IIC Coaching Blog

Chasing Commitments

One of my pet peeves is chasing people up on their commitments.

It'll be helpful if I help create the image here for you:

- I am a high achiever
- I have high standards
- I typically respond very quickly to any request for anything
- I "do" a lot
- I work up to 100 hours a week (my choices)

Notice how many "I" statements are in there?

This is important to note because this is often how I see myself and then when I am expecting someone else to follow through on their commitments to me, I can often in various ways, compare them to me.

And then I get frustrated, and it's not fair to them or to me.

What's the solution?

Instead of making it a comparison, do a different behaviour:
"Set and Manage Expectations Well"

One of my daily reminders to myself is to set and manage expectations well, which for me includes the following specific and measurable behaviours:

- Check to see if an agreement already exists about understanding of the commitment and the expectations of all parties.
- Ask if the agreement is still in place or if it needs to be renegotiated.
- Ask if there is any other information I need to be aware of including other needs of the people I'm making an agreement with.
- Ask if the other person requires anything from me first in order to honour the commitment.
- Ask if there are any obstacles in the way to honouring the commitment. If there are, ask what the options are for us to overcome the obstacles.
- Sincerely show gratitude; specifically thank the person(s) for honouring the commitment.
- Ensure I am honouring all the commitments I've made out of respect for the other person as well as honouring my own value of integrity.

Now, notice the difference from "I statements" to "other-person-focused questions".

This doesn't necessarily guarantee that people will suddenly start honouring their commitments to me overnight, but it does have the potential to improve the process and the outcomes, by also improving the quality of the relationship.

Coaching Exercises

1. What are your thoughts about the points listed above?

2. How well do you set agreements and manage commitments? What is it specifically that you do well? How do you measure that?

3. What are your opportunities for improvements about setting agreements and managing commitments? If you were to change these things, what sort of outcomes could you expect? How could you plan to make these changes?

4. As a result of these questions and your considered responses to them, what are you committing to?

As always, if you need any further personal support in response to any of these coaching exercises, please consider using the askacoach.com service.

All the best,
Noel

Noel Posus - Master Coach
www.askacoach.com  Join our newsletter by clicking here.

You can now get 100 days worth of The Best Little Life Coaching Blog in the World in e-book form. We call is BRIGHT IDEAS and it is our fundraising project to support The Oasis which helps out homeless youth in Sydney. We publish a new BRIGHT IDEAS volume every 100 days, so you can also order previous volumes to complete your collection. Click here to purchase your copy today and help our young people make a new start in life.

Noel Posus is on the Board of Directors and is the Head of Marketing - Asia Pacific for The-ECI - www.europeancoachinginstitute.org

Check out The Inaugural ECI Australasian Coaching Conference - The Future of Coaching: Embracing the Opportunities of the 2010s at http://www.europeancoachinginstitute.org/conference_2008/

November 20-22, 2008 - Sydney Australia

Do you have any happy news?

Some days it can just be sad and painful to watch the evening news or to read the news online.

I wonder sometimes about the various programmes that appear from time to time which just promote good news but never seem to last very long on television.

Here's a website I found this morning which I think you'll love:

HappyNews.com

Here's a quote from their website:

"Our basic belief is not that people should be insulated from bad news. Far from it. We encourage people to be fully engaged, fully informed citizens. That means we need to know the good and the bad. We just believe much of the traditional media has strayed from this course, and reports a disproportionate amount of negative news. We are trying to balance the scales back out. Plus, let's be honest, there are some days when we have just "had enough" and need a pick-me-up. Hopefully this site accomplishes that."

Interesting. What do you think?

Coaching Exercises

1. What are your thoughts about the balance of news (in any context or category) in your local area?

2. How much "good news" do you expose yourself to on a regular basis?

3. How much could you, and what value would that bring to your life?

4. As a result of these questions and your considered responses to them, what are you committing to?

As always, if you need any further personal support in response to any of these coaching exercises, please consider using the askacoach.com service.

All the best,
Noel

Noel Posus - Master Coach
www.askacoach.com  Join our newsletter by clicking here.

You can now get 100 days worth of The Best Little Life Coaching Blog in the World in e-book form. We call is BRIGHT IDEAS and it is our fundraising project to support The Oasis which helps out homeless youth in Sydney. We publish a new BRIGHT IDEAS volume every 100 days, so you can also order previous volumes to complete your collection. Click here to purchase your copy today and help our young people make a new start in life.

Noel Posus is on the Board of Directors and is the Head of Marketing - Asia Pacific for The-ECI - www.europeancoachinginstitute.org

Check out The Inaugural ECI Australasian Coaching Conference - The Future of Coaching: Embracing the Opportunities of the 2010s at http://www.europeancoachinginstitute.org/conference_2008/

November 20-22, 2008 - Sydney Australia

Lyric Study - A Piece of Sky

One of my favourite songs of all time is "A Piece of Sky" from the film Yentl, performed by Barbra Streisand. Here are the lyrics from that song:

A Piece of Sky

Tell me where
Where is it written
What is it I meant to be?
That I can't dare...
It all began the day I found..
That from my window I could only see
A piece of sky.
I stepped outside and looked around.
I never dreamed it was so wide
Or even half as high.
The time had come
(Papa, can you hear me?)
To try my wings
(Papa, are you near me?)
And even thought it seemed at any moment I could fall,
I felt the most,
(Papa, can you see me?)
Amazing things,
(Can you understand me?)
The things you can't imagine
if you've never flown at all.
Though it's safer to stay on the ground,
Sometimes where danger lies
There the sweetest of pleasures are found.
No matter where I go,
There'll be memories that tug at my sleeve,
But there will also be
More to question, yet more to believe..
Oh tell me where?
Where is the someone who will turn and look at me?
And want to share
My ev'ry sweet-imagined possibility?
The more I live - the more I learn.
The more I learn - the more I realize
The less I know.
Each step I take -
(Papa, I've a voice now!)Each page I turn -
(Papa, I've a choice now!)Each mile I travel only means
The more I have to go.
What's wrong with wanting more?
If you can fly - then soar!
With all there is - why settle for
just a piece of sky?
Papa, I can hear you...
Papa, I can see you...
Papa, I can feel you...
Papa, watch me fly!


Coaching Exercises

1. Read through the lyrics again. What is your personal interpretation of the message from these lyrics?

2. One of the final questions in the lyrics is "why settle for just a piece of sky?" What, if anything, are you settling for? How do you feel about that?

3. If you were to metaphorically spread your wings and soar, what would you be doing?

4. What are your opportunities right now to "fly"?

5. As a result of these questions and your considered responses to them, what are you committing to?

As always, if you need any further personal support in response to any of these coaching exercises, please consider using the askacoach.com service.

All the best,
Noel

Noel Posus - Master Coach
www.askacoach.com  Join our newsletter by clicking here.

You can now get 100 days worth of The Best Little Life Coaching Blog in the World in e-book form. We call is BRIGHT IDEAS and it is our fundraising project to support The Oasis which helps out homeless youth in Sydney. We publish a new BRIGHT IDEAS volume every 100 days, so you can also order previous volumes to complete your collection. Click here to purchase your copy today and help our young people make a new start in life.

Noel Posus is on the Board of Directors and is the Head of Marketing - Asia Pacific for The-ECI - www.europeancoachinginstitute.org

Check out The Inaugural ECI Australasian Coaching Conference - The Future of Coaching: Embracing the Opportunities of the 2010s at http://www.europeancoachinginstitute.org/conference_2008/

November 20-22, 2008 - Sydney Australia

Coaching Leaders Wanted

I sent the below information out in a newsletter this past weekend as part of a promotion for the Inaugural ECI Australasian Coaching Conference: The Future of Coaching - Embracing the Opportunities of the 2010s. I wanted to share this here in blog as well as it's such an important announcement and opportunity that I didn't want any of you to miss it.

Leadership Opportunities

Check out The-ECI Leader Volunteer page on our website

The ECI, like many professional bodies within the coaching industry, is run by volunteer leaders all over the world (we are a virtual network).

We are pleased to say that we've grown as an organisation quite a bit in just the past couple of years (and hugely since our inception in 1999) and therefore we need more fantastic, talented, passionate and engaged leaders to build the team to keep up with our amazing growth.

Are you looking for a coaching industry leadership position?

Are you interested in getting more involved in the industry and learning from industry peers about running a global coaching professional body?

We would absolutely love to have you consider joining us.

Here are just a few of the positions available:

- International Head of Marketing (reports to the Board of Directors)
- International Head of Sales (reports to the Board of Directors)
- International Head of Enquiries (reports to International Head of Marketing)
- Head of Countries (we already have numerous country heads and as more and more countries join the collective, we need more people to step up and lead them from a regional perspective)
- Within each Country, we also need teams for Deputy Head, Marketing, PR, Accreditation and Affiliate Relationships
- International Head of Research and Development (Reports to the Board of Directors)
- Researchers
- Numerous operational positions around Membership, Benefits and Language Translation (Reports to International Head of Operations)
- International Head of Conferences (Reports to the Board of Directors)
- International Head of Continuous Professional Development (Reports to Deputy CEO)
- International Head of Consulting (Reports to Board of Directors)
- Various roles associated with the International Coach Register (Reports to International Head of Operations)

Our primary requirements of you to step into one of these leadership roles:

1. Your commitment to the role
2. You being a member of The-ECI (we are a member-run organisation)
3. Having good communication skills (oral and written) in English if you are applying for a Country or Department Head position

There are many benefits to being a member of The-ECI. Check them out here .

To join The-ECI, check out this information.

Check out The-ECI Leader Volunteer page on our website.

You can apply simply by clicking on the "Join This Team" link for any team you're interested in and you'll be able to email the head of that department directly.

On a personal note, I have had the good fortune of working on many industry boards over the years (for The-ECI and other organisations) and I can tell you that it has been such a hugely rewarding part of my own career as a coach.

I invite you to make contact with a department you're interested in and discus the opportunity to join. There is no obligation. Just have a conversation.

Thanks in advance for responding so well to this call for leaders!

Cheers,
Noel

____________________________________________

Download the Conference Invitation Pack here.


The Conference Invitation Pack is regularly updated and you'll find the most recent version date on the front cover (11 September 2008).

Future conference email updates will include profiles and information about each of the speakers and their session topics; as well as highlighting our many wonderful sponsors who are helping us put on this breakthrough event.

Cheers,
Noel

Noel Posus
Conference Organiser and Host
ECI Board of Directors
ECI Head of Marketing Asia Pacific
(Director and Master Coach for askacoach.com - Platinum Sponsor)



Coaching Exercises

1. There are over 100 professional bodies for the coaching industry around the world. The-ECI is just one of them. How do you evaluate which professional bodies to be a part of?

2. There could be value in being a part of more than one professional body. What do you see the value of that being, if any in your opinion?

3. I joined The-ECI's Board of Directors because they asked for my help and it also fulfilled a number of personal and professional objectives I have. If you were to join this or any other professional body's team, what personal and professional objectives could it achieve for you?

4. What skills, strengths, qualities, knowledge, etc do you have that is needed by the various professional bodies associated with your career?

5. As a result of these questions and your considered responses to them, what are you committing to?

As always, if you need any further personal support in response to any of these coaching exercises, please consider using the askacoach.com service.

All the best,
Noel

Noel Posus - Master Coach
www.askacoach.com  Join our newsletter by clicking here.

You can now get 100 days worth of The Best Little Life Coaching Blog in the World in e-book form. We call is BRIGHT IDEAS and it is our fundraising project to support The Oasis which helps out homeless youth in Sydney. We publish a new BRIGHT IDEAS volume every 100 days, so you can also order previous volumes to complete your collection. Click here to purchase your copy today and help our young people make a new start in life.

Noel Posus is on the Board of Directors and is the Head of Marketing - Asia Pacific for The-ECI - www.europeancoachinginstitute.org

Check out The Inaugural ECI Australasian Coaching Conference - The Future of Coaching: Embracing the Opportunities of the 2010s at http://www.europeancoachinginstitute.org/conference_2008/

November 20-22, 2008 - Sydney Australia

Check out emPOWER Magazine - You'll be glad you did!

I've been watching media about life coaching for a number of years now, observing the evolution, and waiting for the day when there would be a magazine dedicated to helping everyday people coach themselves.

It's arrived and it's called emPOWER !

Here's an introduction from their website:

'em' or 'emPOWER' is all about giving you – aspiring women – the power to change or improve every area of your life. Whether you're aspiring for a successful career (or business), more fulfilling relationships, better health, more wealth or to feel more connected spiritually, emPOWER has been designed to assist you to reach your full potential.

And just because the target demographic is women, doesn't mean that men can't also get exceptional value and support from emPOWER.

Every issue also has a "Coaching Toolkit" section as a supplement attached to the back of the publication, and it is full of great self-coaching tools, tips and ideas. The content and graphics are just brilliant.

As I know many of you reading this blog are also coaches of one sort or another, you may find this a great magazine to share with your clients as a "value add" additional support tool. I know as a coach that I've also learned so much from reading just the first two issues. This is just great stuff!

I'm also quite pleased that there's a feature in the current issue's "Coaching Toolkit" section about one of my clients and myself. It's called "The Last Laugh" and it provides an interesting look at the coaching experience in one case study from both the client and the coach.

I don't often to "recommendations". That said, I highly recommend everyone to check out this pioneering and breakthrough publication. It really is worth it.

Go to the emPOWER website by clicking here.


Coaching Exercises

1. Everyone in one way or another, coaches themselves, even if they don't know to call it "coaching". How would you describe you coach yourself to make changes in your life and achieve what you want?

2. What self-coaching strategies work for you currently, and what outcomes have you achieved as a result?

3. What self-coaching strategies have not as yet proven to be highly successful for you? How do you think these could be improved?

4. If you went to a coach with the intention to work on how to learn to coach yourself better, what do you believe you could achieve?

5. As a result of these questions and your considered responses to them, what are you committing to?

As always, if you need any further personal support in response to any of these coaching exercises, please consider using the askacoach.com service.

All the best,
Noel

Noel Posus - Master Coach
www.askacoach.com  Join our newsletter by clicking here.

You can now get 100 days worth of The Best Little Life Coaching Blog in the World in e-book form. We call is BRIGHT IDEAS and it is our fundraising project to support The Oasis which helps out homeless youth in Sydney. We publish a new BRIGHT IDEAS volume every 100 days, so you can also order previous volumes to complete your collection. Click here to purchase your copy today and help our young people make a new start in life.

Noel Posus is on the Board of Directors and is the Head of Marketing - Asia Pacific for The-ECI - www.europeancoachinginstitute.org

Check out The Inaugural ECI Australasian Coaching Conference - The Future of Coaching: Embracing the Opportunities of the 2010s at http://www.europeancoachinginstitute.org/conference_2008/

November 20-22, 2008 - Sydney Australia

Noel Posus on Channel 7's Morning Show - Routine or Rut?

I've been very fortunate to finally break through into television. Although I did co-host a community based TV show for two seasons a number of years ago, I haven't had a live television interview on life coaching before. Until now.

I have had the great pleasure of being a guest on Australia's Channel 7 Morning Show talking about how to get out of a rut.

Here's the link to the station's website where you can watch the video segment. You may need to search for the video under the title Routine or Rut?.

If the above link doesn't work for you, try:
http://au.tv.yahoo.com/the-morning-show/video/index.html#embedded-video-top

I don't know how long Channel 7 will keep the video playing on their website (it may be based on popularity of the segments, so keep playing it and forward the link around and it'll likely stay up a while).

For today's blog, I'll list the five tips discussed in the video about how to get oneself out of a rut.

Enjoy.


Coaching Exercises

1. Getting Out of a Rut - Tip 1 - Talk it through with someone. Whether a friend, partner, colleague or a coach, start talking through how you're feeling and what you think you want to be different. Speaking about it makes you more accountable and it is easier to come up with ideas this way than just letting the thoughts simply exist in your head (and all that internal dialogue that goes on!). If you don't have anyone to talk it through with, then write it out, such as in a journal or creating some lists.

2. Getting Out of a Rut - Tip 2 - Get clear about what you want and don't want. Most of us make decisions to change based on wanting to move away from what we don't want in our lives. This is motivation. That works, but an even more successful strategy can be to be so inspired by what you want to move toward that you'll put in the effort and energy to get it. This is inspiration. Create a list of what you don't want and another list of what you want. One of those two lists is likely to be compelling enough to get you either motivated or inspired, or both.

3. Getting Out of a Rut - Tip 3 - Identify the first-step goal to work toward. When we're feeling stuck, we often also procrastinate on doing anything to create change. Therefore, to beat the procrastination and start to create some momentum, identify the first thing you can work on; the first goal. Maybe that's a small step that would lead into the next logical and possibly bigger step. You can keep this going until you eventually reach your desired final outcome.

4. Getting Out of a Rut - Tip 4 - Make a plan (first step within 24 hours!). Whatever goal you choose to work on first, make a plan of each step you need to take, in chronological order, to achieve it. Create a list if you have to. Be sure that the first step is something you can do in the next 24 hours as that will double your chances of success. Delay just feeds procrastination.

5. Getting Out of a Rut - Tip 5 - Take action / Change behaviour. We almost always have good intentions when we set goals, just like when we set New Year's Resolutions. However, good intentions alone typically don't get us across the line. We need plans and we need to implement those plans. No one can make your goal happen for you, so get in there and start doing something - anything - and keep pushing forward even when it's not easy. If you want the goal badly enough, you'll put in the real effort required.

6. As a result of these questions/exercises and your considered responses to them, what are you committing to?

As always, if you need any further personal support in response to any of these coaching exercises, please consider using the askacoach.com service.

All the best,
Noel

Noel Posus - Master Coach
www.askacoach.com  Join our newsletter by clicking here.

You can now get 100 days worth of The Best Little Life Coaching Blog in the World in e-book form. We call is BRIGHT IDEAS and it is our fundraising project to support The Oasis which helps out homeless youth in Sydney. We publish a new BRIGHT IDEAS volume every 100 days, so you can also order previous volumes to complete your collection. Click here to purchase your copy today and help our young people make a new start in life.

Noel Posus is on the Board of Directors and is the Head of Marketing - Asia Pacific for The-ECI - www.europeancoachinginstitute.org

Check out The Inaugural ECI Australasian Coaching Conference - The Future of Coaching: Embracing the Opportunities of the 2010s at http://www.europeancoachinginstitute.org/conference_2008/

November 20-22, 2008 - Sydney Australia

Must See - Cannes Film Festival Best Short Film

Today, someone sent me the link to this short little film (five minutes) from Mexico/USA which won the best short film award at Cannes.

This is a must see video, and watch closely for the english translation on the sign at the end. It makes all the difference.



(In case the video doesn't display for you above, Click here: http://en.zappinternet.com/video/nilSqaMboM/HISTORIA-DE-UN-LETRERO )

I have frequently spoken about in my presentations, classes and coaching sessions the notion of values and the conditions we have on them.

For example, giving. When someone asks for money, we often have some pre-determined rules and conditions which assist us in deciding to give or not. You may have different responses if the person asking for money doesn't give you a reason, or does tell you that it's for alcohol and drugs, or if it's a mother with her children who says that the money will go to feed the kids.

If you have a different response in any of those situations, than you have conditions on the value.

There's nothing right or wrong about this. It's just awareness of how your values, rules and conditions influence how you operate on a daily basis.

This video is a lovely example of that.


Coaching Exercises

1. What are your values, beliefs, attitudes, rules and conditions on "giving"?

2. How have your values, etc from question one supported you in the past and/or currently?

3. How have your values, etc from question one NOT supported you in the past and/or currently?

4. As a result of these questions and your considered responses to them, what are you committing to?

As always, if you need any further personal support in response to any of these coaching exercises, please consider using the askacoach.com service.

All the best,
Noel

Noel Posus - Master Coach
www.askacoach.com  Join our newsletter by clicking here.

Noel Posus is on the Board of Directors and is the Head of Marketing - Asia Pacific for The-ECI - www.europeancoachinginstitute.org

Check out The Inaugural ECI Australasian Coaching Conference - The Future of Coaching: Embracing the Opportunities of the 2010s at http://www.europeancoachinginstitute.org/conference_2008/

November 20-22, 2008 - Sydney Australia

Cosmic Soul Women - Mastering Success Workshop

I'm very pleased to announce a special upcoming event in both the UK and in Australia:

Cosmic Soul Women - Mastering Success Workshop

Presented by Dr PaTrisha-Anne Todd (LCSi, FMAC, FECI)
This is an LCSi-Education event – HQ in Bournemouth, England

Cosmic Soul Women is a true learning experience to help you access your heart’s desire and make your heart sing.

This one-day event introduces you to the power of the cosmic force and how to create the lifestyle you desire; to “Live Your Life by Design”. This is an exceptionally unique self-healing workshop in abundance, prosperity and success.

CREATING DYNAMIC SUCCESS IN LIFE AND BUSINESS

During the Cosmic Soul Women Workshops Dr PaTrisha-Anne Todd, best-selling author (LifeCoaching A-Z) and metaphysical teacher will share with you her own Cosmic Soul Spiritual Journey and how she found her true core self and how you can too. She has been teaching these principles around the world for over 30 years. You’ll learn how to raise your vibration as a human being and balance your life and work to enjoy pure happiness, loving relationships, optimal health and how to create abundant wealth working for yourself. You will learn the Secret of the Law of Attraction.

The day will support and help you access your heart’s desire. Have fun during this life-changing workshop packed with empowering strategies and techniques to learn the basics of how to become a money magnet creating financial freedom, and how to harness your natural energy and create true harmony and health.

Discover how the power of positive mental attitude (PMA) focuses your mind on the things you really want to do in your life and how to achieve your wildest dreams using the 6-Step Coaching Model System making your heart sing.
You’ll also find out how to develop a clear compelling vision for your future with your own Cosmic Action Plan to true health, wonderful loving relationships and abundant wealth.

Understand how to tap into the vibrations of the cosmic universe a powerful force that can help you create the lifestyle you deserve and abundance and prosperity.

CURRENT AND FUTURE WORKSHOP OPTIONS AND SCHEDULE

We are pleased to offer the Cosmic Soul Women series of events as a one-day, two-day intensive and a six-day boot camp and facilitation accreditation programme.

o 1 day event. Running time 9am – 5pm. (We are only promoting the 1 day event at this time, with the 2 and 6 day events for 2009)
o 2 day live intensive weekend. Running time 9am – 5pm.
o 6 day boot camp. Arrive early day 1 – depart day 6 accredited and focused to be in business for yourself while helping others.

NOTE: LCSi-Education is currently working on an official Cosmic Soul Men and Cosmic Soul Kids programmes.

INVESTMENT

This is a tax deductible business expense and all learning materials and CPD certificates included. Travel, accommodation and meals are not included. Payment plans available on request.
1-day event 2008. Discovering your potential to Live Your Life by Design. Ideal day for everyone who wishes they could attract abundance, prosperity and success into their life.

o Australia $247

All Australian prices include Australian GST of 10%.

Click here to download the workshop brochure for your own records and to forward to others. (THIS ALSO has the information for booking for the UK events)

You can also check out the Cosmic Soul Women website here.


Coaching Exercises

1. (Regardless of your gender) What does "mastering success" mean to you?

2. Where in your entire life do you feel you are successful now? Remember there are many areas in your life (health, knowledge, social, financial, family, relationship with self, relationships with others, spirituality, career, business, giving to others and giving to yourself)

3. Where do you have opportunity to improve? Consider all of the same categories. What is one thing you could change in each category to be more successful?

4. As a result of these questions and your considered responses to them, what are you committing to?

As always, if you need any further personal support in response to any of these coaching exercises, please consider using the askacoach.com service.

All the best,
Noel

Noel Posus - Master Coach
www.askacoach.com  Join our newsletter by clicking here.

Noel Posus is on the Board of Directors and is the Head of Marketing - Asia Pacific for The-ECI - www.europeancoachinginstitute.org

Check out The Inaugural ECI Australasian Coaching Conference - The Future of Coaching: Embracing the Opportunities of the 2010s at http://www.europeancoachinginstitute.org/conference_2008/

November 20-22, 2008 - Sydney Australia

Aspiring Authors - Get Published Fast!

I'm very pleased to announce a special upcoming event in both the UK and in Australia:

Aspiring Authors - Get Published Fast!

Presented by Dr PaTrisha-Anne Todd (LCSi, FMAC, FECI)
and Noel Posus, Director and Master Coach – askacoach.com (MECI)
This is an LCSi-Education event – HQ in Bournemouth, England

WHO SHOULD ATTEND

Aspiring Authors and people with a story to tell who want to become a published author will benefit from attending this workshop.

WORKSHOP OUTLINE

During the Aspiring Authors Workshop, Dr PaTrisha-Anne best selling author (LifeCoaching A-Z) will share with you her own Six Step Coaching Model and how to craft your book and choose your best topic, the core message to write about and the best title for your book.

If you’ve always thought about writing a book, or have already begun perhaps even completed the manuscript and now want to get it published in the shortest time possible and earn an endless stream of money then the Aspiring Authors workshop is the ideal solution to your dreams.

This practical one-day workshop is designed to help you unleash the book within you and share your stories and knowledge with a world wide audience.

o Packed full of useful information, you’ll learn the strategies about everything you need to know to become a published author, quickly, professionally and affordably.

o Discover how to turn your idea into a book and sell your book to a hungry market.

o Learn how to beat writers block and get your manuscript finished and turned into a marketable promotion tool that your fans will want to buy and read.

o Discover how to write a best selling book in 5 easy steps and get published.

o Learn how to use your book to build a solid customer base for your business and explode your business earning potential.

o Part of our day will be used to brainstorm and work through how easy it is to develop a concept into an outline, then into chapters, a book and beyond that into additional revenue streams including teleclasses, workshops and multi-media materials. This section will be facilitated by the Master Coach, Noel Posus and author of nearly 20 books!

The workshop day takes you through the step by step process of how you can take your idea and turn it into a powerful vehicle that will provide you with a dynamic money making machine.

If you really want to become a published and successful author and get your book into bookstores around the world in just a few weeks then this workshop is for you.

CURRENT AND FUTURE WORKSHOP OPTIONS AND SCHEDULE

We are pleased to offer the Aspiring Authors series of events as a one-day, two-day intensive and a six-day boot camp and facilitation accreditation programme.

o 1 day event. Running time 9am – 5pm. (We're only promoting the 1-day workshop at this time, with the 2 and 6 day events for 2009)
o 2 day live intensive weekend. Running time 9am – 5pm.
o 6 day boot camp. Arrive early day 1 – depart day 6 totally focused on becoming a best-selling author and earning a passive income.

INVESTMENT

This is a tax deductible business expense and all learning materials and CPD certificates included. Travel, accommodation and meals are not included. Payment plans available on request.
1-day event 2008.

o Australia $247

All Australian prices include Australian GST of 10%.

Click here to download the workshop brochure for your own records and to forward to others. (THIS ALSO has the information for booking for the UK events)

You can also check out the Aspiring Authors website here.


Coaching Exercises

1. If you could write a book about anything, what would you write about?

2. What do believe your writing strengths are? Structure, words, telling a compelling and engaging story? Also consider related strengths that could benefit a writer. For example, imagine you have a really great story to tell but you're not a fan of actually writing. You could video tape yourself telling the story and have a professional writer put it to paper for you and work with you to edit it. So your strengths? Maybe telling versus writing? Be open minded on this one.

3. What are your opportunities for improvement in writing? Is it a matter of skills you'd like to improve, or enjoyment/attitude, or both? or something else? What would specifically need to change as you see it and how could that change come about?

4. As a result of these questions and your considered responses to them, what are you committing to?

As always, if you need any further personal support in response to any of these coaching exercises, please consider using the askacoach.com service.

All the best,
Noel

Noel Posus - Master Coach
www.askacoach.com  Join our newsletter by clicking here.

Noel Posus is on the Board of Directors and is the Head of Marketing - Asia Pacific for The-ECI - www.europeancoachinginstitute.org

Check out The Inaugural ECI Australasian Coaching Conference - The Future of Coaching: Embracing the Opportunities of the 2010s at http://www.europeancoachinginstitute.org/conference_2008/

November 20-22, 2008 - Sydney Australia

Asia Pacific Alliances of Coaches

I am a member of APAC - the Asia Pacific Alliances of Coaches, and as I know there are so many coaches who read this blog, I thought it might be helpful to share this resource with you.

Here's some information from their website :

Welcome to Asia Pacific Alliance of Coaches (APAC)

APAC is a forum in the Asia Pacific region for coaches to reach new coaching professionalism and collaborate with one another.

We bring the power of coaching to every workplace and home by Integrity, Collaboration, Teamwork, Diversity and Technology.

Our Mission is:

“To foster the development and growth of Coaching, both as a profession and as a valuable process, so as to inspire new heights of human potential, achievement and creativity in Asia Pacific region.”

Welcome to APAC -- whether you are a coach, need a coach or would like to join us as a guest to discover more about coaching, follow the links to your area of interest.

Our Values...

Integrity - Credibility - Professionalism
We work with Integrity to reach new Coaching, Credibility and Professionalism standards.

Collaboration - Possibilities - Solutions
We collaborate and share resources to bring more Possibilities and Solutions to the coaching community.

Teamwork - Fun - Enjoyment
We work as a Team bringing Fun and Enjoyment to what we do, connecting people together.

Diversity - Inclusion
We value Diversity as a way to make Inclusion possible for all.

Technology/ Openness
We welcome the use of Technology to reflect APAC‘s Openness to share and grow together

If you would like to know more about APAC, please visit their website for more information.



Coaching Exercises

1. Whether you're a coach or work in another profession, there are many organisations which can provide benefits for networking, work generation, idea sharing and personal/professional growth. What are your thoughts about the benefits of such organisations for your personal and/or professional path?

2. What organisations do you currently belong to? What benefits have you received or are now? What active role do you play in accessing those benefits for yourself?

3. Where are the gaps? This could be organisations and groups you haven't yet become a part of, or it could be that you're not getting the benefits you were after. What active role could you play to develop and access the benefits you're after?

4. As a result of these questions and your considered responses to them, what are you committing to?

As always, if you need any further personal support in response to any of these coaching exercises, please consider using the askacoach.com service.

All the best,
Noel

Noel Posus - Master Coach
www.askacoach.com  Join our newsletter by clicking here.

Noel Posus is on the Board of Directors and is the Head of Marketing - Asia Pacific for The-ECI - www.europeancoachinginstitute.org

Check out The Inaugural ECI Australasian Coaching Conference - The Future of Coaching: Embracing the Opportunities of the 2010s at http://www.europeancoachinginstitute.org/conference_2008/

November 20-22, 2008 - Sydney Australia

A beautiful video of art made with just sand and a lightbox. Stunning!

I've found a very interesting video this morning. It's kind of like a music video but features an artist making beautiful images with sand on a lightbox. It's hard to explain, so maybe just watch it...

Learn how to draw at 5min.com

The impact this video had on me when I watched it was one of creativity and inspiration. I found it interesting to see shapes created not just by adding sand, but also by taking it away. Lovely.

So, I thought some artistic content and coaching questions may be in order for today.


Coaching Exercises

1. How would you describe your creativity? Everyone has creativity and the capacity to be creative, so please don't dismiss this question too quickly. Your creativity can manifest in lots of different ways, not just in "art". How and where are you creative?

2. If you see creativity (or some form of it from the previous question) as a strength for you, then how do you leverage that strength? In what situations do you draw upon it to achieve the outcomes you're after?

3. If you feel creativity is not yet a strength for you, what do you wish specifically could be different? What would you like to learn or be able to do better than you do now? What would you like to enjoy more? What are your options to further develop your creativity? Yes, there are options if you're willing to see them.

4. As a result of these questions and your considered responses to them, what are you committing to?

As always, if you need any further personal support in response to any of these coaching exercises, please consider using the askacoach.com service.

All the best,
Noel

Noel Posus - Master Coach
www.askacoach.com  Join our newsletter by clicking here.

Noel Posus is on the Board of Directors and is the Head of Marketing - Asia Pacific for The-ECI - www.europeancoachinginstitute.org

Check out The Inaugural ECI Australasian Coaching Conference - The Future of Coaching: Embracing the Opportunities of the 2010s at http://www.europeancoachinginstitute.org/conference_2008/

November 20-22, 2008 - Sydney Australia

Cheering on strangers

This morning a marathon was run in Sydney.

I had forgotten it was on, and when I was working this morning I kept hearing cheering outside my window. At first I just thought it was some people still out partying from the night before (I should note that I live in the nightclub district of Sydney) and having a great time.

But I kept hearing cheering and clapping and realised that something else must be going on.

I looked out the window and saw the marathon runners going by, and I also noticed people sitting at the cafes across the street clapping and cheering on each of the runners as they went by.

Although some of those cheering may have been there to support a particular runner, like a friend or family member, and while at it were cheering on everyone who went by, I also noticed that some of those cheering probably had no connection whatsoever to any particular runner and just got in the spirit of encouraging them all.

I love this!

I've seen a number of marathons and witness this behaviour time and time again.

How wonderful that some people are just so open in the encouragement of strangers. I know I might sound a bit sappy when I say this, but I actually well up a bit when I see this happen. To me, it's such a wonderful sign of humanity and how we can come together to celebrate the efforts and achievements of others at all levels, even those that can't run anymore but walk the remainder of the race. How wonderful to see people just open up the positivity and share it with others; to help inspire others in their goals.

We don't see this every day. Maybe this just happens at special events like this.

But how amazing would it be if it happened all the time and for just every day sort of things?

Imagine the impact it could have on others if there was positive support in their environment all the time?

Think of the massive difference we could make on this planet!


Coaching Exercises

1. Have you ever cheered anyone else on? How did you do it? How did you feel when you did it? How did it impact the person you were cheering? How did it impact others standing around you?

2. How do you cheer people on today, in every day situations? How do you feel when you do it? How does it impact the person you're encouraging? How does it impact others in the same environment?

3. What opportunities do you have now and moving forward to encourage and cheer for others? How do you want to feel when you do this? What impact do you think it could have on the people you're supporting at the time? What impact do you think it could have others in the same environment?

4. As a result of these questions and your considered responses to them, what are you committing to?

As always, if you need any further personal support in response to any of these coaching exercises, please consider using the askacoach.com service.

All the best,
Noel

Noel Posus - Master Coach
www.askacoach.com  Join our newsletter by clicking here.

Noel Posus is on the Board of Directors and is the Head of Marketing - Asia Pacific for The-ECI - www.europeancoachinginstitute.org

Check out The Inaugural ECI Australasian Coaching Conference - The Future of Coaching: Embracing the Opportunities of the 2010s at http://www.europeancoachinginstitute.org/conference_2008/

November 20-22, 2008 - Sydney Australia

What do I do next?

My partner and I had coffee with a friend this morning and after the typical greetings he said:

"I'm taking a survey...do you want to participate?"

We said, "Yeah, sure. What's the survey?"

He said, "What do I do next?"

He provided this really interesting, completely open question which we knew was about his life and career direction, all wrapped up together.

I had to pause and just reflect on the power of just that one question and the potential responsibility that came with participating in answering it.

My first question in return was, "Do you want me to respond as a coach (by the way, our friend is a coach as well) or do you want me to respond as a friend?"

See, there's potentially a huge difference here in terms of the role I play, and with that role, what are my responsibilities.

As a coach, I ask questions.
As a friend, I can make statements and also ask questions.

He gave me permission to answer as a friend. The way I communicate as a person is so blended with being a coach that I know my response was a combination of things. I don't need to share the rest of this story with you about where the conversation when and the outcomes achieved.

But I did want to share that powerful open question, "What do I do next?"

I just thought it was brilliant and it inspired me to rush home and write this, with the intention that the questions which follow might just be of service to some of you reading this.

Coaching Exercises

1. Consider the question for yourself, "What do I do next?" What's your answer from a personal life perspective? What are your options? What would you do if you could anything next?

2. Consider the same question, but this time from a professional life perspective. What are your options? What would you do if you could do anything next?

3. If you asked the significant people in your personal and professional lives the same question about you, and gave them permission to respond in any way that they felt suited them best, what do you think they would say? You may even consider ACTUALLY asking them this question to explore what they think may be best for you. Remember though that if you give them permission, you also have the responsibility of accepting their responses in the most appropriate way.

4. As a result of these questions and your considered responses to them, what are you committing to?

As always, if you need any further personal support in response to any of these coaching exercises, please consider using the askacoach.com service.

All the best,
Noel

Noel Posus - Master Coach
www.askacoach.com  Join our newsletter by clicking here.

Noel Posus is on the Board of Directors and is the Head of Marketing - Asia Pacific for The-ECI - www.europeancoachinginstitute.org

Check out The Inaugural ECI Australasian Coaching Conference - The Future of Coaching: Embracing the Opportunities of the 2010s at http://www.europeancoachinginstitute.org/conference_2008/

November 20-22, 2008 - Sydney Australia

Dance to your own music

What's the first record you ever bought?

That may sound like a strange question to start today's blog off with, but just go with me for a moment.

Have you ever had one of those conversations with friends where someone asks you about your first music purchase and then you have to "admit" what it was? Sometimes, there's this sheepish quality to your voice like you should be ashamed of your answer?

What's mine? The first album I bought was "Barry Manilow Live - the Double Album". Now are you getting my point?

In fact, when my partner and I first moved in together, there was a conversation about whether or not our CD collection should be mixed together. I was over-ruled particularly because of some of the things in my own collection. For example, for some reason I had "The Partridge Family Album" in there. Again, see my point, or more precisely, see my partner's point?

OK, I'm not actually ashamed of these things. I have a wide variety of taste and at different times of my life I had different favourites and I like to sometimes take a trip down memory lane with some of these things.

So, what's my point?

The point is to dance to your own music, both literally and figuratively.

We have the opportunity to not be shy about what we enjoy or have enjoyed once upon a time. We can stand up and be confident in our understanding that everything we have experienced makes us who we are today and that the tastes and opinions of others, although important at times, do not need to be the basis for how we see ourselves.

I'm not writing this blog to justify my music tastes, honest. It just dawned on me today, while observing friends' behaviours about making fun of each other about their music tastes, that it could be an interesting topic for some coaching questions.

So, here they are...

Coaching Exercises

1. What are the things you like (or have liked) that you're fairly confident aren't widely accepted by your friends, family members, colleagues etc.? This can be music, art, clothing styles, TV shows, movie genres...anything.

2. What was or is the enjoyment you get from these things you like? How have they impacted on the person you have developed into today?

3. How comfortable do you feel sharing with others your past and present interests and passions? Do you ever get shy or embarrassed, or do you share confidently? What's happening in your head and in your body when you share? What responses do you typically get and how do you feel (react and/or respond)?

4. What opportunities exist for you now in terms of self-development about self-acceptance and self-confidence?

5. As a result of these questions and your considered responses to them, what are you committing to?

As always, if you need any further personal support in response to any of these coaching exercises, please consider using the askacoach.com service.

All the best,
Noel

Noel Posus - Master Coach
www.askacoach.com  Join our newsletter by clicking here.

Noel Posus is on the Board of Directors and is the Head of Marketing - Asia Pacific for The-ECI - www.europeancoachinginstitute.org

Check out The Inaugural ECI Australasian Coaching Conference - The Future of Coaching: Embracing the Opportunities of the 2010s at http://www.europeancoachinginstitute.org/conference_2008/

November 20-22, 2008 - Sydney Australia

Blogs

According to Wikipedia 'A blog is a Web site (a contraction of the term "Web log"), usually maintained by an individual, with regular entries of commentary, descriptions of events, or other material such as graphics or video. Entries are commonly displayed in reverse-chronological order.'

Some blogs provide a commentary or news about a particular subject. Other blogs may just be a personal online diary. Whatever you think a blog is, it probably is. There are very many types of blogs and just to name a few - personal blogs, corporate blogs, question blogging, by media type, by device, and by genre.

What is the value of a blog? All web designers will tell you that it is there to enhance your search engine statistics for your web-site; but another advantage of a blog for an organisation is that it allows a number of 'authors' to write and publish their own information, thoughts, stories, or news in a very simple way.

Take for example the ECI's blog - this blog allows all the senior Leadership team to publish information about coaching or the world of coaching. Take my own blog - it is more of a personal online diary with hints and tips about emigration! Oh that dream I'm sure that we all have - yes I am doing it!

Technorati as of December 2007 was tracking more than 112 million blogs around the world! This means that if you are looking for information, news, someone's personal experiences, not only do you have the formal web-pages and web-sites available to you for research you also now have regularly updated 'web-sites', in the technical world, called blogs, that provide information. I am sure that 112 million sounds a lot, but when you put it in the context of the several billion web-sites available - it isn't that many and yes, there is a lot of space for more.

How do you promote your own coaching business? I've heard many coaches say that they must have a web-site, but do you really need one? From a business perspective my thoughts are that you do, as linked to this you will have a business image and business email addresses. It just shows that you are taking your business away from the one-person style of business into the realm of the 'corporate' style. I just think it makes you look more professional, but how does your blog fit into this business or corporate image? For some it is the opportunity to allow free publishing of news, information, etc. about the business, or others it's a tool to promote their web-site. Whatever the reason it does provide you with more marketing opportunities.

Does a blog take a lot of time? No!!! The setting up of any new facility, marketing tool, etc. does take a little time and setting up a blog is no different. You need to think through the look and feel of what you are trying to portray - image, logo, etc.

If you are thinking about putting a blog up - it's really important to think about a number of points:
- what is the focus of your blog?
- what type of information do you want to publish?
- what type of promotion will you be doing through your blog?
- what type of image are your portraying to your readers and to your prospective clients and to your clients?
- how much time do you have to publish your blog?
- how often will you be publishing information?
- which blog provider will you select?
- which email address and web-site link will you be promoting on your blog?
- how will you use your blog to promote your own marketing?

How do I do my blog? I sit down at my laptop with a cup of coffee on a Saturday morning every week and spend a hour just writing. The great thing about the blog systems available to you is that you are able to write, review, update, change, review, and only publish when you are ready to. You can also go through the whole of writing and reviewing and setting a future date to allow your blog to be published at a time that suits the blog entry. This hugely beneficial when you are about to go on holiday or be out of the office for a period of time, as it allows you to have your blogs published at a regular interval even when you are not available.

Barbara J. Dalpra, MNMC, FECI
Accredited Fellow Coach (ECI)
Deputy CEO (Operations, IT, Finance)

Want to make a success of your coaching business? Take this opportunity to benefit from your membership with the ECI - promote yourself through the International Coaching Register or as an Accredited Coach through the ECI's Coach Referral Service. Joining the ECI is a simple process - click on this link and select the type of membership that will benefit you and your coaching business. Any questions, contact the ECI to get your answer.

Barbara's biog can be found on the ECI's Volunteer page for Barbara or her coaching business details can be found on either the ICR or Coach Referral Service by using this link!

Values at Work - The Video

Yesterday's blog published a query from a reader and my response. Today, I'd like to highlight an incredible video from my own coach and inspiring colleague, Allan Parker. I've written about this video before, and this just seems an ideal time to write about it again.

Check out VALUES AT WORK by Allan Parker.

Allan covers a massive amount in this one hour video including:

- What are values and why are they important?
- The neurology of values
- The psychology of values
- The impact of values on our interpersonal interactions
- Why values are important organisationally
- Understanding the links (and the gaps) between intentions and behaviours to find alignment and agreement with others
- Exploring what progressive people and organisations are doing differently in terms of values and the impact these new approaches have

Plus, there's a great interview between Allan Parker and Claire Stretch which covers even more ground, including:

- The difference between values and beliefs
- What "core values" are and the role they play
- Individual and corporate structure, relationship dynamics, commonalities
- Entering (or choosing not to enter) situations where the cultural and traditional values of the organisation or group don't match those of the individual
- How to respond when there's a values clash
- Understanding what a values-oriented organisation is really
- Clarity about values and emotions as a cycle

Throughout the video there are pauses for the viewer to explore questions presented by Allan, and there's a brilliant little summary section at the end.

One of the great messages I've received from this DVD is understanding the roles values play in us having critical conversations to create the flow from which we're able to do remarkable things!

Check out VALUES AT WORK by Allan Parker.


Coaching Exercises

1. Read, review and answer the questions from yesterday's blog if you haven't done so already.

2. How well do you believe you currently role-model your own values in a positive way? Describe.

3. What opportunities do you have to improve how well you role-model your own values? Describe.

4. How comfortable and/or competent do you believe you are in discussing your values as well as engaging with others about their own values, in a positive and constructive way? What's working and what can improve?

5. As a result of these questions and your considered responses to them, what are you committing to?

As always, if you need any further personal support in response to any of these coaching exercises, please consider using the askacoach.com service.

All the best,
Noel

Noel Posus - Master Coach
www.askacoach.com  Join our newsletter by clicking here.

Noel Posus is on the Board of Directors and is the Head of Marketing - Asia Pacific for The-ECI - www.europeancoachinginstitute.org

Check out The Inaugural ECI Australasian Coaching Conference - The Future of Coaching: Embracing the Opportunities of the 2010s at http://www.europeancoachinginstitute.org/conference_2008/

November 20-22, 2008 - Sydney Australia

Values at Work - Corporate Poetry?

I've had a question sent in to me with a request to answer it in the blog. Here's the question first:

"I work for a company that has a great list of values printed and nicely framed on the wall, but that's as far as it goes. It's a poster, not really how the company operates. Why does this happen with so many companies and what can I do about it as a single employee?"

Thank you for submiting this very interesting area of exploration. It also just happens to be an area I'm very passionate about and sometimes get up on my soapbox for. I'll hold back from ranting, I promise.

This situation is what I call "Corporate Poetry" where the well-intentioned values simply become art on the walls but are not being demonstrated.

The key thing to remember is that in most cases the values were devised and promoted with the best of intentions to help guide the development of the organisation's culture.

Things that could go wrong include (but are not limited to):

- There was no end-to-end stratgy about how the values would work within the culture and how to integrate them throughout business process.

- The values are dictating to the employees how to behave, whereas it may be better to recruit staff who have the right values to achieve the organisation's needs.

- Values are just words unless we also discuss the behaviours which need to be demonstrated. Words won't change the culture, behaviours will.

- There may not be managers confident enough in talking about values as part of the ongoing "coaching for performance" conversation. Instead, they sometimes get rolled out when it's "performance management" which is the opposite of best practice.

- Possibly the values were put up just to create the veneer of caring about these behaviours. If that's the case, many things could go wrong.

I could go on for some time listing issues here, and in some part that's helpful to identify root causes to the current situation. However, I'd like to offer the proposition that the focus could now be on the behaviours that are desired and to see what you can do to inspire the positive behaviours to be consistently demonstrated by yourself first. Then through role modelling, you may be able to inspire others.

Depending on your role and what rights you have in that role, you could also approach the appropriate stakeholders to discuss your concerns and see what role you could play in supporting the organisation to make a change if it is interested in making the change at all.

I don't have enough information from you to give more specific tips, so y ou may also want to consider speaking with a coach directly, or consult a trusted mentor or someone else you think may be able to immediately support you in considering forward moving options.

Thanks again for writing in!

Coaching Exercises

1. Does you company have published values? Where would you find them? Who knows about them?

2. How would you describe how well the values are integrated throughout the organisation? How do the interact with business process? How well do they support the interaction between people including colleagues and customers?

3. When you consider the values, what behaviours would be required to be consistently demonstrated to truly achieve those values? How well do you demonstrate them?

4. What could be improved? Be specific and think on a number of different levels. Try to be solution-focused versus just highlighting what's not working. If you see obstacles and problems associated with values, challenge yourself to see new positive approaches to support the development of a values-based environment.

5. As a result of these questions and your considered responses to them, what are you committing to?

As always, if you need any further personal support in response to any of these coaching exercises, please consider using the askacoach.com service.

All the best,
Noel

Noel Posus - Master Coach
www.askacoach.com  Join our newsletter by clicking here.

Noel Posus is on the Board of Directors and is the Head of Marketing - Asia Pacific for The-ECI - www.europeancoachinginstitute.org

Check out The Inaugural ECI Australasian Coaching Conference - The Future of Coaching: Embracing the Opportunities of the 2010s at http://www.europeancoachinginstitute.org/conference_2008/

November 20-22, 2008 - Sydney Australia

Laugher Linked to Increased Productivity

I saw an article in the news yesterday that I thought would be great to share with you. Here's the link to the article directly and just in case the link gets removed with time, here's the text reprinted below:

A researcher has discovered that positive humour in the workplace can lead to greater job satisfaction.

Psychologist Maren Rawlings from Swinburne University of Technology in Melbourne surveyed 300 workers from 20 different countries about their use of humour and how they perceived the humour used by their colleagues.

Ms Rawlings says she found a direct correlation between the climate of good humour in a workplace and employee satisfaction.

"If there is a lot of good humour that is shared and supports others...then people are generally well satisfied with what they are doing," she said.

Ms Rawlings says previous research has linked job satisfaction with productivity and her findings contradict the misconception that people who enjoy themselves in the workplace are not as productive.

She says it is important for employers to recognise the role humour plays in keeping workers satisfied.

"If employers take measures to encourage a positive humour climate in the workplace, they are more likely to retain their staff," she said.

"And with an ageing workforce it is vital for companies to keep good people."

Ms Rawlings will present her findings at the Australian Psychological Society's annual conference in Hobart later this month (September 2008).

Source: ABC News Online - 17 September 2008

Here are some coaching questions for your consideration based on this article:

Coaching Exercises

1. How would you describe and evaluate the environment of humour in your workplace?

2. What works well to promote and encourage humour in your workplace? Look for the strengths, good behaviours, supportive cultural strategies, etc which may exist.

3. What is not working so well and therefore is an opportunity for improvement? Again, look for behaviours, strategies (or lack of strategy), challenges, choices, etc.

4. What could be done to overall improve the environment to promote humour? For this question consider strategies that address the previously identified opportunities and also leverages the existing strengths. What would you new Humour Policy for the workplace be if you could create anything you wanted?

5. As a result of these questions and your considered responses to them, what are you committing to?

As always, if you need any further personal support in response to any of these coaching exercises, please consider using the askacoach.com service.

All the best,
Noel

Noel Posus - Master Coach
www.askacoach.com  Join our newsletter by clicking here.

Noel Posus is on the Board of Directors and is the Head of Marketing - Asia Pacific for The-ECI - www.europeancoachinginstitute.org

Check out The Inaugural ECI Australasian Coaching Conference - The Future of Coaching: Embracing the Opportunities of the 2010s at http://www.europeancoachinginstitute.org/conference_2008/

November 20-22, 2008 - Sydney Australia

Storytelling from an Expert - Carmen Agra Deedy

I'm back from my skiing holiday in Queenstown New Zealand (had a great time!) and back into writing the daily blog entries after all the pre-written ones have "run out". It's good to be back.

To start us up again I've turned to one of my favourite sites, TED , for a bit of inspiration and have come up with the following video from Carmen Agra Deedy, an expert in story telling.

This is a funny, warm, wise and beautiful story, full of not just the brilliant character development, plot and powerful message at the end, but also full of tips and techniques of masterful storytelling.

Check out this video (17 minutes and well worth the time!):



Here are some questions for your consideration which might just help you to develop your own storytelling skills even more.

Coaching Exercises

1. Who do you know who are great storytellers? What makes them so talented at what they do?

2. While you're at it, also consider what the benefits and outcomes of great storytelling are? What are the situations in which a story could add value?

3. What are your own skills at storytelling? Which of your skills also match those of the storytellers you admire?

4. Where could your storytelling improve? What are the specific preparation, delivery and style points you could focus on, and what might the outcomes be if you did?

5. As a result of these questions and your considered responses to them, what are you committing to?

As always, if you need any further personal support in response to any of these coaching exercises, please consider using the askacoach.com service.

All the best,
Noel

Noel Posus - Master Coach
www.askacoach.com  Join our newsletter by clicking here.

Noel Posus is on the Board of Directors and is the Head of Marketing - Asia Pacific for The-ECI - www.europeancoachinginstitute.org

Check out The Inaugural ECI Australasian Coaching Conference - The Future of Coaching: Embracing the Opportunities of the 2010s at http://www.europeancoachinginstitute.org/conference_2008/

November 20-22, 2008 - Sydney Australia