Speak First Blog
We're not your average training and coaching consultancy. Speak First has been helping organisations like yours to become more successful and more profitable for more than 30 years. We’re one of a handful companies specialising in communication and management training that’s able to deliver consistently around the world – using expert local trainers to adapt the content to the local culture.
9 steps to avoiding death by powerpoint
Since its release all the way back in 1987, PowerPoint has transformed and defined how we give presentations. If you’ve been asked to give a report in a meeting, a speech at a conference or a pitch ...
Read moreA conversation with... Ester UYS, CEO of The Cape Flats Youth Development Programme
Ester Uys has spent many years as a social worker, working with some of the most at-risk children in Cape Town Flats in South Africa. In January 2017, she established the Cape Flats Youth Development ...
6 Steps to building your self-confidence
Eleanor Roosevelt, the former First Lady of the United States, once said that “No one can make you feel inferior without your consent,” and she was right, in theory. With enough practice, you can be ...
What our Animals mean
If you’ve spent any amount of time on our website, you’ll be aware of Speak First’s Animal Quiz. In short, the test asks you to select a number of words or phrases that match how you tend to act and ...
5 tips for networking with purpose at your next event
Networking events come in all shapes and sizes. There are casual evenings with drinks and there are formal meals; breakfasts, lunches and dinners; art galleries, conference halls and cocktail bars. ...
How to deliver bad news
In life and in business, at some point you will have to deliver bad news to someone. Perhaps you’re announcing lay-offs, you’ve lost a major client, or the office has to move. Sometimes the news ...
Using different styles of training for different audiences
Workplace learning has an interesting role to fill. Its purpose is to educate and help people with their personal development, but in large organisations one course or learning solution often needs ...
10 ways to become emotionally resilient
When we’re faced with setbacks in our lives, it can be hard to know how to get over the resulting feelings of disappointment, shame or fear and to keep moving forwards. In both our professional and ...
5 tips for managing communication to lead successful change
“The riskiest thing we can do is just maintain the status quo.” – Bob Iger, Disney CEO.
10 reasons you might find it hard to say 'no'
It’s never nice to hear the word ‘no’. It represents everything from rejection, to failure to missing out. Sometimes it comes as a surprise and sometimes it’s expected, but it’s rarely the answer ...