by Helen Iwata | Jul 25, 2023 | All, Communication Skills, Personal Growth
When did you first become interested in personal development? I was 19 years old, and my old German teacher recommended a seminar that was held at The Queens Hotel in Leeds, UK. I passed by there last week. Ms Novakovic was quite a character. When she returned one of...
by Helen Iwata | Jul 18, 2023 | All, Communication Skills, Conference Calls, Productive Meetings
Oh this is hilarious! I just sat down to write about work distractions and a Facebook Messenger notification popped up. And I checked it – lol! How easily are you distracted by work chat and other instant messaging? Are you sometimes frustrated by...
by Helen Iwata | Jul 3, 2023 | All, Communication Skills, Conference Calls, Effective Facilitation, Expert Interviews, Personal Growth, Presentation Skills, Productive Meetings
Have you ever been in a meeting where your colleague didn’t seem to be paying attention or contributing fully? You might feel frustrated. But you probably don’t know what’s going on in that person’s life that could be distracting them. One day, I joined a 1:1 coaching...
by Helen Iwata | Jun 20, 2023 | All, Announcements, Communication Skills, Conference Calls, Effective Facilitation, Expert Interviews, Personal Growth, Presentation Skills, Productive Meetings
“My son has been sick this week, and he ended up watching YouTube for kids all day since he wants to be in my room where I work. I felt bad.” This is a classic example of mum guilt. In many cases, “Mum guilt” (or “Mom guilt” or “Mommy guilt”) is when you want to be a...
by Helen Iwata | Jun 13, 2023 | All, Announcements, Communication Skills, Conference Calls, Effective Facilitation, Expert Interviews, Personal Growth, Presentation Skills, Productive Meetings
I was amused when I read an article about how Japanese people were taking classes to learn how to smile after spending so long wearing masks during the pandemic. It makes sense though. Our facial expression has a huge impact on our communication to others as well as...
by Helen Iwata | Jun 6, 2023 | All, Communication Skills, Personal Growth
(Just for fun – the photo is with my friend, Sam, about 5 years ago on the stepping stones at a lovely village in Yorkshire where we used to go on family holidays as children.) The other day, Junko (not her real name) told me on a call that she’d recently been...
