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Have you ever started a project and then discovered that it was a lot more work than you anticipated? Probably, right? Well, that was definitely my experience with my first book - Eigo no Shigoto-jutsu. And as I’m celebrating the 6-year anniversary since it was...
You may think that your “comfort zone” is comfortable. But is it really? In some cases, your “comfort zone” might be more familiar than comfortable. For example… …you’re in a job that you don’t enjoy, but you don’t think you can find something new …you disagree...
Some years ago, I was coaching a Japanese CFO of a global company in presentation skills. Through our sessions, he gradually started to share with me his broader challenge - communicating effectively with his colleagues. The CFO was frustrated because he would...
My Japanese clients in global organizations are often concerned that they can’t convey what they want to say clearly in English meetings and presentations. They usually think it’s an English language problem and that they need to study English harder - get their...
Happy International Women’s Day! We hear so much these days about the need for more female leaders and yet many women still seem to shy away from stepping up. It’s not surprising considering what they’ve learned from childhood. Japanese schools hardly teach anything...
Here in Japan and also in my home country - the UK - we tend not to talk about our strengths. For example, when I’m coaching Japanese clients in presentation skills and they review a video of themselves, I ask them what they did well. Much of the time, people start to...
I used to think it was just me who was ATROCIOUS at estimating time - usually underestimating. Responding to that email? Oh, that will only take about 5 minutes… It actually took 40. Creating slides for a presentation? Ah, probably about 30 minutes… It actually took 3...
“What’s love got to do with it?” Do you know that Tina Turner song? Have you ever considered what love has to do with your work performance (and happiness)? If you’re like many business professionals, when you think of excellence, you think of outstanding skills,...
Have you ever wondered why decluttering is such a popular topic - even though many of us find it difficult to do? YouTube has over half a million decluttering videos. “Uchi, danshari shimashita!” is a popular weekly TV show in Japan. And Mari Kondo’s work is so...
Do you feel pressure, especially as a woman, to be positive and hold it all together all the time? Does it seem like “being positive” is a requirement to succeed at anything, particularly when it involves being with other people? While being positive may sound great,...
The old me was terrified of being put on the spot. I always wanted to be prepared, so that I could give a good impression. For example, whenever I gave a presentation, I would refine my script and practice again and again to get it right. I put sooooooo much pressure...
During my recent stay in hotel quarantine in Japan following a fabulous and much-needed month with family and friends in the UK, I could easily have focused on the negative aspects of the confinement, like the lack of fresh air, the dietary limitations, the constant...