Last week I read an interview in The Guardian with actress Molly Ringwald that revealed she was consumed by stage fright for the first time in her career when she was about to tell a deeply personal story at live storytelling event The Moth. With no script or character to hide behind, she was out there in the open - just herself and her true story. I'm often asked how you know whether or not a … [Read more...] about What Molly Ringwald taught me about sharing a personal story
BLOG
Finding my voice: the journey of a lifetime
The human voice can express itself in so many ways – on the outside and the inside. Your speaking voice. Your singing voice. Your tone of voice – both vocal and written. Your inner voice – your intuition. The voices in your head – from the inner critic to the inner champion. We speak of “finding our voice” even if we’re already articulate. And we talk of “giving someone a voice” if they … [Read more...] about Finding my voice: the journey of a lifetime
10 things Boy George taught me about self-promotion
My career in journalism began in the dying days of punk, which gave way to the dawn of the New Romantics. I played my part in the latter, being the first music journalist to persuade the then achingly cool Spandau Ballet to do an interview for Sounds which, along with Melody Maker and NME, was one of the three highly influential music weeklies of that era. The headline on my interview was The … [Read more...] about 10 things Boy George taught me about self-promotion
What stories do you tell yourself about being a leader?
When I first became aware of Nick Williams a couple of years ago, I remember reading that he was running a six-month leadership programme. I was intrigued but thought to myself, "It's not for the likes of me - I'm not a leader." At the time I was happy to stay in the background, dipping my toe in the Inspired Entrepreneur waters by attending evening events, then scuttling away again. But … [Read more...] about What stories do you tell yourself about being a leader?
Sometimes I plunge headlong into a painful old storyline
How can one comment plunge you back into an old storyline? How does that work? But that’s what happened to me a few weeks ago when a friend emailed me after reading the memoir I wrote almost 10 years ago but which has yet to be published. I was touched that she had taken the time and trouble to read all of it, as not many people have done so – even the select few to whom I have previously sent … [Read more...] about Sometimes I plunge headlong into a painful old storyline
Living a story versus living an authentic life
[vimeo 92066732] When Claire Taylor of The Story Mill asked if I'd be interested in doing a video interview about playing a role vs being authentic, I was intrigued. It has been a long time since anyone has asked me about Being Betty Page. To explain: way back in 1979, when I was secretary to the editor of the music paper Sounds, I started to write reviews of bands. Because I was already … [Read more...] about Living a story versus living an authentic life