Insights archive

Effective presentations

30 Mar 2012
Posted by Rebecca Sangster-Kelly

Practicing effective communication throughout a presentation is vital in achieving your objectives. Whether your goal is to persuade, inform or spark discussion amongst your colleagues, if you are not using the right tools and techniques you’re not only wasting your audience’s time, but yours as well. 

Learning how to communicate to an audience is similar to learning how to drive. At first you are very aware of every move you make: you feel self-conscious, awkward, and, fearful of those around you. However with the same time and dedication it takes to master steering a car or mirror checking without a second thought, you can assess your current communication habits and put the appropriate communication techniques into practice. Many often struggle through this learning process. Some of us do not fear public speaking, but lack orderly succinct thoughts. At the other side of the spectrum, there are those who are very organised in their thoughts, but feel much more at ease reading off their PowerPoint slides, leaving their audience unstimulated and bored. In short, it is a learning process that the individual must tailor to their needs, but each person must invoke enough self-discipline to overcome any bad habits. However, the more you practice and master the skills required to deliver an effective presentation, the more natural it will become and you will attain your objectives. No longer reading each PowerPoint slide word for word, but looking into the eyes of your colleagues with confidence.

At Chaucer we understand that effective communications are integral to the success of any project or programme, and make it a priority to ensure that every opportunity to engage face-to-face with teams and stakeholders is delivered effectively.

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Tack or gybe? Implementing rapid change

16 Feb 2012
Posted by Chris Martin

The world’s best yachtsmen spend days practising how to change direction quickly and smoothly.  Yacht races, like business competition, are often won or lost by how well the competitors change direction in response to environmental factors, be it the weather, the economy or competitors' moves.  In the current economic climate, when margins and cash flow can be tight, starting a change project can be a risk, but as Darwin is often quoted as saying, “It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent, but the most responsive to change.”  However, if your organisation feels more like a super-tanker than a racing yacht then it is fair to ask whether the risk, effort or cost of change is really worth it?

The key is to change direction efficiently and get to where you want to be without extra cost or delay, which requires experience and focus on the change and the objective.  Athletes benefit from the experience of their coaches and Chaucer’s clients benefit from the breadth and depth of experience of implementing change that Chaucer can bring to bear in any situation.  That experience can be seen in action by the speed of change that can be delivered when a focussed team and methodology are applied to the challenge.

In this economic climate not changing is as at least, if not more, risky to a business as being bold and seeking to deliver extra value to customers.  The experience that Chaucer can bring to bear on a change project can help you make a strong strategic decision and then drive implementation.  This is because we know, as shown in our Chaucer Way - Change Management, just how challenging it can be to deliver and benefit from a change project.  The issues and complexities are many, but we have a systematic approach that draws on many years of experience in many industries that has delivered value and a clear return on investment for our clients.

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Organisational Transformation

26 Apr 2011
Posted by Nick Faure

In recent years, organisational transformations seem to have been the magic cure for organisational deficiencies. For a transformation to be truly transforming and to obtain the support of employees, managers, leaders, customers, shareholders, etc. the instigator needs to clearly articulate what is going to change and why it has to change. Once the transformation is complete it must be obvious that indeed things have changed.
 
No transformation has the luxury of being delivered in a vacuum, while transforming, organisations will need to continue operating and delivering ‘business as usual’ and as any transformation will one way or another be affecting employees, the design, roll out and monitoring of the application of HR processes and principles is critical.
 
Chaucer has many years experience of providing the ‘glue’ for successful organisational transformations. We have experienced a variety of plans and outcomes. Rich in this experience we can now share some interesting lessons learned as well as common pitfalls and ‘quick wins’ with organisations who truly want to transform.

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Change Management

26 Apr 2011
Posted by Deborah Feakins

Pragmatic, effective approaches are not quite as common as the mountain of ‘change management’ literature may suggest. Organisations often struggle with the complexity of change with the common mistake of focusing on the mechanics of change (the what) at the cost of actually managing it (the how) leaving the organisations most critical asset – the people – bewildered and confused by the change.
 
The criticality of maintaining ‘business as usual’ irrespective of external - or for that matter internal - pressures will be paramount. This puts pressure on executive management to ensure change initiatives (large or small) are delivered in a timely and effective manner or the results will be clear to see...
 
Organisations that use a structured change management approach adapt more rapidly and engage more effectively with the workforce. Organisations will therefore maximise short term stability and longer term return on investment. Companies that can effectively balance these two critical components (stability vs change/ROI) are going to be at a competitive advantage.

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