Mindful intentions for 2023

Happy New Year! I hope you enjoyed the festive celebrations and 2023 has kicked off well for you.
My year has started off a little differently - in fact quite a contrast from the usual Sydney fireworks!

How to make your presence felt

Feeling uncomfortable taking up space gets in the way of communicating confidently and having your voice heard.
I was reminded of this recently while running a training programme for a group of female executives.

How to Handle Interruptions

In the lead up to the last US election, a vice-presidential debate was held between Kamala Harris and Mike Pence.

How to Stop the Flow

Over the weekend, the tap in our bath started leaking.
I could hear the drip, drip, drip from the room next door as overtime, more and more water disappeared down the drain.

Minimising turbulent babbling

One of the habits that gets in the way of clear communication is over-explaining – using too many words or including too much detail before making your point.

Becoming "unblurred"

A few years ago, I received a complimentary gift pack with a skincare purchase that contained a product called "Magic Blur".

Stop Pleasing, Start Leading

A well dressed friend of mine inspired me to book in for a styling session at a major department store last year suggesting it as a useful way to update my wardrobe.

Why We Don't Know and Don't Ask

A few years ago I was lucky to be gifted a signed copy of Everything You Want, a practical and inspiring book written by motivatonal speaker and leadership expert Lisa O'Neill.

Small Steps Build the Path to Change

In his best-selling book Atomic Habits, author James Clear outlines the value of making small improvements daily as an effective strategy to change your habits. He says small actions accumulate to create remarkable results.

Challenging unhelpful stories

Last weekend I started swearing.
Not that I haven't sworn in my life to date. It's just that most of it occurs in my head.
I've been too afraid to swear out loud - a fear that comes from my childhood when when I was told my mouth would be washed out with soap if I did.

Clarity Comes from Calmness and Connection

I've just finished reading Corey Muscara's Stop Missing Your Life - a fabulous book about cultivating presence.

It captured my attention as the quality of presence is a key ingredient for maintaining clarity when you speak, and for sourcing the confidence that comes when you feel comfortable in your own skin.

What's really needed to take action

I've been thinking about commitment as an attribute for taking action.
It's often put forward as a key ingredient for generating results. The theory goes that if you really want something, as long as you're 100% committed, you'll take the action necessary to get it.

Disperse your nervous energy

Our family dog Gracie suffers an anxious reaction to the sound of electric hair clippers. As soon as she hears the noise, she disappears under the bed, shaking until we've stopped using them.

Staying Calm and Remaining Confident

One of my earliest memories of being challenged to speak up for myself was ordering lunch on the first day of Year 3. Having graduated from 'infant' to primary school, the system for lunch orders was different. The wire basket that usually sat at the front of the room into which we'd place our brown paper bags, wasn't there.

Hiding and hindering by holding back

Are you a nice person? Were you taught to use your manners, be polite, wait your turn and follow the rules?
This is useful advice as being 'nice' has many benefits.

Triple the Impact of Your Message

Last week I facilitated a small group session on speaking to be heard - how to deliver a message with impact. The theme was based on the premise that when you're wanting to speak and ensure your point lands, it pays to deliver your message clearly, concisely and in a way that's easy to remember.

Your Voice is Seeded in Silence

If we spoke today and I asked how you were going, what would you say?
After ‘fine’, ‘great’ or ‘feeling unwell' would your next response be ‘busy’? Have you been flat out, chasing your tail, rushing toward deadlines, driving from one thing to the next?

Getting intentional about your voice

If you've seen the movie King Richard, one of the rituals you will have noticed is that every time Richard Williams takes his daughters Venus and Serena to tennis practise, they hang a homemade sign on the fence with this quote by Benjamin Franklin:

"If you fail to plan, you plan to fail".

Staying in your power and reclaiming the floor

One of the nuances of human conversation is our tendency to interrupt each other when we speak.

We find it hard to contain our excitement at contributing, adding or providing another opinion so we interject when we're listening to someone else speak.

With a school teacher as a mother and a headmaster as a grandfather, it's not surprising there were many rules in my family growing up.

There was no watching television during the day, leaving the dinner table without asking to be excused, saying anything unless it was something nice, and there was certainly no swearing or our mouth would be "washed out with soap"…