Personal Effectiveness

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Micro-learning: Mastering Meetings and Groups
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Micro-learning: Leading with Stories
Critical Thinking
Micro-learning: Critical Thinking
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Micro-learning: Natural Networking
Influencepaperplane
Micro-learning: Influencing Well
If Then New
Design (and share) your If > Then statements, for a purposefully prompt towards action
Catherine Allison
How to influence decisions and boost gravitas with your voice
Video
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Upping your gravitas by silencing your inner critic and amplifying your inner coach
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How to check your writing for clarity
Video
Bennew
Using the 'Rule of Three' to communicate memorable ideas
Video
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How to pause when presenting
Video
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Working with eye contact
Video
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The power of plain language in presentations
Video
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The power of 'You' in writing
Video
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What designers need to know about microcopy
Video
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Skills and mindsets for making mentoring meaningful
Video
RG
Setting mentoring relationships up for success
Video
Liz
The impact of coaching, and it's distinction from mentoring
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Sw
Practical pointers for authentic leadership
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Hilary
Coaching, and creating coaching cultures
Video
Ingrid1
Vocal confidence warm up exercises
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Ingrid2
Vocal techniques for clearer articulation
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Growth Mindset Mantras
Tool
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How to command an on-screen presence
Video
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How to start writing
Video
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The secret to a successful Tone of Voice
Video
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How to write with authority for brands
Video
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Keep it simple. Quick and effortless copywriting
Video
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Writing in the active voice
Video
NO
Course Pack: The art of saying No (and how to say Yes)
Presenting
Course Pack: Purposeful presenting
Behave
Course Pack: Behavioural Insights
Charm
Course Pack: Charm School
GRO Wicon
eCourse: Go with the GROW model
Listening Pair Icons
eCourse: Are you listening?
Mentoringpairicons
eCourse: Meaningful Mentoring
Leadership Icon 2
eCourse: Leadership Styles, a primer
Charm Icon
eCourse: Charm School
Pairfeedbackicon
eCourse: Owning Feedback
CA thumb
eCourse: Practicing a Coaching Approach
SE Tthumb
eCourse: Get SET with your Goals
eCourse
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eCourse: Time Management and Prioritisation
eCourse
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eCourse: Mastering Delegation
eCourse
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eCourse: Strengths to Influence
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Better Briefing: A bitesize guide from Baxter & Bailey
Tool
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Clear and simple copy
Video
MBT
Get your team talking to each other with a practical take on the Myers-Briggs personality test
Tool
Talking
Knowing me, knowing you
Tool
Tony
Course Pack: Decision Lab
Microicon
Course Pack: Micro-Habits
Mup
Course Pack: Managing Up
Feedback
Course Pack: Owning Feedback
ARC
Course Pack: Effective 1-1s
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What's your team's CAMPS score? Get a snapshot of engagement levels.
Tool
Listenup
Course Pack: Are you Listening?
Tension
And-But-Therefore — Try out a tested storytelling technique
Tool
Groups
Course Pack: Mastering Meetings & Groups
Page tosothat
To.... So That. A snappy structure to define the purpose of any meeting
Tool
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The voice in your head, and how to harness it — with psychologist Ethan Kross.
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TA
Think Again, by Adam Grant
Book
The Art of Gathering, by Priya Parker
Book
RSB
Root, Stem, Branch — An organic approach for telling your own story
Tool
Diff
Never Split the Difference, by Chris Voss — Key ideas and takeaways from the best-selling-book on negotiation skills.
Book
Daniel
Mastering (Virtual) Presence, coach and facilitator Mike Sagun in conversation for the Conversation Factory
Audio
Circlesheila
Decoding Difficult Conversations — Sheila Heen unpacks the layers within those conversations you're probably avoiding.
Audio
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Course Pack: The Business Model Canvas
D Dslide
Course Pack: Delegation. Done
Albert
Course Pack: Defining Problems
Conflict
Course Pack: Constructive Conflict and Difficult Conversations
Inf
Course Pack: Influence IRL
Gravitas
Course Pack: Presence and Gravitas
Chatter Bottom
Chatter: Practical tools to apply, and harness the voice in your head
Icon Leadership Brand
eCourse: A Brand called You
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Course Pack: A Brand called You
Course Pack
MOM
Mitchell on Meetings — What we learned and where it led
Conf
Course Pack: Building Confidence
Scaling
Experiment with a 'Scaling Question' to better connect, learn and influence
WW
Course Pack: Writing Well
Cuddy Dog
Social psychologist Amy Cuddy shares powerful, actionable insights on the impact of our body language
TFF
Watch Sheila Heen explain why we need to be regularly asking for feedback, and what stops us from doing so.
Diff
Listen to former hostage Chris Voss share practical insights on better negotiation.
Time Tool
Experiment with Timeboxing for more focus and productivity
Time Tool
Build your time awareness, and reveal ways to boost productivity, with an Activity Log
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Time in tomatoes: build productivity and focus with the Pomodoro technique
PB
Six practical tools for building confidence and self-belief, shared by brain expert Ian Robertson
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Great questions to ask in coaching conversations, 1-1's and other curious contexts
Neg Slidetemplate
Course Pack: Navigating Negotiation
MT
Course Pack: Making Time
Orange
Practice the principles of persuasion from 'Godfather of Influence,' Robert Cialdini.
Circlestwo
How to be a meaningful mentor, insights from a purposeful podcast
Breathman
Mindful breathing — the foundation of focus and flow
Setback
Smarten your approach to setbacks, by trying out a Setback Story
To Think
Don't forget to diarise thinking time — experiment with a 'To Think' list
Silent Meeting
Make your next meeting a Silent Meeting
Can If Go
Immediately build your confidence, with a 'Can-If' statement
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Build belief by recognising small wins — Try a 'Done List'
Friction
Add some friction to your most common distractions
Fly
Channel that fly on the wall. Try some purposeful self talk to mitigate moments of doubt
Newcoachthumb
Micro-learning: Keeping a coaching mindset
Rest
Micro-learning: Setting Better Boundaries
Breathman
Micro-learning: Building Confidence
Premortemicon
Micro-learning: Feedback fundamentals
Presenting Head
Micro-learning: Purposeful Presenting
Time Team
Micro-learning: Finding Focus and Flow
Newpencils
Micro-learning: Writing Well
Coaching Criticism
Find the Coaching in Criticism. Things to try when feedback doesn't quite land
N Ngrab
Course Pack: Natural Networking
LWS
Course Pack: Storytelling
Spring
Experiment with a Springboard Story to communicate your change idea, and take people with you towards it.
Mentorsqarer
Evolve your 'inner mentor' — a short reflective exercise to focus your development, and the ways you can better support others
Do Story
Practical storytelling principles from Bobette Buster's book — Do: Story
Homework
Homework for Life: A ten-second daily ritual for noticing, capturing and practicing stories
Hear
Try this deep listening exercise for deeper connection and better conversations
5
Discover the impact a five minute favour can have on your relationships, and network building
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Experiment with the BRAIN model for confident decision making and problem solving
VCR
Course Pack: Voice Gym. Building your vocal confidence
22
A three minute mindset exercise, to support a coaching approach
Good Qs
Smart ways to frame questions in your next mentoring session
Car Words
Try out the CAR technique, and upgrade your understanding when interviewing someone.
J Zicon
Five powerful questions for adding impact and insight to your next interview.
Mup Icon
Five tactics for influencing those more senior
Carol Thumb
Micro-learning: Getting into a Growth Mindset
Premortemicon
Solve problems before they happen with pre-mortems
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A checklist for checklists — five things to tick off when developing a checklist
BID pic
Share genuinely useful feedback with the BID model
Pencilsoff
Seven things to avoid when writing at work
Meetings
Finding fortitude, and follow on experiments
Confidence Ecourse
eCourse: Confidence Mastery
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Time Blocking, and bringing some colour into your calendar
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Kas's reflections on listening and questioning well
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Matteo's coaching reflections
Video
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eCourse: Difficult Conversations
eCourse
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Worksheet: Owning Feedback
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Worksheet: Time Blocking
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Raul Aparici on mitigating impostor syndrome
Video
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Book Club: New Methods for Women — With Sharmadean Reid MBE
Audio

Course Pack: Purposeful presenting

These curated resources, many referenced in our Purposeful Presenting course, will help to deepen your understanding on the topic and dig into the aspects that resonated. We've shared the facilitator workshop slides too, so you can replay what was covered among your teams. Be proactive, and learn by teaching!
Presenting
Artwork by Lennard Kok

Resources and recommended reading

Try: Two Tools for Presentation Structure

You'll recognise the the Root, Stem, Branch tool from the live session, but take a look at this one too - the And-But-Therefore technique. Both are super simple ways to structure a presentation, and both are stepped out in these punchy resources.


Read: Resonate, by Nancy Duarte

From the "I have a dream" speech to Steve Jobs' iPhone launch, great presentations have a common structure that helps their message resonate with listeners. Nancy Duarte, the person behind Al Gore's Inconvenient Truth presentation and subsequent documentary, lays bare that structure and more in her seminal presentation guide, Resonate. Check out her TED talk too (linked below) if you haven't already, which condenses a lot of the books ideas into a bitesized twenty minutes.

Read: Do: Present, by Mark Shayler

We love the 'Do:' books at YCN, and this one is no exception. Do: Present is a fantastically punchy read with no jargon, no wasted space, and some great personal and purposeful pointers towards more authentic and creative presentations.

Watch: Three Great Presentations

Three different presentations from three very different people; but each showing some of the fundamentals of great presenting at play. They're Ronald Reagan, Steve Edge and J.K. Rowling.

Listen: The Speaking Club: Mastering the Art of Public Speaking

This podcast series, hosted by communication and business expert Sarah Archer, navigates the ins, outs, ups and downs of public speaking; business pitches, motivational speaking, teaching and training - everything. We recommend the two part episode from May of this year, Shifting from Awkward to Awesome in Public Speaking, which covers how to hook an audience, how to tell stories, and the hidden benefits of an unpolished delivery.

Watch: TED’s Secret to Great Public Speaking

Linked below is Chris Anderson (CEO of TED) who gives this brief, fireside-style talk on the through-line connecting every memorable presentation and great public speaker; the ability to build an idea in their audience’s mind. Anderson walks us through how to foster curiosity, the importance of vivid mental imagery, and how to keep your presentations simple but engaging.

Read: Do You Talk Funny?: 7 Comedy Habits to Become a Better (and Funnier) Public Speaker

It’s no secret that humour is a fantastic tool to hold an audience’s attention, but when pre-presentation stage fright already has you losing sleep, the thought of entertaining too can be daunting and draining. Nobody understands that better than author David Nihill, who (as well as giving a masterclass in timing, delivery and comedic storytelling) talks in detail about his own journey in overcoming presentation paranoia.

Read: How I Overcame the Fear of Public Speaking

Psychologist Adam Grant pens this brief, informative (and quite touching) article on overcoming stage-fright and the lessons he has learnt from his 100+ keynote talks and speeches. One of his suggestions? Don’t try to calm down. Who’d of thought?