Tom Verrall

Ever walked into an important meeting and suddenly forgotten how to breathe? Perhaps your mouth became dry. Your heart raced. Your hands felt strangely warm - or strangely cold. You heard your own voice and wondered who on earth had replaced it with someone who sounded less competent. If so, congratulations. You’re human. One of the biggest misconceptions about confident communicators is that they don’t experience similar physical reactions. In reality, they often do. The difference is that...

You know your subject. You’ve prepared for the meeting. You’re perfectly comfortable with everything you intended to say. Then someone asks a question you weren’t expecting. Suddenly, you’re speaking before you’ve quite decided what you think. There’s a lengthy introduction, a little background, a qualification or two... Somewhere in there is an answer, although you’re beginning to wish someone would help you find it. If you want to get better at thinking on your feet in meetings, it helps to...

‘That’s an interesting idea.’ Four words. Perfectly polite. And, depending on who says them and how, they can mean almost anything. I love it. I hadn’t thought of that. Please stop talking. This will never happen while I’m in charge. Most of what matters in a conversation isn’t in the words at all. It sits underneath them. Actors have a name for this. Subtext. And learning to read it (and to notice your own) is one of the most useful communication skills you can develop. What is subtext? In...