Words can be weapons or bringers of beauty. We have recently seen ample evidence of the former, after two mass shootings took place in the US within 24 hours. The perpetrator of the El Paso shooting seemed to be inspired by Trump’s inflammatory rhetoric about immigrants “invading” America. Put those three words into a Google News search and you may be astonished at how many results come … [Read more...] about Mind your language: words have consequences
Storytelling
What the parsnip does it all mean?
I've always been fascinated by synchronicity – events that have no causal relationship but seem to be meaningfully related. Last week, a friend came over to my place to give me cooking lessons. What? Cooking lessons? At my age?!? Yep. It has long been a source of shame and guilt that I hardly ever cook anything from scratch. I moved into my new flat in March and, until my friend visited, had … [Read more...] about What the parsnip does it all mean?
Does it really make a difference when you tell stories on social media?
Over the past few weeks I’ve been conducting a social media experiment. Having lost my mojo and gone through a phase of posting hardly anything for months, I re-engaged by setting the intention of finding and sharing stories on Facebook and Instagram rather than just posting pictures with short captions or random updates. My hope was that sharing stories that made a point would create more … [Read more...] about Does it really make a difference when you tell stories on social media?
The raw power of sharing the truth of your story
Until a few days ago, Hannah Gadsby wasn't on my radar. But now I’m seeing her name everywhere. She is – or should I say was – a stand-up comedian. She came to my attention when a participant on the Storytelling for Self-Promotion course I’m currently co-facilitating recommended that I watched Hannah’s new comedy special on Netflix. I wouldn’t usually watch a stand-up set on TV (I prefer the … [Read more...] about The raw power of sharing the truth of your story
Stop hating self-promotion and start letting people fall in love with you
Self-promotion. What does it mean to you? To me it means anything that helps to raise my profile and reach the people I most want to work with. It’s about me but it’s not all about me, if that makes sense. So I was shocked when I Googled ‘self-promotion’ and at the top of the page was the following definition: “The action of promoting or publicising oneself or one’s activities, especially in a … [Read more...] about Stop hating self-promotion and start letting people fall in love with you
Don’t get stuck in a compartment (with a weirdo) – celebrate your whole self
Are you old enough to remember those ancient railway carriages that had compartments? You know, the ones with bench seats that, if you were travelling on the last train home, you would avoid like the plague in case a weirdo sat next to you? Well, I do. I got stuck in one once and couldn’t get out – but that’s another story. Compartments. You get stuck in them and can’t get out. So why oh … [Read more...] about Don’t get stuck in a compartment (with a weirdo) – celebrate your whole self