Podcasts

Do you have a team that does not always play to win? Do you feel more like a referee in a fighting ring, some days than a manager?

Don’t worry if you do, the good news is that people are not designed to work in team. Think ’survival of the fittest’ we have a natural instinct to be competitive in order to survive…so it is completely normal for things to kick off a little!!

At Think, we believe that, whilst rivalry and competitiveness is healthy, you should never excel at another persons loss or expense. To help you unite your team to work together to achieve common goals why not try our Team Skills course.

Ok, so it’s not quite The Matrix, but the answer to this question will help you get what you want… and it’s right here on this podcast.

Listen to this podcast for the four (yes, just four) steps to great Influencing Skills.

If you’d like to explore how Think Training & Development can help you with your own influencing skills or the general communication within your company, we’ll be waiting in the green box, to listen to what you need. Give us a call or drop us an email.

Sounds too good to be true, doesn’t it?

At Think, we have produced some seriously impressive results from each business we have been involved with. How?

Listen to the podcast for the 4 basic principles that have been the bedrock of our success.

If your particular department isn’t sales related, we think you will still be able to apply the principles to get the results you’re looking for. more…

This podcast is the last in a series of 3 which explore the personality type theory of Myers Briggs.

This one looks at:

• How people prefer to make decisions –Logic and objectivity or values and relationships?
• How people live their lives – Planned and organised or spontaneous and adaptable?

It will give you some clues as to:

• Why some people want to be recognised for their achievements while others need to be appreciated for their efforts.
• Why some people love to start things off…while others love to finish them!

If you’d like to know more about your personality type or those of your team members, check out our Myers Briggs courses, run by qualified Myers Briggs practitioners. Special Offers apply.

This podcast is the second in a series of 3 which explore the personality type theory of Myers Briggs.

This one looks at how people prefer to take in information – high level or highly detailed?

It will give you some clues as to why some people see the wood first…while others see the trees.

If you’d like to know more about your personality type or those of your team members, check out our Myers Briggs courses, run by qualified Myers Briggs practitioners. Special Offers apply.

This podcast is the first in a series of 3 which explore the personality type theory of Myers Briggs.

This one looks at how people are energised – through internal or external stimuli.

It will give you some clues as to why some people dive in and act before they think things through while others think carefully before they act.

If you’d like to know more about your personality type or those of your team members, check out our Myers Briggs courses, run by qualified Myers Briggs practitioners. Special Offers apply.

Nothing to do with magic…well not the circus kind anyway!

If you have something important to do such as a presentation or a big meeting, there are some really easy actions you can take to get yourself in the right frame of mind to succeed. Listen to this podcast to find out more… Or take a look at our page on advanced presentation skills.

Have you ever asked yourself what drives human behaviour? Why people sometimes act in ways that you find difficult to understand?

Imagine an iceberg. The tip is above water – you can see this. The majority of the iceberg is under the water – hidden from view.

A person’s behaviour is like the tip of the iceberg – the part you can see. What drives that behaviour lies underneath the surface. Venture below surface level and you’ll discover the values, beliefs, experiences and thoughts that drive a person’s behaviour.

Listen to the podcast to find out more.

If you’d like to better understand and influence the behaviour of the people in your team, a good place to start is with some Myers Briggs or Influencing Skills training.

There have been many studies on how non-verbal behaviour (body language such as facial expressions, gestures etc) impact communication.

Back in the 1950s, Dr Ray Birdwhistell was one of the first to suggest that no more than 30% to 35% of the social meaning of a conversation or an interaction is carried by words. (There were others before him but Dr B has by far the coolest name, so we like him best).

Today, there is a strong school of thought that, when we communicate, people pay attention to our words and actions as follows:
more…

Words, by their nature, are ambiguous. Why? Because we each give different words meaning – depending on our own experiences, beliefs, values, thoughts and ideas.

This video demonstrates this through a simple ‘ice breaker’ training exercise on…sex!

Take a look and you’ll see what we mean. No giggling like school kids now. This is a serious and highly scientific lesson in Communication Skills. Oh, ok then, it’s just a bit of fun…

But seriously…if we cannot agree on the meaning of a universally acknowledged, simple little word like ‘sex’, what hope do we have of ever being properly understood?

If you want to improve the clarity and impact of your communication, take a look at our Communication Skills courses or Contact Us to talk through what you need.

P.S. We run this exercise a lot and ‘love’ doesn’t come up too much. Shame on everyone. And whoever said ‘Zygot’ in a recent session – well that’s just weird.

Being an effective coach can have an astonishing impact on the people you work with. Trust me, the personal rewards you get are out of this world and the business benefits can be far reaching.

Listen to the podcast for tips on:

• Questioning & listening techniques
• Types of coaching question to ask

You cannot hope to influence a change in someone’s behaviour until they understand:

• Where they are now
• Where they want or need to get to
• What is holding them back
• What choices and options they have to move forward

If you’d like to know more about how to influence staff behaviour, check out our Influencing Skills courses, Executive Coaching or Contact Us and tell us what you need.

Apparently, as a human being, you have 60,000 thoughts a day; 90% are the same ones you had yesterday, and the day before, and the day before.

We tend to live out our lives ticking to an habitual beat. Sometimes you just need to ask yourself “which way do i eat my banana?”

Think about people you consider to be more successful than you are. What makes them more successful? Are they better looking than you? Better educated? Better qualified? Were they just in the right place at the right time?

Probably not. What makes the successful, successful is their attitude.

Most companies spend their training budgets on improving knowledge and skills when the one thing that will really make the difference is improving attitude – Staff motivation is a really good place to begin.

Listen to the podcast and if you think your team could do with a staff motivation make over, take a look at our courses or Contact Us and we’ll explain how we can help.