Speak First Blog | Personal Effectiveness
Stress: is it always a bad thing?
Are you stressed out? Have you noticed that people usually mention about stress as a passive term nowadays? For example, we may say, “I’m so stressed” or “I’m stressed out about all the work I have ...
Read more10 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 ...
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 ...
7 secrets of making a positive first impression
“You never get a second chance to make a first impression.” This might be a bit of a cliché, but it’s repeated so often because it’s true. People make a lot of assumptions and judgements about a ...
Handling email overload
Your inbox rarely takes a break. In our increasingly connected world, where you’re always expected to be contactable, how can you stay on top of your emails without it feeling like climbing Everest ...
6 Steps to Developing Personal Effectiveness
Every day, it’s the same old story – everyone has too much to do and not enough time to do it. So how are you supposed to achieve your goals when you can only just stay on top of the urgent tasks? ...
Delegating - how can you do it effectively?
As the calm of the summer break becomes a distant memory, I’ve already started to find myself going ‘I wish I had someone else who could pick up some of this work’.
Refusing requests – saying ‘No’
At Speak First the summer break is well and truly over. For those of you who work in L&D and HR you’ll no doubt be gearing up for a very busy autumn period and the pressure that can come with that. ...
‘Dead Fish’ or ‘Bone Crusher’ – What Does Your Handshake Say About You?
Everybody’s talking about Donald Trump’s handshake. Because it’s often the only time in business we touch another person, the handshake is a crucial element in making a positive impression. Here are ...
Get Some Work Done! – 10 Killer Tips for Taming your Procrastination
Do you suffer from procrastination? Do you put things off? Do you start but then get stuck? Is procrastination holding you back from achieving what you want? Try these tried and tested ...