How to Host an Awards Ceremony
Hosting an awards ceremony is never a ‘show up and throw up’. It’s a partnership between you and the organiser to make sure that: * Their vision is realised * The audience get a great experience * Timings are met * Energy levels are kept high * Everyone gets a chance to shine! Huge thanks […]
What does it take to get PAID speaking gigs?
It’s around 7 years since my first paid speaking gig and during that time lots of people have asked how I’ve done it. So, here’s some highlights: 🆓Do some free stuff. Not the “Exceptional Leaders in Current Fashionable Topic” conference where someone has DM’d you the “AMAZING opportunity” to take the stage at a place […]
Social Mobility and Self-Acceptance
One aspect of social mobility that comes up time and again with many people I speak with is the sense of unease you can feel about where you find yourself vs where you’re from. And how challenging it can be to accept the reality of living with what you’ve worked so hard to achieve and […]
What you’ll experience as a woman doing stand-up
Got back behind the mic last night in the function room of a Royal British Legion and it prompted me to share some of the things that I’ve consistently heard & experienced as a woman doing stand-up: 💡When the other acts are introducing themselves to each other, they think you’re there as someone’s partner… (or […]
How to start a career as a speaker and writer
13 years ago (!) I began a blog called ‘Reasons to be Cheerful’ with the purpose of sharing my thoughts on “Parenthood, poetry and fights with technology and fashion”. It was prompted by me leaving corporate life and following the advice of my sister-in-law who bought me a notebook bearing the legend “If you wish […]
Six Steps to Social Mobility
In an upcoming Intelligence Forums session on Social Mobility, each subject matter expert has just six minutes to share their insights. Thankfully I love a good challenge and have decided to structure my talk on six steps that took me on a path that the Institute of Fiscal Studies calculates would ordinarily take five generations […]
Ten jobs in tech that your teacher won’t tell you about
As someone who’s worked in and around the tech industry for more than 25 years, I’m always struck by how the myth persists that you need to be: * A man * A techy * A graduate As someone who doesn’t meet the above criteria, I thought I’d share 10 jobs I’ve had that your […]
Social Mobility and Social Care
Something that crops up *a lot* when I speak with people who have experienced social mobility and have siblings or family members in social care is the absolute guilt and sense of helplessness that comes along with having ‘made it’ / ‘done well’ when your relatives are at the mercy of Government funding, service availability, […]
Choc ices as an indicator of class
Who knew choc ices were an indicator of class?! The first time I had to explain to someone what one was, I thought: “poor kid, imagine missing out on this diamond of a dessert?!” When I had to explain to their parent what it was, I thought: “Oh, erm…what, is this not considered a dessert?”. […]
The 49er – Something we can all agree on
Well, after the outcome of the US election left plenty of people in shock (and plenty of others with the result that they voted for), I’ve been thinking about how we seek to understand those who hold wildly differing opinions and beliefs from our own. It prompted some push back on Facebook which is great […]