90-minute workshops on how to build and deliver their elevator pitch to investors. It must be EIE17 Boot Camp! January saw work commencing in earnest for EIE17. With 60...
EIE 17
Preparations for EIE17 are now well underway. I will be working with 70 companies to build a top quality 1 minute elevator pitch. High expectations and high pressure! I’m looking forward to next week’s boot camp when we can really get to work! More information at...
Pitching Skills at CivTech
The CivTech programme started in November. It’s great to work with young companies providing innovative solutions and open thinking to create attractive propositions for the public sector. The programme I ran with them leads towards the Demo Day this month where the...
Scottish EDGE Round 9 Final Success!
So excited to offer my congratulations to Amiqus Resolution Ltd who was one of the winners of the Scottish EDGE final! I worked with Callum, the founder, on his semi-final and final pitch and I look forward to seeing Amiqus go from strength to strength!
EIT Digital Challenge 2016
I had a great time working with the finalists of EIT Digital Challenge 2016 at the end of November. The Challenge invites digital start-ups from all across Europe to compete against each other in 5 categories: Digital Cities, Finance, Industry, Infrastructure and...
Spark and Rocket Success
Really delighted for Michael Tougher from Spark and Rocket who is a winner in Round 9 of The Scottish Edge Wild Card. 22 companies applied and he is one of the 12 winners and in the top 3 to secure up to £10k in grant funding. I have worked with Michael on his...
Daring New Programme
I’m delighted to announce that we won the contract to run Pitching and Presentation Skills Workshops for CivTech. CivTech is a pilot accelerator programme being run by the Scottish Government with a mission to harness new technologies to drive daring and innovation in...
Converge Challenge 2016: From Strength to Strength
This year’s Converge Challenge has been it's most successful to date with over 17 Scottish Universities represented and some 212 applications! It is a privilege to be a part of such an innovative project and to witness the progress, growth and development of the...