Archive for the 'Other Articles' Category

The Dog Days of Post Covid Recovery: 5 Tips When You Can’t Take Your Best Friend to Work


Last Friday was National Take Your Dog to Work Day! But what can you do on the other 364 days of the year when this isn’t an option?

National Take Your Dog to Work Day was established in 1999 by Pet Sitters International to help maintain the bond between owner and pet during the average working day. (It was also a very clever ploy to encourage people to adopt a furry friend after interacting with them in person…)

Instances of dogs being introduced into the workplace and on university campuses have only been increasing after it was proved that pets help reduce stress and anxiety in the workplace and improve the owner’s mental health.

It’s probably no surprise then that throughout the Covid-19 pandemic, many people found comfort and companionship by introducing a pet into their homes. Our 4-legged companions eased the isolation and inactivity of enforced lockdown and furlough or working from home meant being around to make the commitment.

The PFMA (Pet Food Manufacturers Association) has confirmed that 3.2 million households in the UK acquired pets over lockdown, with over 12  million dogs now in homes around the UK. In 2019, this figure was 6,702,000, so the number of dogs in homes has nearly doubled over the pandemic.

However, life has returned to some semblance of normality. Whether we feel joy or exasperation at rejoining the working world, we probably feel united in our relief that Covid-19 restrictions are all but non-existent.

But it begs the question, what about our furry friends?

During the pandemic, every day was ‘Bring Your Dog to Work Day’ until it wasn’t. Suddenly the routines changed, and we were no longer constant companions to our pets.

Here are some tips to help your pet adjust to the routines of working life:

1. Create a morning routine

Pets – dogs especially – tend to be highly social creatures, bonded to their home pack, and sudden, prolonged absences can be distressing.  Before starting work, it might help to go through your average, morning routine and then shut yourself in a room. This mimics leaving the house and allows your pet to experience being left alone for short periods and then reassured that you will return. 

It’s also an invaluable opportunity to see how your canine friend copes with your absence. If the doors and floors have been scratched, or there are sudden house training regressions, this is a sign that your canine friend is stressed, and it may be worth consulting a vet or behaviour expert.

2. Morning walks

It is always a good idea to let your dog have a big ol’ run around at the start of the day. Unless you are within walking distance of work, there will be no lunchtime strolls. The mornings are essential for spending time with your dog and ensuring they’ve done their business before going to work. The exercise will tire them out and calm them down!

3. Relaxing music and a place to stay

Pet terrier asleep between bedding at home

This one is again about building routines. Some dogs need to have a place entirely their own filled with blankets, dog-safe toys, and freshwater close by. Leaving the radio on a relaxing music channel for your pet can also help combat separation anxiety and create a reassuring routine (thoroughly recommend classical FM). The music continues, and the pack separates for a while, but everyone returns. 

4. Are you not entertained?

Some behavioural problems in dogs stem from boredom, especially if left alone. Toys (indestructible!), healthy chews, controlled food-dispensing toys, and a window with a view can all help mitigate your dog’s destructive tendencies. If the toys have been left untouched, you may need to find something more stimulating. Still worried about what they’re getting up to? Some user-friendly pet gadgets are available now to see what havoc is being wreaked in your absence or just to say a quick hello and interact with your dog from anywhere.

5. Rome isn’t built in a day

The key is taking the time, patience and preparation to put all the above into practice. Despite how much time you may think you will have with your dog, as we discovered over the past couple of years, life can change quickly. It is important to start ‘daily life’ routines early on and keep to these to secure your pet’s routines and their place in the family pack and reduce the risk of separation-related behavioural problems later on.

A Beginners Guide to Excel: Friend or Foe

What is Excel?

It’s a good question. Excel is another multipurpose tool that has made its way into both our personal and professional lives due to its wide variety of applications and powerful functions. With over 750 million users, it is one of the most popular software applications globally.

Excel is a spreadsheet program created by Microsoft and is available as part of the Microsoft Office Package. The spreadsheet is compiled of boxes called cells, which hold data organised into columns (cells going down the way) and rows (cells going across the way), creating a sheet (hence spreadsheet). It allows us to not only store data but also display and organise this data in a clear and understandable format.

Is Excel worth learning?

As a prominent workplace tool and with many employers expecting Excel as a base skill, you will likely come face to face with Excel in your career, whether this is data entry and storage for the future, or perhaps creating a dashboard from scratch. Learning the basics will allow you to confidently approach this eventuality and avoid feeling like a deer caught in the headlights.

Additionally, it is a transferable skill applicable to many industries and even your personal life! (Anyone sheepishly reading this and thinking of the 100’s of excel sheets you have dedicated to comparing products?… You’re not alone.)

What can Excel actually do?

So now that we’ve established that excel is worth learning, what can it actually do?

  1. Make tables and databases

This might be the most apparent function and, therefore, the best place to start. Data is inserted and stored in cells where it can be visually grouped and analysed. Tables allow us to distinguish and organise data into meaningful categories. Otherwise, we have a chaotic jumble of information with no discernable relationship.

Once the data is inserted into a table, we can format the table’s design, create filters to hide or search for specific information, and rows and columns can be easily added or removed.

  1. Convert data into graphs and charts

Now that the data is arranged into tables, excel has graphical features that allow us to represent this data in graphs and charts. Graphs and charts enable us to better understand the data quickly due to their more simplistic display of the information. They are especially useful for extensive data where relationships and patterns are harder to see.

  1. Functional features

Not only can we represent data in graphs and charts, but we can also perform complex calculations with the data. This is especially useful for totalling 100+ columns and manipulating large sums of data. The alternative is the painstaking process of doing everything by hand…Excel will do this for you quickly and correctly.

And that’s why Excel is your friend!

Microsoft Excel is an incredible tool that specialises in improving efficiency and saving time. It may seem like a steep learning curve but with 750 million-plus users, we can safely assume that the benefits outweigh the trepidation of getting started. It is a lot simpler to use, and with an easy goal in mind, you’ll quickly get to know the layout and the promise of a more organised existence.

Feel like you need a bit more support getting started? Check out our comprehensive Excel Introduction Course, led by a Live Trainer who will support you at every step of the way!

5 Ways That You Can Be A Better Leader

Being a good leader is difficult. Most of us, during our working lives will have many managers and supervisors. Of these, those that we might consider really good leaders might be quite a small number. Leadership, however, like anything else, is a skill that can be learned. Becoming a good leader can have a massive impact on the success of both your own team and that of your organisation. Here are some of the ways that you can improve your supervisory skills:

Connect with your team

Leading a group of people requires a mutual sense of trust and understanding between the leader and their team members. To achieve this, leaders should learn to connect with each team member individually.

Try focusing on getting to know them as a person; their personality, interests, strengths, weaknesses and their motivations. This understanding will enable a manager to help develop team members and increase their autonomy in areas where their skills are high. This in turn will increase the employee’s engagement, motivation, investment in, and trust of, you as a leader.

Encourage professional and personal growth

It is probably already part of your Job, but acting as your team’s champion is a vital part of being an effective leader. You should be completely invested in their success and growth both professionally and personally.

This makes complete sense, because, as a leader your job is to get the very best results you can out of your team. By giving employees the opportunity to learn and develop, to upskill and move into new areas, you will increase their satisfaction, work-rate and buy-in. The old adage goes that if you, as a leader, are the smartest person in the room, then you are in the wrong room. Be the best leader and developer of people in the room. Let your team be the best at everything else.

Keep a positive attitude

As much as leaders wish their team’s day-to-day operations could run smoothly all the time, things will go wrong. Human error, unforeseen occurrences and outside forces can all, potentially, put things off track. Whether it is a minor miscommunication or a major incident, how you respond to the issue is key. Negative situations will have an effect on everyone, including you as a leader and on your team, but it is your job to remain calm and positive, even if you don’t necessarily feel that way at the time. This is exactly when your team will look to you to tell them what to do. You need to do that as effectively and positively as possible.

Give direct and honest feedback

It’s important as a leader that you give honest feedback. It is the best way to guide your team in the right direction. Again, it may be part of your job, but you need to ensure that you are constantly and regularly providing constructive feedback and performance reviews. Obviously, to give correct feedback to your team, you need to know exactly where the business is headed, it’s goals and how your own team fits into them. Part of feedback is making sure that your team also know what it is that your organisation is trying to do. The fact that they are not meeting goals might just be because they don’t understand this correctly. If you’re not direct, people won’t understand where they are not meeting set standards and won’t be able to improve

Remember to also highlight employee accomplishments. Celebrate if a team member does something great and let them know. Positive recognition has been shown to improve engagement and productivity.

Be open to new ideas

Good leaders have the emotional intelligence to understand and accept that change is inevitable and that their team may have a different way of doing things, a method which could be more effective than their own. Remember, you don’t have to be the best at anything, apart from being the best leader. Always actively encourage innovation and better work practices suggested by your team. That is what a good leader does.

Encouraging your team members to provide their insights and ideas will increase their engagement and commitment and make them work better and smarter. Remember that you are not judged by what you, personally, accomplish as a leader, but by what your team can achieve.

For a more in-depth look into how to develop your leadership skills to gain the most of your team, consider checking out our leadership courses for the best insight.

Global Employee Health and Fitness Month

May is Global Employee Health and Fitness Month, which emphasises looking after yourself, both physically and mentally. Something that will be of benefit both at work and in all other parts of our lives.

History

We all know that maintaining our health and fitness will improve the overall quality of our lives, but as we grow older, we can get stuck in our routines and habits, whether they are good or bad, and it’s easy to neglect our mental and physical well-being. This is one of the reasons that the Global Employee and Fitness Month was launched in 1989, to provide an opportunity for workers to reflect on their lives and inspire employers to come up with new, innovative ideas to motivate employees around the world to improve their health and fitness.

As the Global Employee Health & Fitness Month (GEHFM) says on it’s website:

“Global Employee Health & Fitness Month is an international observance of health and fitness in the workplace. The goal of GEHFM is to promote the benefits of a healthy lifestyle to employers and their employees through worksite health promotion activities and environments.”

The role of employers is emphasised, as they are the ones who create the initiatives, to not only spread awareness of how essential good health is, but to also urge their employees to participate in projects and activities that have real physical and mental health benefits. It is not just employers who get involved in the month, however. Universities, local governments, hospitals, and health departments also play a great role in the successful celebration of this month.

How to Observe

Arrange a yoga session at your workplace: There are many forms of exercise that can help both physically and mentally. Yoga is one of the oldest and most proven. Perhaps arrange a yoga session in your work place, or,  if you work from home,  set aside half an hour for some yoga yourself. It can definitely help your body, but might also bring some peace to your hectic day.

Host an event with a variety of physical activities: If yoga isn’t your thing, persuade your employer to host an event with trials of many activities, such as swimming, running or weight lifting. The broader the options the better and the more people who are likely to get involved.

Bike to Work Scheme: Many companies have a bike to work scheme, which can benefit both employees and employers when the latter choose to cycle rather than drive to work. Whilst the health benefits to employees may be self-evident, Employers who have started such a scheme have reported less sick days amongst those who cycle, a lower carbon footprint; with the added financial incentive that  employers can save up to 13.1% in NI contributions.

Find out more about the bike to work scheme.

The Benefits of the Month

A Healthy mind is a productive mind: Living a healthier lifestyle, through a balanced diet and exercise will almost certainly mean an improvement in mental wellbeing, which can itself lead to a more productive lifestyle. Regular exercise can release dopamine, a chemical than makes us feel happier and satisfied, an important factor in regards to how hard we work.

Improving your health can make you less stressed: Sustained exercise will increase blood flow and pumps up endorphin production, the body’s natural painkillers, directly linked to reducing your stress. Being stressed can lead to de-motivation and burn-out, so adding a short exercise to your daily routine could really make a difference in both your work and home life.

Becoming energetic and motivated: Since exercise and healthy food provide energy, you are much more likely to be motivated to take on new projects and follow them through. If you need help with time management to help fit in extra time for your fitness and well-being, check out our Time Management courses.

Easy 3D Models in PowerPoint, Word and Excel

It may have escaped your attention, but it is now possible to insert 3D models into Office documents. The feature is available to Office 365 subscribers and to anyone who has the 2019 or 2021 Desktop versions of MS Office and it allows the easy insertion of 3D models into any PowerPoint, Word, or Excel file.

Key Features of 3D Models

  • 3D objects can be moved and resized in the same way as images, but can also be rotated along 3 different axes using a very simple control.
  • 3D models can be animated within PowerPoint using aminations like Turntable, Swing and Jump & Turn
  • If the same 3D object is used on consecutive slides in PowerPoint and combined with a Morph transition, the object is animated in 3D.

It is very easy to get a 3D model into your Word Document, PowerPoint Presentation or Excel Workbook. On the Ribbon at the top of any of the applications, simply click on the Insert tab and look for the Illustrations group, which is on the left-hand side of the Tab.

Although the Illustrations group is configured slightly differently, in Word, Excel and PowerPoint, this is always where you will find the 3D Model command.

Once the 3D object is inserted, manipulate the built-in tools to allow you to easily rotate, flip, spin, pan, and zoom for ideal placement.

3D Models in PowerPoint

Since you are most likely to use 3D Models in PowerPoint, we will concentrate on that, but inserting and manipulating 3D models in any of the other Office programmes will work in exactly the same way. Just follow the same steps that you would use to insert photos or videos in PowerPoint. Go to Insert → Select 3D Models and from the drop-down menu, choose how you want to insert a 3D file.

If you already have a 3D model that you have created or downloaded, then you can use the This Device option. A number of different 3D file formats can be inserted into PowerPoint slide. Just select the format that your 3D model is in.

Select the format that your 3D model is in.

If you don’t have an existing 3D Model, then you can opt for the Stock 3D Models command, where there are many options of pre-existing models. You can even search for exactly what you want.

Once the 3D model is inserted, rotate the model to the angle that you wish it to appear on the slide. This is done by clicking on the 3D model itself, which will cause a 3D rotation control to appear at the object’s centre, which can then be used to rotate the object as you wish. You can still use the normal rotation handle at the top of the object to rotate your image clockwise or counter-clockwise, but you’ll get a much better experience using the 3D rotation control.

3D Model in Various Views

Any 3D object can be moved, resized and aligned just like a normal picture, shape, icon or any object that is normally inserted into a PowerPoint slide. It isn’t yet possible to edit the 3D models themselves within PowerPoint, but if you have Paint 3D, it can be done with this programme.

When a 3D model is selected a 3D Model contextual tab appears on the Ribbon.

This includes options to reset the model, switch it to set views and arrange it relative to other objects on the slide. There are also controls for sizing the object including Pan and Zoom.

3D objects are very easily inserted into Slides and have multiple uses.

Six Ways That You Can Improve Your Communication Skills

Improving your communication skills is advantageous to you and everyone around you. Good communicators are seen as confident and trustworthy and these skills can help in both your professional and personal life.

Here are 6 ways that you can improve your communication skills:

Listening Effectively:

This is one of the most important, yet overlooked, aspects of communication. It is natural to try to think of a response to the other person while they are still talking, but taking time to let them finish and trying to fully understand what they are saying can pay dividends. If you are unsure about something that has been said, ask for clarification, or for the person to repeat their point again.

And when listening, stick to one communication at a time. It’s always tempting when speaking to someone on the phone, to, perhaps, respond to an email at the same time. But it is very likely that you will miss something the other person is saying. Trying to do both things at once may mean that you end up doing neither of them particularly well.

Body language:

This is something that we all are aware of, but which, surprisingly, most of us still don’t think about when we are communicating. A few simple things in this area can make a great deal of difference in our communication with others. Don’t cross your arms, keep eye contact, sit up straight so you look professional and be as open as possible. We don’t have to be body language experts to use it effectively in communication.

Be Concise

In written and verbal communication, try to be as brief and concise as possible, whilst still conveying all the information required. Try not to ramble or go into areas of information that are just not needed.

Maintain a positive attitude and smile:

This one is simple. Smile and be positive. Smile even when speaking on the phone, because the other person will know it. Smile often and exude a positive attitude and people will respond positively to you.

Empathy:

Being able to understand the feelings of those around you is an integral part of being an effective communicator. Empathising means both understanding and relating to someone else’s feelings. Having high emotional intelligence and demonstrating an ability to empathise builds rapport between you and others and increases your ability to communicate.

Practice public speaking:

Public speaking may sound daunting, but there’s no better way to develop good communication skills. Good communicators are able to clearly articulate their feelings, whether speaking to a large group or talking face-to-face with one other person. Speaking in front of a group will highlight your strengths, as well as letting you know those areas that you need to improve on.

Our course in Advanced Communication Skills will show you how to apply advanced verbal and written communication techniques in your workplace.

5 Helpful Tips to Help You Retain Important Information

It’s widely believed that our memories get worse at we get older. However, whilst it is true that the aging process causes changes in our brains that can mean that it takes longer to learn and recall information, we shouldn’t mistake this for true memory loss. It is normal to forget things once in a while as we age. But, however old we are, there are many things we can do it in our day-to-day lives to help keep our brain working at full capacity.

Here are five ways to help keep your memory sharp:

Sleep

Sleep is proven to be one the most important factors in having a good memory. It is during sleep that our brains perform the consolidation processes required to do things such as moving remembered events from short term to long term memory. Lack of sleep may cause issues with retaining new information and even make you struggle to recall information laid down in the past.

Research also suggests that getting a good night’s sleep before learning is also very advantageous, since sleep deprivation can affect our brain’s ability to memorise and consolidate any new information. Remember, before your next class, seminar or training day, try to be well-rested, as it will help you more than you think.

Exercise

Studies in human brains show that regular exercise can improve our memory. Fitness amongst older adults has even been shown to help to slow the decline of memory. Exercise is also helpful with spatial awareness, which will also improve your spatial memory. Spatial memory is the storage and retrieval of information within the brain needed to plan routes and to remember where objects are located.

The health benefits to exercising regularly are well known and documented, but regular exercise is shown to improve other cognitive abilities besides memory, so whilst you’re improving your health and your memory there are many other benefits.

Meditate

Regular meditation increases blood flow to the brain, which in turn strengthens the network of blood vessels in the cerebral cortex. This reinforces our memory capacity. A particular study has indicated that meditating for just 20 minutes a day boosts memory and concentration. Meditation can particularly help working memory, which stores information temporarily for short term use.

Research shows that participants with no experience in meditation can improve their memory recall in just eight weeks. As meditation also helps with concentration, it has been shown to improve test scores.

Test Yourself

Testing yourself can help your ability to retain information, since any re-visiting and repetition of a subject will always help to embed the knowledge. Ask a friend to test you or see if there are any online resources that will check your knowledge

Doing this you can consolidate your knowledge of a topic or area and transfer your learning to long-term memory, which will happen if you continue to actively use the information. As a bonus, it also helps you know what you don’t know and to determine which areas you need to revisit.

Write it down

Writing down new information is a practice that many people use to retain information. This works because writing by hand turns on parts of the brain involved in learning and memory. Taking notes by hand, rather than even using a keyboard, may boost how well new information is retained.

Studies have shown that writing notes by hand is much better for long-term memory of ideas, or conceptual information. This is vindication for all of us who have ever said “I remember it better when I write it down”.

If you need anymore help with work-life balance, Infero has Time Management and Stress Management Courses in these areas.

XLOOKUP – The New Improved VLOOKUP

In Microsoft Excel, everyone has heard of the VLOOKUP function. It is one of the most used functions within Excel and the function that most people want to learn. This is not surprising, because VLOOKUP is extremely useful and can be used in a wide variety of situations. It is capable of very complex data analysis, but can also be used very simply. In essence VLOOKUP does what it says on the tin. It looks things up. So why have Microsoft, effectively, created a replacement for it?

Although VLOOKUP is used by millions of Excel users every day, it is not without faults. In fact, many Excel users use alternative formulas because of this. VLOOKUP has three main issues:

Only Left to Right

VLOOKUP only works from left to right. That is, it can only find a result value in a column to the left of the value that is being used as the look-up value. In the example below, if the Employee IDs were in a column right of the AGEs, it wouldn’t work.

The Column Number Issue

The column with the result required is designated by an index number. This means that if we want VLOOKUP to return data from the 2nd column of our data, we need to type in 2. The problem comes if another column is inserted into our data. Although our VLOOKUP will still have an index number of 2, the value we want to return may not be in the 2nd column anymore. At best, we won’t get the result we expect, at worst the VLOOKUP may stop working altogether.

VLOOKUP Defaults to an Approximate Match

LOOKUP functions in Excel can return an Exact match, meaning that they will only give a result if they can find precisely what we are looking for, or they can return an approximate match, meaning they will return the result nearest to the value we were searching for. Even though 99.9 % of the searches done with VLOOKUP are for an exact match, VLOOKUP default to an approximate match.

XLOOKUP fixes all these issues and more:

Left Lookup

VLOOKUP will not allow a left lookup to be performed. Before XLOOKUP, this could be done by using a combination of INDEX and MATCH functions, but this was quite complicated. Now a left lookup can be completed simply by using the XLOOKUP function.

The XLOOKUP function looks up the age and returns the Employee ID.

Column Number

XLOOKUP allows the returning of a value from a particular column simply by selecting it or typing its range within the formula. A column number need not be specified and so the formula can’t be broken if columns or rows are inserted or deleted.

Exact Match

By default, the XLOOKUP function in Excel 365/2021 performs an exact match, unlike VLOOKUP.

XLOOKUP is only available in Office 2021 and Office 365. VLOOKUP will remain available in Excel, but there are many more benefits in using XLOOKUP, such as being able to return values from above and below, as well as from left and right. To find out more and to learn how to use this new function fully, why not try one of our Excel courses.

How You can Improve Your Presentations Skills With These Simple Steps

Public speaking and presenting are very important skills to master, especially in the workplace. Presentation skills are increasingly important in almost every role. In fact, in surveys of employers, good communication skills, both written and verbal, are seen as two of the top five most desirable attributes of employees.

Here are our guidelines to help you improve your presentation skills:

Confidence

Confidence is one of the most important traits to have whilst presenting. A confident speaker will have an authority that reassures their audience that they know what they are talking about. They are also much more likely to get their message across. However, saying that you should be confident and actually being confident are two different things. Luckily, there are methods that you can use to help to build your confidence:

Preparation: The three most important things that you should do for your presentation are; preparation, preparation and preparation. There is no substitute for taking the time to thoroughly plan, prepare and write your presentation. Preparation will not only make you confident about the material, it will enable to craft a coherent structure for your presentation that will most effectively get your message across. Remember, the more that you prepare, the better that you know your material and the more confident you will be.

Rehearse your Presentation: Once you have written the presentation, rehearsal allows you to see if it actually works. It lets you see if the presentation slides are effective and also if the overall timing is correct. The more you can rehearse the better, especially if you can rehearse in the place where you are going to be delivering the presentation. An added bonus is if you can practice the presentation in front of others. Even practising in front of friends or family can help to build your confidence.

Know your Audience: Being familiar with your audience can greatly help your confidence. If possible, analyse your audience prior to the presentation using research and surveys. If this isn’t possible, you can always take time to talk to and get to know your audience immediately prior to your delivery. This isn’t always easy, but getting to know and understand those that your are delivering to can definitely boost your confidence.

Concise and simple

Another key thing to remember is to keep things simple. We have all been in presentations where the presenter has overwhelmed us with too much information. Another of the benefits of all that rehearsal that we talked about earlier is that it will enable you to spot and remove any unnecessary information.

It almost goes without saying that you should avoid jargon, especially when you are talking to a group of people unfamiliar with your topic. Even when you are talking to peers and experts, keep technical terms to a minimum. If you must use them, spend time so that you are able explain them in simply.

If you can’t explain it simply, you don’t understand it well enough.”

– Albert Einstein

Enthusiasm

Enthusiasm shows that you believe in your content. Enthusiasm is also infectious. If you care about your topic, your audience is liable to, too. It’s important, however, to convey that enthusiasm:

Change your Tone or Emphasis: It is vital that you vary the way you talk during the presentation. Speech is both verbal and vocal. How you say something is just as important as what you say. Emphasis for key words or concepts, pausing, speeding up or slowing down appropriately can all aid you greatly. This is somewhere else where rehearsal can help you greatly.

Speak Up: Vary the volume of your voice and the pitch. Again practice helps with this. You can even use emotion appropriately to convey your passion and enjoyment about the topic.

Research

It is almost redundant to say that you should have the best understanding possible for the topic you are discussing. If you are unsure, then this is likely to show. Knowing a subject well helps with your confidence too.

And don’t forget to prepare by researching potential questions that may come up. Not only will this help you to deal with these issues if they do occur, it is almost certain to improve your own understanding. Once again, you can ask colleagues or friends and family to mock-ask you possible questions to get practice answering them effectively.

Focus on your Audience Needs

Most importantly, you need to remember the prime reason you are doing the presentation in the first place and who it is for. The presentation is for your audience. It is not for you. When working and worrying about it, it is easy to forget this crucial point.

Always remember that it is what audience needs and wants to know, not what you can tell them, or want to tell them, that is of primary importance. And presentations are two way things, like all communication. As you deliver your presentation, always be focused on your audience’s reaction and respond appropriately to it.

For professional help from our dedicated team have a look at our communication skills courses or presentation courses to help you stand out in the workforce and impress your co-workers.

How You Can Make A Difference In Your Life During National Walking Month

What is national Walk Month?

Ditch your car and carry on past that bus stop because May is National Walking Month. Get fit by walking to work or school and perhaps even raise money by participating in a sponsored walking event.

You can help the British Heart Foundation by getting involved. Or maybe the Children’s Cancer and Leukemia Group, an organisation dedicated to helping detect cancer in children, which holds a number of fundraising events throughout the year to help fund their world-class research and the support they provide to the families involved.

If you wish to get involved in #WalkThisMay, here are some ways you can make a difference:

  • Organise a sponsored walking event at your school, work place, home or in the wider community. Raise money and get health benefits as you do so.
  • Take part in Walk to School Week commencing on the 21st May and use any money saved on fuel or parking as a donation to the CCLG. Even if you don’t go to school, you can you can still get involved by walking to work instead.
  • Have a friendly competition with your friends or colleagues and see who can walk the furthest, or the fastest, or can raise the most money within the month!
  • Do the #try20Challenge which encourages you to walk at least 20 minutes every day for the whole month. This can be a sponsored event to which friends and family can donate.
  • Sign up for a walking event later on in the year and use May as the perfect time to kick start your training

Five Benefits to Walking over Driving!

  • It’s free: Walking is both good for you both physically and financially. There is no cost in using your legs. Currently the cost of running a car is increasing incredibly because of the exponential rise in the price of fuel.
  • Less Pollution: Unlike cars, walking doesn’t cause pollution, whether that be carbon dioxide or sound pollution. As we all want to minimise our impact on the environment, now may be the perfect time to ditch the car for those shorter journeys.
  • Health benefits: Walking as a form of exercise has many health benefits. It strengthens the heart and lungs and makes us less susceptible to pulmonary disease.
  • It makes you feel better: Studies suggest that walking improves mental health, and time outdoors getting fresh air helps clear the mind and relieve stress.
  • Parking: There is none! Walking into a town means you don’t have to drive around for hours looking for an affordable place to park. It makes the whole trip less stressful and there’ll be no more reversing into tight spaces.

Remember while this month is about raising money for charity, the changes you make can be kept for the rest of the year. Or even longer.