“What we’re going to do”, said Bel, “is put the FUN in fundraising!” Corny, yet memorable words from a friend who coupled living with an incurable form of cancer with raising money for the charities that were caring for her. It is something I have never forgotten and her legacy lives on not just in…
Category archives: Storytelling
A one minute story
What story would you tell if you only had one minute? This was the challenge last week when I participated in the regional heats for BBC Radio’s New Voices. The temptation was to go for something funny but this time I went with my heart, telling the story of my beautiful friend and a memorable…
The Case for Exercising Outside
On moving to the Newbury countryside fourteen years ago, and being a staunch advocate of punishing classes at large gyms, I wondered how I was going to stay fit now that I lived miles from a David Lloyd facility. For the first six months, I thought the smart thing to do would be to leave…
Ten Tips for Writing a Speech Without Slides
If you’re writing a speech to be delivered ‘sans slides’ (as I’m currently doing for a client – thanks TED Talks for striking fear into everyone who’s not a professional speaker) I find the following works: 1. Create some stepping stones (it could be a classic ‘start middle, end’ of a story or a five…
A Question of Courage
“Love the ultra-local stand up – that takes a double serving of courage!” This is what my coach said to me when she heard I’d performed stand up at a beer festival in a local village….
The Value of Vulnerability
Vulnerability in the tech industry is dirty word. Firewalls must be robust, infrastructure must be secure, and if you’ve not got a handle on your data, you might as well write your own headline for The Register. In the past eight years I have written enough whitepapers and thought leadership pieces for vendors, developers and…
Yes, Yes, Oh Yes!
There are times when you’re offered a gig and you don’t have to think twice about it. The same goes for a piece of work or a project – something in your gut that tells you it’s the right thing to do. This time, the call came from the incredible Aduke Onafowokan. Aduke is a…
Why it’s Time to Celebrate the Real Influencers
In visiting a client’s LinkedIn profile today as a means to help accurately capture her voice, I’m told that she hasn’t yet written any articles. But it’s ok because LinkedIn has suggested that in the absence of her writing, I might like to read what some ‘Influencers’ have to say. I wonder which influencers I…
The Power of Being Seen for Who You Are
Reg Parrett is a man approaching a milestone, he’ll be 100 next year and shows no signs of slowing down. Dapper and debonair, this is a man who had “great larks” with the RAF, became an interior designer responsible for transforming homes and hotels across North Wales well into his late 80’s and, more recently,…
In Praise of Microsoft Partners
It’s Microsoft Inspire awards season and I’m delighted to see UK Microsoft partners well and truly represented amongst the winners. Seeing the celebratory posts prompted me to think about the partners I worked with during my 10 years at Microsoft – many of which were spent as a Partner Account Manager. I’ve written and spoken…