Communication is all about perception. What you say is not necessarily what someone else hears and how you intend for your message to be heard is not necessarily how someone will take it. How someone hears your message will depend on their own communication style, personality, preferences, experience, knowledge, emotional intelligence, mindset and much more. […]

Your ability to communicate effectively will be helped or hindered by your mindset. Is your mindset fixed or growth?

Halfway through year 11, I had a mini-breakdown. The intense pressure I put myself under to be ‘perfect’ academically became too much and coupled with what turned out to be an iron deficiency, I crumbled. I blame maths.

Imagine if you could change your life simply because you made a conscious decision to do so. Not because you had a near death experience, a health scare, or a friend or relative pass away – simply because you made a choice. Imagine if you didn’t even need to start on a Monday, because a […]

What’s your biggest weakness? Tell me about a time you haven’t handled a situation well. These seemingly negative questions often trip people up in interviews. It’s important to think about how you’d answer them beforehand. Saying “I don’t have one” or “I can’t think of any” are not appropriate responses. So what do you say?

Mindfulness and putting your own oxygen mask on first mean different things to different people. For some people it’s meditation; for others it’s binge watching Suits on Netflix or having a long hot bath. For me, it’s exercise.

I lose; you win. That’s passive communication in a nutshell. I won’t put forward my opinions and beliefs, so my needs won’t be met; and you can walk all over me. Passive is one of the four main styles of communication, along with aggressive, assertive, and passive-aggressive. At times, passive has its place, but if […]

“So Leah, what do you do?” “I run my own communications consultancy and speaking business, Methmac Communications. I help businesses, community groups and individuals improve and deliver their communications through media, public relations and community engagement. I also run workshops and motivational seminars to teach people how to communicate more effectively and get the most […]

I was prompted to write about this after a conversation with friends about my work. A couple commented that working at night must be awful when I could be relaxing in front of the TV. (For the record, I barely ever watch TV. If I wasn’t working I’d be reading or writing instead; or *shudder* doing housework.) […]

What do you do when someone gives you feedback you don’t like? When they criticise or disagree with your behaviour, actions, or words? Do your hackles rise? Does your back straighten? Is your immediate response to their offence, defence? Do you shoot the messenger? Very few people enjoy receiving negative or ‘constructive’ feedback. Even when […]