Episode 377 – The Writer’s Voice with Anne Janzer

Episode 377 - The Writer's Voice with Anne Janzer

“In everything we write, we choose a voice.” Poets and novelists talk a lot about their writing ‘voice’, but nonfiction writers, and especially business book writers, can write a full manuscript without giving it a thought. Which is a shame, because as Anne Janzer – copywriter, ghostwriter and business book…

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Episode 338 – Crafting Connection with Felicity Dwyer

Episode 338 - Crafting Connection with Felicity Dwyer

‘It’s important to think about connecting with ourself first [because] whatever kind of interpersonal communication we are involved with, we are always there.’ In her 3D model of communication, Felicity Dwyer starts by inviting us to consider how we communicate with ourselves. It’s a profound and often moving process, but…

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Episode 307 – Invisible Work with John Howkins

Episode 307 - Invisible Work with John Howkins

‘Expressing an idea and getting it out there is a very skilful process… the principle is to get the other people as interested in the idea you are.’ Creative work is to a large extent invisible – which makes it tricky for managers to manage. It also means that we’re…

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Episode 286 – Things that editors hate (and how to avoid them)

Episode 286 - Things that editors hate (and how to avoid them)

When you’re writing a business book – or indeed any business writing – WHAT you’re saying is the most important thing, of course.  But HOW you say it can make all the difference as to how people read it. I asked a group of editors what really pushed their buttons,…

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Episode 264 – Toxic with Clive Lewis

Episode 264 - Toxic with Clive Lewis

‘The hardest part is getting started, getting that first paragraph on the page. And once I’ve been able to do that, generally for me, my writing then flows from that.’ Clive Lewis has written 17 books, so he’s learned a bit about organizing and communicating his ideas. He writes about…

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Episode 231 – The Writer’s Process with Anne Janzer

Episode 231 - The Writer's Process with Anne Janzer

‘Writing is a way of doing something physically while thinking deeply, it’s a container for deep thought in your life. If you think about it that way, it’s a really wonderful thing to make time for in your life.’ Anne Janzer’s mission is to ‘help people spread important ideas by…

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Episode 216 – Step Up Step Back with Elsbeth Johnson

‘In leadership communication, and indeed in the process of writing a business book, the more and better the quality and time spent on the thinking, the less time and the more effective the actual production of the communication or the book.’ Dr Elsbeth Johnson certainly put the time into creating…

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Episode 208 – Writing short books with Hassan Osman

Episode 208 - Writing short books with Hassan Osman

‘I’d love to write a book, but I have a full-time job and a family, I just don’t have time.’ If that sounds like you, you need to hear this. Hassan Osman has a demanding full-time job at Cisco and a young family, but he’s written eight (EIGHT!!) books so…

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Episode 182 – Leadership and Language with Chris Hirst

Episode 182 - Leadership and Language with Chris Hirst

There’s a lot of hot air expended on the topic of leadership. It can seem as though ‘leadership’ is a complex, arcane concept far removed from the reality of most of our lives. Here’s the antidote: Chris Hirst’s No Bullsh*t Leadership: Why the World Needs More Everyday Leaders and Why…

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Episode 175 – Plain Speaking with Charlie Corbett

Episode 175 - Plain Speaking with Charlie Corbett

‘We’ve got more ways to communicate with one another than at any time in human history, and yet we’ve completely forgotten how to communicate with one another, or at least how to communicate in a meaningful way.’ Charlie Corbett is starting a revolution. He wants to end corporate-speak and the…

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