Category: Resources

Soft Skills. Hmm. We always thought that sounded a little weird, but you know what we mean, soft skills are the personal attributes, personality traits, the social cues, and ways people communicate that are needed for success on the job. Soft skills generally characterise how a person interacts in their relationships with others. So when you think about it, they’re kind of important.

Technology is evolving the way businesses operate through automation and even artificial intelligence, and this means that the future of work will include jobs that don’t exist at all today. Now for some, this instils a deep sense of panic and makes them think of evil robot overlords taking over and enslaving the human race. That’s unlikely to happen.

As this automated transformation starts, one thing we do know is that soft skills like creativity, agile thinking, adaptability, decision making, communication and collaboration will always stay in high demand. A robot, computer or automated system won’t be able to bring these skills to the workplace (at least not yet!)

One thing to bear in mind, no matter how far you are down the automated technology journey, is that research shows that gaps in soft skills already exist across most businesses and industries and the best way to resolve this is by providing a variety of forms of training.

Research also tells us that soft skills are not learned in one session, instead, to make sure these skills stick and get embedded then your people need multiple training experiences over a longer period to learn and practice them. The future needs a continued focus on soft skills training, and at Well Prepared Training we’ve created comprehensive learning solutions to develop this critical skill set for you.

And right now, we don’t need to plug our trainers in to charge, update their software or worry about malware. Yet.

Think we can help you? Start the conversation today.

Pretty small apparently!

According to some recent research from industry analyst Josh Bersin, the average employee can only allot 1% of their daily schedule to training. That’s only 24 minutes each day!

As technology races along and makes yours, and other peoples lives faster and more productive, it seems like there just wont be time for effective training anymore..? Or will Microlearning save the day?

At Well Prepared Training we think that the way we train and deliver for our clients means we’ll be around for a little while longer yet, but the topic is interesting nonetheless. 

Microlearning is the latest innovation that offers employees small bits of information (usually no more than two to three minutes) that can be immediately be read, watched or digested in some way and then adapted into their working lives. It’s often concise, engaging, almost story like in its style and generally a real life example. What’s not to like?

This could be as simple as a one page document placed on a desk or a short video explaining how to use something within the business. On a training course we might utilise Microlearning by setting a quick time-bound exercise to get the delegates ready for something coming up that we haven’t got enough time to cover in detail. 

Through Microlearning, your people can continuously improve in their work without sacrificing too much of their time each day. If you use TEAMS or Slack you could send a link, an image or even a Meme. You could post a quick video or set a challenge to learn something new in the fastest time. 

When you think about your business, and how your people learn, do you think Microlearning would work for you?

If you think we could help you with this, and any other learning solution then get in touch.

Start the conversation today. 

What do you imagine in business when you think BRAVE?

We love BRAVE. It’s one of our values and at the core of everything we do.

For you, what does it mean?

A tough decision? Standing up for what is right? Speaking out? Taking a risk? 

For us, BRAVE is a methodology to help senior leaders and decision makers recapture the art of ‘disagreeing well’.

We help you do this through a programme designed to help you:

BE BRAVE AND KIND

THINK CLEARLY AND DIFFERENTLY

SPEAK SO PEOPLE WANT TO HEAR

DISAGREE WELL

MAKE WELL FORMED DECISIONS

If you think we can help you and your senior teams be BRAVE then start the conversation today. We’d love to help.

It’s nearly time to speak. Those lights are very bright. My mouths gone dry. Where are my notes? My head feels fuzzy. Am I sweating? I’m fairly sure I don’t even remember my own name. Is it me or is it suddenly hot in here…?

These, and many other unhelpful and often crippling thoughts run through the mind of many people before they need to speak in public. You are not alone!

At We Are BRAVE we aim to help you conquer those thoughts and put those fears to bed. In this article we look at some of the reasons why you might feel like that, and how you can overcome them.

We believe that if you understand the roots of this common fear it can help you master it faster and then learn how to grow your skills to speak in public like a pro and be BRAVE and beat the fear.

This lurking fear of which we speak, niggling us in the back of our brains, even has a fancy name, they call it ‘Glossophobia’- the fear of public speaking. Cool name, but a little bit difficult if you suffer from it. Most people don’t have it to this extent, but fear of public speaking is often cited as a biggest fear with approximately 25% of people saying that they experience it in some form or another.

In today’s world of work, communicating your ideas clearly, then presenting them in an engaging and confident way in a public forum, is becoming the norm. If you’ve already nailed that skill you will already know how much difference it can make, but if you haven’t got it yet, and that bully Mr Glossophobia’, is still in charge, it can make life hard. Do not despair. All is not lost, there are ways to beat it and we can help you do it.

Being a good public speaker can help you advance your career, grow your business, form strong collaborations and partnerships. Above all it can boost your self-esteem, skyrocket the confidence and give you power in your own voice. It can help you sell ideas and move people enough to take action on issues or want to be a part of something big. To do any of these things well requires a decent amount of standing up in front of any size of audience and delivering an idea, a story, a sales pitch, a piece of work or call to action. To do that, of course you must be able to get on your feet and speak in public.

So, why are we afraid of public speaking?

Fear of public speaking is not so much related to the quality of a speech or presentation as it is to how you, the speaker feels, thinks or acts when faced with speaking in public. There are many reasons why people become afraid when having to speak in public but in this short article we’ve picked out the 4 main culprits.

Our Physiology

Fear and anxiety trigger the autonomic nervous system in response to a potentially threatening stimulus. It feels frightening so our bodies react as they were programmed to. It’s time to fight or flight! This trigger leads to the horrible experience of fear and it then interferes with our ability to present information comfortably in front of audiences.

Some people are prone to nerves or anxiety, not just about public speaking. This article is about speaking, so let’s focus on that. For those where the anxiety is limited to public speaking situations, the physiological signs of fear they can experience as they anticipate, prepare and perform in public can be overwhelming. They may even fear the feelings of fear which gives you a double whammy to deal with.

Our Thoughts

Another factor is the internal dialogue we say to ourselves each day. Many people have preconceived beliefs about public speaking and about themselves as speakers. The fear often comes from when people overestimate the stakes of communicating their ideas in front of others, viewing the speaking event as a potential threat to their credibility, image and chance to reach an audience. If you’re saying to yourself that “I’m anxious, I’m nervous, I can’t speak in front of people, I might mess up”, then this in turn can trigger the fear you are trying to avoid.

The Situations

We all judge each situation differently because it means more or less to us, dependent on what we believe. For some, if you have a lack of experience in speaking in public this can make the situation worse. For others it might be how they are being evaluated on the speech they are giving. In some cases, it is related to the status of the people that you are presenting to and some people have more fear when the audience is completely new or unknown to them. Each situation can be overcome with training on structure, confidence and style.

Our Skills

Finally, a key factor that often adds to the fear of public speaking is how skilled you are in this area. Many people consider themselves to be naturally good speakers, but there is always room for growth. The people who work on their skills, instead of relying on natural talent, are the speakers who stand out the most.

At We Are BRAVE we develop those skills and make you feel that it’s ok to learn and practice in a safe, fun, adult learning environment.

We teach you how to structure your presentation, manage nerves, handle questions and audience interactions and give you direct feedback and coaching to increase your performance.

If you need help with Public Speaking and need someone to help you beat those demons and be your best self, click here to get in touch

Oh, and Mr Glossophobia. You might want to start job searching. Your days are numbered.

Sara Hickman