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Click the button to subscribe to the blogs RSS feed. Latest Blog Posts 3 Top Tips to Help you Manage your Time Better! We all reach that stage where our workload feels as if it is swallowing us whole. We cannot even fathom how the pile grew so quickly. Published on 6th of Dec 2018 by Carolyn Kessler [ read more ] Taking the Time to Listen... Be honest – how often do you truly give the person with whom you’re speaking your total and undivided attention? Published on 29th of Nov 2018 by Carolyn Kessler [ read more ] Assertive Communication Most of us are woefully unassertive. We constantly experience interactions where we are simply unable to convey who we are or what our point of view actually is. We live with the frustration of ineffectively navigating our way through life, and it really sucks!! Published on 23rd of Nov 2018 by Carolyn Kessler [ read more ] 4 Communication Tips for Stressful Situations At some time or another we all have to deal with that monster called Stress. Whether you are in a highly competitive work environment or dealing with angry or frustrated customers, stress is never too far behind… Published on 14th of Nov 2018 by Shona Potgieter [ read more ] 10 issues which often come to the fore when working in open plan offices A common theme which crops up when I’m facilitating a Conflict Resolution workshop, is how challenging it can be to share office space. Published on 6th of Nov 2018 by Carolyn Kessler [ read more ] Getting things done in 3, 2, 1… The hustle and bustle that surrounds us can make us feel like we have a big red target on our backs and life is not just giving you lemons, but throwing them from all sides…. The question is how do you make lemonade and avoid getting knocked out? Published on 30th of Oct 2018 by Shona Potgieter [ read more ] 6 Tips for Mastering Body Language When it comes to communication, there is one language we all “speak” and understand – Body Language. Published on 24th of Oct 2018 by Shona Potgieter [ read more ] Turn Motivation Monday into Motivation Everyday! We all get to a point where we lack motivation… Whether you don’t want to get up early to go to the gym or the days just feel too long and each task in front of you makes you sit with your head in your hands. It’s completely normal. The good news is that there are quite a few ways you can keep those motivation levels up! Published on 22nd of Oct 2018 by Shona Potgieter [ read more ] 4 Easy Tricks to Survive Stress Stress is a sneaky little monster, one moment you’re handling your business and the next you feel like you want to jump on a flight to the Bahamas and start over. I know, I’ve been there! Published on 10th of Oct 2018 by Shona Potgieter [ read more ] No News is Good News? Are you aware that out of 15 clients who receive poor service from your company, only one is likely to complain? The other 14 simply take their business elsewhere! Published on 5th of Oct 2018 by Carolyn Kessler [ read more ] 11 ways to ensure you gain my co-operation. Do we ever communicate with another person without there being a need to gain co-operation? I tend to think not. Published on 28th of Sep 2018 by Carolyn Kessler [ read more ] Bye-bye (office) Blues! Are you tired of the same old routine, day in and day out? Then it's time to take a step back... Assess what you want from your day and make a concerted effort to make it happen. Published on 25th of Sep 2018 by Staff Training [ read more ] Good managers are trained – not born!! If you are promoting a great employee into a supervisory/management position, they need to be trained in how to perform as an equally great manager. Published on 17th of Sep 2018 by Carolyn Kessler [ read more ] What barriers do our fellow South Africans encounter in the workplace? I’m asking this question because I had cause to speak with a few HR managers recently. We analysed a couple of scenario’s regarding the issues which rear their ugly heads when integrating people of colour, different economic status, gender and so on into the workplace. Published on 10th of Sep 2018 by Carolyn Kessler [ read more ] How strategic is your policy towards up-skilling your staff? As a soft skills training provider, it’s really satisfying working closely with companies on designing and implementing up-skilling programmes for their employees. We are available to build strategies which help translate their vision into reality through ongoing investment in their gold value medal – their staff. Published on 3rd of Sep 2018 by Carolyn Kessler [ read more ] 4 Ways Emotional Intelligence improves your career prospects… If there is one thing we know for sure, it is that change is constant. In 2018 we are being inundated with potential and possibilities as far as the future goes and everyone is scrambling for an audition. Ultimately this means that an enormous amount of team work and collaboration is necessary for us to stay abreast of the trends and to bring our full potential to the stage. Published on 27th of Aug 2018 by Debbie [ read more ] Diversity: Do we only embrace it or simply pay lip-service to it? We run a lot if Diversity workshops, both in-house (at the customer's premises) and at our own venue. In our experience there is a growing awareness around the need to not only overcome prejudicial thinking within teams, but to actively celebrate and thus leverage the diversity therein. Published on 22nd of Aug 2018 by Carolyn Kessler [ read more ] The problem with our projects… As facilitators we are in the position where we often hear what goes wrong with projects rather than what goes right. Delegates bring their challenges to us, so clearly this is exactly what we should be hearing. More often than not we establish that what went wrong is that the very concept of what a project is, is not being understood. We would thus like to challenge you to a slightly new approach. Published on 17th of Aug 2018 by Debbie [ read more ] Am I in charge of my Facebook time or is it in charge of me? Although I have written this blog in a light hearted way, I’m fully aware of how easy it is to lose oneself in activities which don’t take us toward our goals or reduce our stress. Published on 10th of Aug 2018 by Carolyn Kessler [ read more ] 11 Reasons Parents are Project Managers The term Project Manager, isn’t one which most time constrained parents would think to apply to themselves. Yet it’s exactly what they’re doing day to day, season to season. Published on 2nd of Aug 2018 by Carolyn Kessler [ read more ] Itsy Bitsy Spider “The itsy bitsy spider climbed up the water spout Down came the rain, and washed the spider out Out came the sun, and dried up all the rain So the itsy bitsy spider climbed up the spout again. Incy Wincy Spider climbed up the tree Down came the snow and made poor Incy freeze Out came the sunshine, and melted all the snow So Incy Wincy Spider had another go.” Published on 27th of Jul 2018 by Debbie [ read more ] 3 Steps to Being Confident “Confidence is like a muscle. The more you use it, the stronger it gets.” Confidence is a major part of how we approach different situations and people. We’ve all admired that one person in our group of friends, that co-worker, or that lady walking past us in the mall who seems to naturally exude confidence. Published on 23rd of Jul 2018 by Shona Potgieter [ read more ] When the Wheels Come Off... One of our Trainers yesterday conveyed the interaction between herself and a particularly resistant delegate. This delegate was on customer care training and he was a sales person for a retail store. Published on 16th of Jul 2018 by Debbie [ read more ] Ducks in a row... At Staff Training nearly 60% of our clients are return clients. This means that we often get to meet their new staff members as they go through a series of workshops that the organisation has identified as a minimum entry level requirement. Published on 9th of Jul 2018 by Debbie [ read more ] If You See a Dinosaur... Remember nursery rhymes? Published on 6th of Jul 2018 by Debbie [ read more ] The Top 3 Bad Receptionist Habits And why breaking these habits is so important… Published on 4th of Jul 2018 by Matt Wood [ read more ] Motivation and Generational Differences One of the constant complaints we hear from managers today is this notion that Millennials do not want to work, the idea that they are not prepared to put the effort in for the amount of money they want to earn. In some instances this is described as a state of entitlement. A matter of rights vs responsibility or a matter of privilege with no accountability. Published on 25th of Jun 2018 by Debbie [ read more ] One Crucial Step in Team Motivation If there is one question we can isolate from all the questions we get asked at training it has to be “How do I motivate my staff?” Published on 20th of Jun 2018 by Debbie [ read more ] Would you work for you? I recently penned a blog asking if you would hire you as an employee in your company. I'm going to turn the tables now and ask if you would be prepared to work for someone like you? Published on 29th of May 2018 by Carolyn Kessler [ read more ] Would you hire you? Social conversations generally flow round a few well-worn topics. Spouses, kids, politics, how poor service seems to be endemic in South African companies and so on; eventually taking us down the road to discussions around that activity we love to hate - work. Published on 18th of May 2018 by Carolyn Kessler [ read more ] Ambiguity - what it means for leadership This is the fourth blog of the 4-part series, where we unpack the term VUCA in the South African context. Published on 17th of May 2018 by Debbie [ read more ] Train your Brain It's easy to get overwhelmed by the daily stresses in our lives, and we tend to focus on all the negative hum-drum of it all. But did you know you can trick your brain into feeling happier? Published on 26th of Apr 2018 by Shona Potgieter [ read more ] How to figure out the solution. How often are you faced with a problem that requires a well thought out solution? Published on 24th of Apr 2018 by Carolyn Kessler [ read more ] 6 things you definitely should not do in a presentation! Having trained on presentation skills a number of times, I understand peoples' reluctance to step into the lime light. I also note that most of us think that, if you're an extrovert you'll be a naturally good presenter; conversely, if you're an introvert you will never be able to move in a position which calls for this skill. Actually, neither of those sweeping statements is fact. Published on 12th of Apr 2018 by Carolyn Kessler [ read more ] People buy from people they like... There are studies which clearly show that we will pay more (sometimes quite a bit more) for the self-same goods from a person we like rather than from someone who's offering us a better deal but with a bad attitude!! Published on 29th of Mar 2018 by Carolyn Kessler [ read more ] What is discretionary effort and why is it important? Discretionary effort is essentially what we give when we go above and beyond that which we have been mandated to do. Published on 20th of Mar 2018 by Carolyn Kessler [ read more ] Durban | Leadership Training | 23-25 May Staff Training's most advanced leadership seminar, 3 Day Leadership +, will be taking place in Durban on the 23rd to 25th of May - be sure to book your seats now! Published on 14th of Mar 2018 by Staff Writer [ read more ] Managers are taught, not born – part 2 In my previous blog I posited the scenario of someone being skilled enough to actually drive a car, for the first time, at their driving test. Demonstrating sufficient skill to earn them their license there and then. Published on 13th of Mar 2018 by Carolyn Kessler [ read more ] Complexity - what it means for leadership This is the third of 4 blogs where we will unpack the term VUCA in the South African context. As you may know the term VUCA refers to Volatility, Uncertainty, Complexity and Ambiguity. It is by now well recognized that leaders in 2018 need to be VUCA ready, but what does the term complexity mean in the workplace? What is it that we need to get ready for? Published on 8th of Mar 2018 by Debbie [ read more ] Blog – Good managers aren’t born, they’re trained! Part 1 How many of you undertook your driving test on the first day you ever drove a car? Just climbed in, co-ordinated with ease the clutch, brake, accelerator and gears? All the while checking your rear Published on 5th of Mar 2018 by Carolyn Kessler [ read more ] Uncertainty - what it means for leadership This is the second of 4 blogs where we will unpack the term VUCA in the South African context. Published on 26th of Feb 2018 by Debbie [ read more ] The 8 Principles of Batho Pele Batho Pele is an initiative that was launched by the government to transform the Public Service at all levels. Published on 22nd of Feb 2018 by Staff Writer [ read more ] Volatility - what it means for leadership This is the first of 4 blogs where we will unpack the term VUCA in the South African context. Published on 20th of Feb 2018 by Debbie [ read more ] Seeking Success? Today I wish to tell you about a matriculant, let us call her Patricia. Published on 19th of Feb 2018 by Debbie [ read more ] Mastering Minute Taking 2018 has started with a bang! We have been extremely busy and have a number of excellent workshops coming up. I've chosen to highlight our Minute Taking workshop because it's so popular and so effective. Published on 13th of Feb 2018 by Carolyn Kessler [ read more ] 5 Non-Negotiable CV No-Nos Let's face it: job hunting sucks. You send CV after CV and hear nothing back from 95% of the companies you apply with. But why is that? Well, probably because you're making at least one of these mistakes... Published on 31st of Jan 2018 by Staff Writer [ read more ] New 2018 Workshops We've added nine new short courses to our ever-growing list of workshops - check them out here! Published on 12th of Jan 2018 by Staff Writer [ read more ] Scheduling Training at the Last Minute can be Really Stressful! We’ve arrived at that time of year. You know, the time when we suddenly wake up to all the things we’ve been procrastinating with and realise that time has actually run out! Published on 29th of Nov 2017 by Carolyn Kessler [ read more ] The Silly Season can Wreak Havoc! Sorry about the negative title, but we hear some chilling examples of ‘office-party-gone-bad’ tales when hosting sexual harassment workshops. Published on 27th of Nov 2017 by Carolyn Kessler [ read more ] Fellow Travellers in the World of Diversity… It seems like ages since I last put fingers to my keyboard and produced a blog. In actual fact, it’s been about a month – and what a month it has been! Published on 15th of Nov 2017 by Carolyn Kessler [ read more ] Results per-page: 10 | 20 | 30 | 50 << First Page | 1 | | 2 | | 3 | | 4 | | 5 | Last Page >> Posts Archive December 2018 3 Top Tips to Help you Manage your Time Better! November 2018 Taking the Time to Listen... Assertive Communication 4 Communication Tips for Stressful Situations 10 issues which often come to the fore when working in open plan offices October 2018 Getting things done in 3, 2, 1… 6 Tips for Mastering Body Language Turn Motivation Monday into Motivation Everyday! 4 Easy Tricks to Survive Stress No News is Good News? September 2018 11 ways to ensure you gain my co-operation. Bye-bye (office) Blues! Good managers are trained – not born!! What barriers do our fellow South Africans encounter in the workplace? How strategic is your policy towards up-skilling your staff? August 2018 4 Ways Emotional Intelligence improves your career prospects… Diversity: Do we only embrace it or simply pay lip-service to it? The problem with our projects… Am I in charge of my Facebook time or is it in charge of me? 11 Reasons Parents are Project Managers July 2018 Itsy Bitsy Spider 3 Steps to Being Confident When the Wheels Come Off... Ducks in a row... If You See a Dinosaur... The Top 3 Bad Receptionist Habits June 2018 Motivation and Generational Differences One Crucial Step in Team Motivation May 2018 Would you work for you? Would you hire you? Ambiguity - what it means for leadership April 2018 Train your Brain How to figure out the solution. 6 things you definitely should not do in a presentation! March 2018 People buy from people they like... What is discretionary effort and why is it important? Durban | Leadership Training | 23-25 May Managers are taught, not born – part 2 Complexity - what it means for leadership Blog – Good managers aren’t born, they’re trained! Part 1 February 2018 Uncertainty - what it means for leadership The 8 Principles of Batho Pele Volatility - what it means for leadership Seeking Success? Mastering Minute Taking January 2018 5 Non-Negotiable CV No-Nos New 2018 Workshops November 2017 Scheduling Training at the Last Minute can be Really Stressful! The Silly Season can Wreak Havoc! Fellow Travellers in the World of Diversity… Training is a Cool Profession… October 2017 Why I Value Communication Skills and Why You Should Too September 2017 Ever Feeling Overwhelmed? Real Skills for Real People! Qualified but Unemployed Discretion and Social Media Words are Powerful! A Case Study in Emotional Intelligence Training with the Enneagram Team Work August 2017 We’re Social Animals! Our Third Training Hero Understanding Ourselves! A case study in Leadership Training Why we have to Minute our Meetings! We are Accountable for our Happiness! Ten Things you should never do in an Open Plan Office! July 2017 We Shoot Ourselves in the Foot! The dangers of doing your own Diversity Awareness Training Understanding Behaviour We Judge someone within 3 Seconds of Meeting them! Humility – What is it? A Case Study in Diversity Training Coaching Your Employees What are Soft Skills? Do You Exist in a Constant State of Chaos? How Many Languages Can You Speak? June 2017 Are You a Great Employee? Job Hunting - What’s The Cost? Your Attitude Most Definitely Determines Your Altitude! Horrible Bosses! The Difficult Clients we tend to Interact with 10 Tips on Staying Focussed on the Phone Business Writing - The Underrated Skill The Enneagram - Which One Are You? Is Your Version of Success the Same as Mine? Stress Relievers! May 2017 Resilience - Why is it so Important? A Case Study in Project Management Training Are You Over-Stressed? Burnt Out? Our Training Heroes – Episode 2 Our Training Heroes – Episode 1 The Best Way for HR to Approach Skills Training What’s in a Name? 5 Things to do while the Rand See-Saws! 3 Tips for Better Time Management Working From Home - the Good and the Bad! Mothers everywhere Developing VUCA leaders - A True South African Story How to Give a Great Presentation What's Even Scarier Than Spiders? The Good News for SA April 2017 Identifying Our Time Thieves What Accredited Courses Are All About How to Improve Your Emotional Intelligence You, the Everyday Leader 10 Tips to Ace that Interview! 4 Quick Tips on Being More Assertive A Case Study on Empowerment Through Training March 2017 Why is Emotional Intelligence Important? The 4 Types of Readers - Which Are You? Why do we Take Minutes? Boy! - English is a Difficult Language… Top Three Tips for Retaining Your Customers Do you hold yourself accountable? 10 Signs That You're in the Right Job 3 Simple Ways to WOW with Great Customer Service 9 Ways to Identify an Engaged Employee/Colleague 10 Top Aspects of Good Customer Care How to Say No - Without the Guilt A Business Writing Tip! February 2017 The Four Styles of Management Resorting to Violence Does Change Need to be Managed? 5 Tips to Learn Things Quicker The problem with the problem is... The Hare and the Tortoise First Impressions! Does Your Receptionist Rock? Keeping it Simple! What's in a Name? How to Avoid Awkward Silences 3 Quick Tips for Achieving Your Goals Where is your chain broken? WTF? Title Recognition - does it work? January 2017 Our communication patterns The 4 invisible attributes of a Good Office Manager What dogs can teach us in business Is Business Etiquette Social White Privilege? As much time off as you choose? Looking back! Do we underrate our receptionists and office support staff? How long it actually takes to train 10 people The 7 Top Habits of HR Training Officers Is going back to work really that bad?