Storytelling: Beyond the buzzword pt2

iStock_franckreporter_storytelling_campfire_0

Fiona Quigley concludes her piece on why telling stories is such an effective part of corporate learning strategy. Why do people engage with a story? Storytelling is essentially about making meaning. As we listen to or read others’ stories, we integrate our own experience by trying to connect the stories to something we already know. […]

Storytelling: Beyond the buzzword

iStock_franckreporter_storytelling_campfire

Fiona Quigley explains why telling stories is such an effective part of corporate learning strategy. So we’ve all been telling stories for ages and ages – it’s part of the human condition, right? It is, and storytelling as a ‘thing’ has become popularised in all areas of society and in business. In the last few years, […]

Email Frenzy – Professional email etiquette

default-16x9

“I know that you understand what you think I said, but I am not sure you realize that what you heard is not what I meant” RICHARD NIXON According to the Radicati Group an estimated 183 billion emails are sent every day. That’s around 2 million emails every second sent by 1.2 billion email Users! […]

11 top tips for good coaching

iStock_GrahamMoore999_Amp_11

The sports world would never be without their top coaches, and neither should we. Here Gary Cattermole advises businesses of his top tips to coaching. Preparation is key The coach needs to understand what the business wants to gain from the sessions, as well as what the member of staff wants to gain. It may […]

20 Reasons Why people should join us – a recruitment interviewer’s toolkit

default-16x9

Starting my human resources career in a supermarket, a wily manage, George, said to me: "Remember, Bryan, if they're any good be a salesman". He was referring to interviewing candidates for jobs in the store. The supermarket was based in a rough area of London where a couple of C.S.E. s was applauded. High labour […]

Five communication errors we all make

iStock_Photodjo_communication

Sometimes to solve a problem it's just a simple matter of good communication. Paul Russell gives us a quick guide to communicating well.  Most of us consider ourselves great communicators. After all we communicate all day long through email, telephone, social media channels and blogs – we live in the communications age, don’t we? But did you […]

Assertive Skills: The Art of Saying No

default-16x9

Most people don’t want to get a reputation for being difficult or uncooperative.   Yet there are times when, for your own well-being and ultimately, the well-being of your colleagues and company, you have to be able to say “no”. The way we look at it at Impact Factory is that saying ‘no’ is all […]

The 4D human being – development with a difference

Photodisc_Thinkstock_skeleton

Tom Bruno-Magdich and Philippa Waller talks us through the concept of the 4D Human Being. ‘If you plan on being anything less than you are capable of being, you will probably be unhappy all the days of your life.’ Abraham Maslow Most of us would agree that we want to feel fulfilled. We want to know […]

How to open your presentation with impact

iStock_Thinkstock_microphone_presentation

Struggling with that crucial opening to your talk? Lyn Roseaman has a few words of advice. Whether you are delivering training or pitching for the business – when you stand up and speak you need your opening lines to make an impact. Research has shown that the first 90 seconds of any speech have the most […]

Caring as a career: The changing face of apprenticeships in the Early Years Sector

iStock_Thinkstock_Childcare

Fay Gibbin, training manager at Busy Bees Training offers her advice on recent developments, options available and what to expect from apprenticeships in childcare. There are fewer career choices more rewarding, or challenging, than childcare. Your daily activities revolve around the wellbeing and development of future generations, and the part you play in their early […]

L&D news round-up: 15 Jan

Darko_Novakovic_Hemera_Thinkstock_newspapers_14

Here it is ! It’s this week’s new stories. The Cost And Benefits Of Career Coaching – Business 2 Community Continuous professional development: Take your coaching further – British Cycling Scots are biggest HR pay winners – CIPD Dr. Seuss And The HR Certification Crisis – Forbes Engineering skills gap could cost economy £27bn – The Yorkshire Post Campaign […]

Triggering behavioural change with bite-size video

iStock_Thinkstock_eaten_apple

Bite-sized videos offer a new way to inspire people to change their behaviour, says Martin Addison. Just because you understand how you’re supposed to react in a certain situation, it doesn’t necessarily mean you’ll behave that way when the situation arises. This is a crucial distinction because it means that the goal of management, leadership […]

Assessing Performance – the devil is in the detail

default-16x9

For many organisations, the annual performance review is just around the corner. This can be a formidable challenge for over-stressed managers with little time to complete the appraisal process. Assessing performance creates difficulties in getting the Appraiser and Appraisee to see ‘eye to eye’. When done right, the result can be a motivating experience for […]

Seven soft skills that every leader should develop

iStock_thinkstock_red_seven

Kelly Smith dishes out seven key soft leadership skills that make for great success in management. Business prowess and the ability to command and lead have for a long time been associated with efficient management and leadership, but big changes are on the way. Together with various transitions in business, management is also changing to […]

The importance of personal presence

iStock_Thinkstock_red_pencil

Whether you run a multinational or are about to make a crucial presentation, having a strong personal presence will ensure you are seen, heard, heard of and remembered for all the right reasons, says Sylvia Baldock. We have all come across people who possess a strong personal presence. They ooze confidence, appear comfortable in their […]

TrainingZone interviews: Your Impact’s Sue Gilkes

Hemera_Thinkstock_dictaphone_interview_11

**SPONSORED CONTENT** We chat to Sue Gilkes to find out exactly what ‘social engineering’ means and how businesses can ensure their data is kept secure. You’re spending a lot of time on ‘social engineering’ at Your Impact at the moment. Give us a brief explanation of what it is. It would be easier to understand if […]

Funnelling Technique in Interviewing

default-16x9

Any type of interview is an opportunity to get information. The funnelling technique is a communication process to help ensure: – the right type of questions are asked – detailed responses are given – accurate notes of the responses are captured "Who questions much, shall learn much, and retain much" FRANCIS BACON Funnelling is a 3 […]

Insight: Graduate recruiters rank soft skills above technical ability

459428699

Soft skills such as communication and confidence are more important to graduate employers than technical knowledge, according to a new report. The survey by training company Kaplan found that employers recruiting graduates value softer employability skills, including being a team player and being analytical, more than technical abilities. In fact, technical knowledge ranked 24th in […]

Questioning the TED way

default-16x9

Being able to ask good quality open questions is an essential skill in all jobs – from a manager helping a staff member with a performance issue through to a customer services assistant diagnosing a customer service problem. (I wish somebody would tell radio interviewers this when they persist in posing closed or leading questions!) […]

It’s time L&D took its own medicine

Photodisc_thinkstock_cough_medicine

L&D people need to learn the skills they help other people learn, says Teresa Ewington. So a recent survey said that 2014 was the year L&D wanted to work on their own skills and innovate more. There were lots of other conclusions, but these two stood out to me. L&D people create tons of learning […]