The BBC has just released their findings from the world's largest loneliness study. 55,000 people took part in the BBC's Loneliness Experiment in collaboration with the Wellcome Collection. The people who took the survey were asked how they would define the feeling of ‘loneliness’. The results were surprising. In fact, being around people or not has no bearing on loneliness. Instead, it’s a more complex notion. In the top five responses, for example, was that people felt loneliness was simply not feeling understood.
Your stomach is queasy, your palms are sweaty, and your mind has gone blank about your opening lines. It's the bog standard, presentation heebie jeebies kicking in. If this sounds familiar, how about some tools to blast them out of the water once and for all?
We hear it all the time. Honesty and openness is the cornerstone of any healthy relationship. Why then do we approach our working relationships with any less transparency than we do in our personal relationships?
The special day has arrived. As you stand up to deliver your speech you gently tap the side of your glass invitingly. Heads dressed in white from the neck downwards turn in your direction like a flurry of flamingos. It’s your time to shine!
Have you ever listened to a brilliant speaker and felt captivated by the music of their speech, the poetry of their words and the resonance of their voice? Then they probably have that magical combination that we call eloquence.
The workplace is fraught with different pressures. “Am I good enough?” “Have I achieved my KPI’s?” “Do I deserve this job?” “Am I justified in asking for that pay rise?” “What does my boss think of me?” At one point or another, most of us have asked ourselves at least some of these questions.
Accents are important. They are an intrinsic part of who we are. They are part of our heritage. They tell the story of our background and our culture. So, why would we want to get rid of them? Well, as much as they are an asset to us, accents can be a double-edged sword, and for many they represent a conflict. For, while on the one hand, our accents are an integral part of our identity; on the other hand, for a non-native English speaker living and working in the UK, an accent can feel like it gets in the way of effective communication in English. And that can be a problem.
Vowels have a greater impact on accents than we think.
When looking into accent softening, it is at first important to understand that it's no mean feat!
Want to make a great first impression? Smile!
Never underestimate the power of a smile - after all, you're never fully dressed without one.
Let's try something. Picture someone smiling. Close your eyes if that helps. I bet you're smiling too aren’t you? Now try it again. Visualise that smile, bursting onto someone's face, spreading to their eyes which are crinkling up with joy.
