Archive for the ‘Communication’ Category

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How loud is your Leadership Vuvuzela?

Wednesday, July 7th, 2010

 

Indigo’s Robin Ryde is delivering his renowned Thought Leadership workshop in London today. Through a combination of years of research and natural flair for business insight, Robin is at the forefront of the leadership discipline.

If you have watched any of the world cup in South Africa (or any news programme!), you would of heard the Vuvazela in all its glory. Reports tell us it reaches 127 decibels – louder than a chainsaw. And, most significantly, much louder than the human voice.

You are probably asking yourself – how does the Vuvuzela relate to leadership?  Well, during the Thought Leadership workshop Robin talks about one of the fundamental principles of leadership: amplification.   Some leaders do not realise the power and affect their words and actions have on others in their organisation. Because of their position, everything they do is amplified and then analysed.  This is especially true in times of uncertainty.  This amplification effect is not always fully understood.  But to be a great leader you need to embrace it and use it effectively.

So how, as a leader, do you make sure your words and actions make the right impact?  Robin’s workshop gives you practical tools for taking your team on the journey with you. He teaches you to be a leader who can walk into a room, guide their team with their thinking and then leave the room with everyone feeling stronger, more positive and energised to achieve their shared purpose.

To find out how loud your personal Vuvuzela is and to discuss how to engage your team’s hearts and minds, please contact Indigo’s James Arnum-White, on 020 7924 8760.

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If you are looking for Leadership Development?   See Robin’s brand new workshop “The A-Z of Leadership” - CLICK HERE FOR DETAILS

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What is the secret to writing success? Indigo’s writing expert, Richard Spencer, spills the beans…

Tuesday, June 8th, 2010

An exciting mix of private and public sector clients have gathered at Indigo’s 2-day Writing Dynamics™ workshop in London. Everyone at the event is there to improve their written documents. The great news is that they are in the right place with the right person. Their Trainer, Richard Spencer, is Indigo’s writing guru.

Richard writes for some of the world’s biggest and highest profile companies, including Volkswagen, BT and the Hay Group.

I stole a moment of Richard’s time during a workshop break and set about unlocking the mystery around his award winning writing skills:

So Richard, tell me the secret to your writing success.

“There is no secret recipe. It is actually very simple. Effective planning and knowing your audience is the key to effective and insightful business writing. As a professional writer, I spend 40% of my time planning before putting pen to paper or fingers to keyboard”

Why is planning so important?

“Effective planning saves you time and ensures your key messages are understood and, most importantly, remembered. It allows creativity to flow and overcomes writer’s block. When you reach the drafting stage, you can then focus your attention on using powerful language rather than getting caught up in re-structuring the document”

And how does Indigo’s Writing Dynamics™ help?

“Writing Dynamics is a hugely practical workshop. It breaks the writing process down into three distinct stages – planning, drafting and editing. Delegates are given practical tools and techniques at each stage. Most importantly, delegates can apply their new skills the moment they step back into the workplace. That is why Writing Dynamics™ is a global phenomenon”

If you are interested in finding out more about Indigo’s public and in-house writing training, please contact us now.

James Arnum-White
020 7924 8760

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Mastering Skills

Thursday, April 15th, 2010

Watching the Masters golf over the weekend, and putting aside the Tiger Woods controversy, I was fascinated with the precision of the player’s shots.  When going for the hole, they are hitting the ball the length of a football pitch or further, AND getting within inches of their target.  This is a very visual demonstration of the application of skill.

So what is skill? One excellent definition is:  “the learned ability to consistently bring about a pre-determined result”

Implanting this definition into the business world and thinking about Indigo’s range of training workshops, I want to focus you on the key words in this sentence:

  1. LEARNED – Yes there is natural talent at play, but you acquire new skills by breaking down the sets of behaviours that make up that skill and learning how to apply it for yourself. Have you seen a great communicator or creative person at work and thought – how can I learn to be like that?
  2. CONSISTENTLY – At the heart of consistency is practice. Without it, you will never be able to re-produce your best on a regular basis. When you have your moments of brilliance are you ever left asking – why can’t I do that all of the time?
  3. PRE-DETERMINED – Luck… there is only one type when it comes to skill – Labour Under Correct Knowledge. When was the last time you got asked a question and wish you were better prepared to respond with more precision and persuasion?

Indigo’s workshops are extremely practical and based on years of combined Business Leader experience. They help you master the skills of:

  • Creativity – have ideas “on demand” that solve your personal and business problems and help you generate new opportunities.
  • Communication – deliver precise, powerful and persuasive business communication that gets your message heard.
  • Project delivery – get things outside your normal day job done. The successful delivery of projects gets you noticed and is often a fast-track to career success.

Call a member of the Indigo team now to hear how you can master these skills for career progression and recognition.

Tel: +44(0) 20 7924 8760, or e-mail info@indigobusiness.co.uk

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Posted in Communication, Creative Thinking, Edward de Bono, Project and Programme Management | No Comments »

Think on Your Feet - LIVE!

Wednesday, March 3rd, 2010

 

I note with interest the move toward the upcoming UK election debate being televised for the first time.  (See http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/8545991.stm for more details.)

 

For those who have attended our Think on Your Feet® workshop – this will no doubt amuse you somewhat.  This is public recognition that it is not what you say, but the way that you say it - something we discuss on the workshop!

 

Put simply - you don’t get a second chance to make a first impression; so techniques that allow you to deliver powerful, concise, impactful messages are essential - in politics, business and your personal life.

 

For many people uninterested in politics, this way of viewing candidates may lead to people voting for the politicians communication skills – not their policies.  So for a masterclass in Think on Your Feet® plans in action, watch the debate to see Think on Your Feet® LIVE!    

Robert

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To find out more about Think on Your Feet - CLICK HERE 

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ROI with ROEye

Tuesday, September 29th, 2009

Clients are telling us that Return On Investment (ROI) is the primary consideration when making any strategic decision. And rightly so in these turbulent times. Whether in the private, public or charitable sector competition is fierce. Each pound spent needs to deliver for the organisation and its customers.

The importance is magnified when looking at training your team. Indigo’s workshops are very practical, meaning measurable, tangible results that you can see. Here are just a few examples:

• Shorter meetings (by up to 75%).
• New ideas that reduce costs and increase value.
• Clearer written documents that are quicker to write and read.

Put simply, Indigo’s workshops create ROEye, so you can clearly see your ROI. Find out more by setting up a meeting with one of our experienced organisational consultants.

James (Arnum-White)
Consultant.

jamesaw@indigobusiness.co.uk

020 7924 8760

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Posted in Communication, Creative Thinking, Edward de Bono | No Comments »

Thanks for your inspiration Stephanie; Personal. Team & Organisational development

Friday, September 18th, 2009

My Indigo colleague and friend, Stephanie Butland is coming to the end of her ‘dance with cancer’.  To celebrate, she organised a party for friends and family at stunning Warren House in Kingston-upon-Thames.  I was lucky enough to be invited and attended on Sunday evening.  It was a fantastic event in beautiful surroundings.  Thanks Stephanie.  Your strength, determination and positivity are a personal inspiration.

Putting the most important reason for being there (Stephanie) aside for one moment… a number of my other Indigo colleagues were also at the party.  Spending ‘quality time’ with colleagues really develops a team ethos and spirit.  However, in the current climate companies are understandably reserved about spending money on lavish team-building events.  At the moment, instant return on investment is needed, and is a necessity to avoid a potential PR disaster.

But what if your team is suffering from poor morale?  Are they being asked to do more, with less? Applying ‘re-integrated thinking’ (something you learn on our Thought Leadership workshop) your company can build morale, enhance team-working and productivity by holding an Indigo training event. 

You can hold the event at your offices, but your delegates may find it more difficult to focus when they are so close to their desk.  So why not speak to your suppliers or customers to see if you could use their facilities?  I know the Indigo offices in London are up for grabs to any clients who wish to take advantage.

Get in touch with me to have a creative discussion about making an event work for your team:

James Arnum-White

CONSULTANT 

jamesaw@indigobusiness.co.uk

TEL: +44 (0)20 7924 8760

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Can’t beat Tiger Woods? Give up golf!

Wednesday, August 26th, 2009

·         Certain people are born excellent communicators.  Correct.

·         Others are naturally creative.  Correct.

·         I am neither, and never will be. Wrong!

Vital business skills, such as communication and creativity, can be learnt practised and mastered using practical techniques.  People often see media savvy individuals and the communication and creative skills of top leaders as unobtainable – and become resigned to this fact.

Let’s think about this logic…. do the millions of worldwide amateur golfers turn up to play a round thinking “If I cannot get the same score as Tiger Woods I may as well give up”.  No, on the most part they get lessons, practice and improve their game.  They will never be as naturally gifted as Tiger Woods, but that does not mean they cannot get better by learning new skills and applying them.

Communication and Creativity are the same.  Indigo’s workshops, such as Think on Your Feet®, give you practical tools that can improve every type of communication and systematic methods for creating new and better ideas.  If you dedicate yourself during and after your workshop you will improve – and see tangible results.

Don’t give up, get up and learn some new skills – reduce your communication and creativity handicap.

James.

James Arnum-White

tel: 020 7924 8760

e-mail: jamesaw@indigobusiness.co.uk

 

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Fog on the Leith! Writing Dynamics to the rescue!

Wednesday, July 1st, 2009

June 30th 2009.

Just back from a successful Writing Dynamics workshop at Malmaison hotel in the Leith Docks of Edinburgh. One of the aims of the programme is to help people cut down the amount of waffle, jargon and cliche in their writing. We call it defogging your writing. The sea mist, or haaras the locals call it, gave me a great photo opportunity to illustrate the benefits of clearer writing. Take out the piffle and tosh that fogs up our writing and what’s left stands out clearer and brighter. A haar.

fog-on-the-leith

To register place(s) on Indigo’s next Writing Dynamics workshops, go to: http://www.indigobusiness.co.uk/workshops/workshop.php?wid=3.

Richard.

richards@indigobusiness.co.uk

Indigo’s principle Writing Dynamics trainer.

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James Arnum-White ‘thinks on his feet’

Friday, August 8th, 2008

I am one of the client managers at Indigo and recently spent a couple of days at our recent Think on Your Feet® workshop in Barbican, London.  I went through this training during my induction, so I was there to make sure everything ran smoothly and pop out to client meetings in the city whilst the delegates were in the training room.

During a morning break on day two of the workshop, delegates asked me about my experiences on all of Indigo’s workshops.  I decided I should take up the challenge of presenting information about our full range of training products during their lunchtime break.

The idea of a member of the Indigo team (who is not a trainer) being put on the spot really appealed to them!!  They were there to learn how to present their ideas clearly, with brevity and impact.  The delegates wanted to challenge me to put together an ‘ad-hoc’ presentation. 

I had some initial panic about the lack of time I had to prepare!  But I decided to use some of skills I had learnt at Indigo’s workshops to get the job done.  So what did I do?

Some quick Six Thinking Hats®:

  1. Took off my “Black Hat” (negatives)

  2. Spent some time thinking about the “Yellow Hat” (benefits) of doing the presentation

  3. Then employed “Green Hat” thinking to come up with some creative ways to make this happen.

  4. Surely, I just had to employ the Think on Your Feet® and Skilled Presenter™ techniques…

Using Think on Your Feet® and the Skilled Presenter™

  1. I designed a presentation around the three main areas we work within: Creativity, Communication and Project Management.
  2. I then supported this with more detail about the how we approach these organizational challenges using more of the Think on Your Feet® plans.
  3. So, phew… I had the content in 15 mins.  Now what would my Skilled Presenter™ trainer say to me if he was here?  “Practice, practice, practice James”.  So I borrowed a spare room from our good friends at CCT Venues.
  4. I presented to the empty room and found some glaring, but simple to fix problems with my presentation.  The great thing about Think on Your Feet® is that I did not have pages of notes, just icons with three clear points to read from.  Easy to remember and easy to use.

So, how did the presentation go? 

Well, the most important thing to me is whether the audience found it engaging and interesting.  They would be the best people to ask.  I will be posting some of there comments on here when the event feedback forms have been processed.

For me, it felt great.  I had banished my fears, turned nervousness into energy and had a well structured presentation to build around.  Thank you Think on Your Feet®.  Thank you the Skilled Presenter™.

James

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Communication is the response you get!

Friday, August 8th, 2008

I had a really enjoyable evening last night! It was the end of day one at our latest Think on Your Feet(r) Communication workshop, taking place at our training venue in London (CCTV Barbican). We decided to invite our twenty or so delegates out for a well deserved end of day one drink!

I work in the Operations team at Indigo, so don’t always get the chance to meet up with clients, but when I do, I find it fascinating catching up with and listening.

The mix of delegates at this particular Think on Your Feet(r) workshop was as diverse as ever – from public and private sector, large and small organisations, some in senior positions and others with less experience. Over a relaxed beer or glass of wine everyone commented on the strength of the tools Think on Your Feet provides and the impact of our trainer Stephanie’s teaching style.

 However, there were a couple of really interesting comments I recall from yesterday evening that I thought I would share, as one delegate said; - ‘I have learnt today that communication is about structuring your response…and Think on Your Feet(r) certainly provides lots of this! It’s all about, structure, structure and more structure’  - which is something I certainly agreed with.  

However it was another comment that really stood out for me from another delegate saying; ‘I have learnt today that communication is the response you get from someone!’   When you think about this, what a concise way of explaining the importance and value of effective communication.

Put simply, it’s how your message is understood, so if you don’t get the expected response, who’s fault is it? Yours.  Perhaps it’s the way your message has been interpreted - as the saying goes; “its not what you say; but the way that you say it.”

A ‘neat’ summary I’m sure you’ll agree!

Andrew

See www.indigoearly.co.uk for the dates of our next Think on Your Feet(r) workshops.

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