Active listening is the most undervalued skill in communication. Most people assume they are good listeners simply because they hear words. But hearing is mechanical. Listening is intentional. And in professional environments, especially across Scotland’s fast-moving corporate and public sectors, the ability to listen actively can transform the impact of your communication. As a Scottish public speaking coach who works with leaders, technical specialists, educators, and amb

For many senior managers, public speaking is not a question of ability . It is a question of exposure . These are leaders who run complex operations, make high-stakes decisions, and command respect in one-to-one or small-group settings. Yet place them in front of a board, a town hall, or an external audience, and a familiar tension appears: tightened control, heightened self-monitoring, and an unspoken fear of being judged at scale. This discomfort is rarely discussed openly

How to Use Eriksen's Surrounded by Idiots Model - Communicate with Anyone/Everyone In business, public speaking is not just about delivering information. It is about ensuring the right message lands with the right people. Anyone who has delivered group training for public speaking or invested in public speaking training in Scotland knows the real challenge is not confidence. It is communication friction. People do not think the same way, listen the same way, or respond to the

Public exhibitions in the renewables sector are a different beast from standard corporate presentations. You are not addressing a warm room of colleagues. You are stepping into a space where people arrive with real concerns, lived experience, and a thousand unspoken questions. Some are supportive. Some are angry. Some are frightened about change. And some only know what they read on a dramatic headline the night before. How you handle that environment decides whether your pro

When people think of public speaking or persuasive communication, they often imagine charisma, powerful words, and commanding delivery....

Public speaking is not just about delivering words to an audience; it is also about managing the internal dialogue and roles we...

You’ve been invited to speak at the most significant event of your professional life. The spotlight is on you. The room will be full. The...

The first impression a speaker makes doesn’t come from their opening line. It’s not in the facts they’ve memorised, or even in the...

I didn’t sleep much the night before. My notes were a mess, my thoughts scattered. I was set to deliver my first ever public speech—to a...