“At twenty, you worry about what others think of you; at thirty, you stop worrying about what others think; at forty, you realise others were never thinking of you.”

Recession, pandemic, digital disruption – what is the ‘positive’ outcome of the 3 events? Change. How do we build confidence in times of uncertainty and be comfortable with change? As change is the only constant in life, what we could control is the switch of perception. Whilst it may be naïve to see the world in a rose-tinted glass, understanding which changes are here to stay will continue to be a priority for individuals and businesses in 2021.

There was a time when networking meant collecting as many business cards as you could, to build your ‘network’. I remember those days. In fact, that was my goal for many years and I felt that I was very successful at it. I had collected many business cards from some very high profile and influential people.

If you are looking for the short answer and don’t want to read the rest of this blog, then the answer is NO.

“So, what do you do?”

You’ll hear that question a zillion times in your career but have you conceived of even one good answer? Few people have.

The answer seems simple, easy, straightforward: I’m in finance…IT…accounting…sales…(fill in the blank).
But those are generic, bland, non-descriptive, unhelpful replies. They don’t reveal what you actually do.

The questioner asks for a verb, you give an adjective. They seek enlightenment, you obscure. They seek information, you supply a label. The listener wants a picture, you give a grunt. You help neither yourself nor your listener with truncated answers.

Time to get it right.

The surest path to becoming a better writer is to read and write regularly. But as with all crafts—from playing the guitar to making jewellery—a few expert hacks can help speed up the learning process. Here are five easy ways to give your writing an instant boost.