blog

Zoom 101 webinar

zoom 101 resources

Below you can find links to the products and services I mention in the Zoom 101 webinar. If you haven't seen the webinar yet, sign up here. You'll also receive security tips. Be aware that I may benefit if you ...
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tips for coping in crazy times

7 tips for crazy times

Who would have thought this?!Can you believe we'd all get so fixated on toilet paper? Of have such opinions about distance? I've spent time listening to concerns and here are my 7 tips for crazy times. I hope you'll find ...
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ideas for leading online team meetings

how to lead an online team meeting

So, you’ve got yourself an online team. Congratulations! You’re ready to go places. But how should you lead a team meeting? Especially when you have no experience with this role. And if you have an international team. Read this article ...
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guide to going live

How to go live on Facebook in English

Whether you’re a native or non-native speaker of English, Facebook can be a source of stress. Going live on Facebook can be tough anyway, but if you speak another language, adding English into the mix can make your blood pressure ...
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reasons to go global

Why go international with your business?

Going international with your business isn't for the faint-hearted. It will challenge you in many different ways, but there are so many benefits too. In this blog you'll read about some of the benefits that I've noticed and some that ...
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making sure you're listened to

May I interrupt you there? How to get heard

Over the weekend I was watching a tv discussion programme. It started off as a discussion about whether countries could get involved with matters in a different country. It was a fascinating discussion, with very different view points. They are ...
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overviews matter

Self-care matters: 3 reasons why

3 things I learned last week. Again. In this blog I talk about why self-care matters for us as entrepreneurs and how down time can boost our business in 3 separate ways. Last week was a tough one Shivers, coughing, ...
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self care means setting boundaries

Boundaries mean more progress in your business

In business you can be too flexible. Even if everyone around you is asking you to be flexible, you still need some boundaries if you want to progress. One of the wonderful things about having my own company is that ...
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route map to going international

10 steps to switch to English

How to prepare to go international with your online business The idea of switching to English in your online business is a no brainer. You can dramatically increase your audience and your sales. You meet people from all over the ...
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how to make choices

Do you need to invest in English for your business?

When I was a small child, Thursday was my favourite day of the week. It was pocket money day. Every week I had the same routine. I would take my 1 shilling and threepence (it really was a long time ...
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first you need dreams

When you wish upon a star

Yesterday, I was blown away. Any of you who have older kids will recognize this feeling. Waiting by the phone to hear how your kid’s final exams have gone. Having spent hours encouraging them (=your interpretation), nagging them (=their interpretation) ...
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why English isn't the reason you're not going global

How to stop English holding you back in your business

One of the most important reasons given for starting a company is self-determination or making your own mind up what you’re going to do and when. It’s all about freedom and sharing your talents with the world. So, it’s frustrating ...
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storytelling

How to tell your story in English

As an entrepreneur, you need to connect to others. People need to have a feeling of who you are and what you could do for them. They need to get goosebumps listening to you. Goosebumps are a sign that what ...
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frustation when learning English

What to do when you’re frustrated with English

There’s a phase in language learning that I call the headache phase. You’re understanding more and more, but you can’t yet express yourself as you would like to. It means you’re working really hard, get very tired and frustrated and ...
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You learn English in phases

Which phase of learning English are you in

Language (or any) learning works in a number of phases. In this blog I explain how this works and how to work out which phase you are in. This will help you minimise frustration when you learn English and hopefully ...
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which type of English do you need

US or UK English for your business

There is no such thing as one kind of English. So, even if you use international words, you still have to make a choice which English your company is going to use. In this article you’ll find out if you ...
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you can work on determination

How to find the determination to keep going in your business

Having a business can be really tough at times. Sometimes you don't know what to do next. Sometimes life is tugging at your arm, trying to get your attention. I went through this last week and realised that I could ...
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how and when to use emojis

How to use emojis in Business English

Emoji’s are here to stay. It’s hard to remember that even 10 years ago, we were hardly using them. 20 years ago we wouldn’t have understood most of them. And now they have become an essential part of our online ...
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rhymes are useful in marketing

How to use rhymes in Business English

Rhyme is probably not the first thing you think about when you're improving your English for your business, but it can be really useful. Just think about how many rhyming slogans you know. This blog talks about how to use ...
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what to do with phone angst

Hate phoning in English? Here’s how to do it

A lot of people I speak to tell me they don’t like phoning in English. When I ask them about this, they usually tell me that they don’t like phoning much anyway, but English is even worse. I get this ...
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how to use contractions in Enlish

Using long and short forms in English…length matters!

You probably once learnt that you should use long forms like ‘do not’ when you are writing and ‘don’t’ when you’re speaking. But there’s a bit more to long and short forms in English than that. Scroll down to the ...
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how to choose want or would like

Want or would like?

The Easier English guide to getting it right. I often tell clients that a quick way to sound more polite is to use ‘would like’ instead of ‘want’. And it’s true. If you’re meeting someone in person, using ‘would like’ ...
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tricky spelling in English

Red or read? 10 Frequently made spelling mistakes in English

English isn’t phonetic. That means that spelling isn’t easy, because you have to remember how to write a word, how it sounds and what it means all at the same time. That means that there are a lot of frequently ...
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What I love about English

Why I love English

This week I was talking to Ellen about English. She was telling me about her passion for coaching and said “I guess English is like that for you”. Well, it’s a bit more complicated than that, even though I can ...
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how you might be holding yourself back

Met your monster yet?

Recognise this? You’ve giving a presentation, a live or a webinar and all the time, there’s a little voice talking at you. It’s telling you everything you’re doing wrong, as you're doing it and it’s getting louder and louder and ...
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what happpens if you procrastinate instead of improving your English

Squeaky clean house instead of speaking English for your business?

Why putting English off can be a sign that you've forgotten something important You know, there’s a story I hear all the time when I’m teaching English. It’s the ‘My teacher told me I was no good at English’ story ...
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simple ways to listen more to English

10 ways to practise listening to English

Listening is an important skill. In business it can make the difference between a sale or no sale, between understanding feedback from a client or not, between understanding new information at an event or not and many other situations. So, ...
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there are ways to say no

7 ways to say No in English so you can be heard

’No’ is a tricky word in English. If you say “No” by itself, you’re likely to sound irritated or even angry. I call it the Naked No. If a Brit uses the naked No, you can safely assume that you’re ...
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what to say if you can't find a word

Can’t find a word?

One of the most annoying things about learning English is not being able to find a word. Added to that, English has a lot of words, for this to happen with. So, this is a situation that you can expect ...
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words that sound strange in UK English

Do you use these US words with a British accent?

Let's put the record straight - I have nothing against Americans or American English. I lived in Texas for a while and I loved it. However, I do think it's important that you realise that mixing up US and UK ...
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learn to enjoy the mistakes

Mistakes can be beautiful

Last weekend I was at Schiphol, picking up my son. It's a convenient place to meet and we both love the energy of the airport. We were waiting on the platform for a train and overheard a conductor making an ...
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what the phrase turning tables means

Turning Tables

I was asked about the phrase ‘turning tables’. You might know this phrase from the Adele song of the same name, which is, as in quite a few Adele songs, about things that can go wrong in love. So what ...
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