Blog.
Nikki’s prior writing.
TRANSITION STARTS WITH AN ENDING AND FINISHES WITH A BEGINNING. I’ve just started reading William Bridges’ “Managing Transitions” and am struck by how elements of organisational change are similar to the assets gained through a TCK upbringing! This is why I truly believe that Third Culture Kids have a lot to contribute towards a company’s crucial […]
IT MAKES A HUGE DIFFERENCE AND I PROMISE YOU IT’S WORTH IT It’s 3 months till Christmas and I’m still trying to wrap my head around that! I’m going to be “on the move” through till the end of the year so I’ll be taking a short pause from my blog! The good news is, […]
AUTHENTICITY, EMPATHY, AND RELATABILITY IN PRESENTATIONS I wanted to give you a quick re-cap of some of the key messages and take-aways I’m hoping you can run with or maybe have already tested by now at a presentation, team meeting or a simple conversation. Authenticity, empathy and relatability trump confidence every time! Anytime you are speaking […]
THIS TYPE OF OF BUY-IN DRIVES GREATER SUCCESS (WITH MY OWN PLOT TWIST AT THE END OF THE POST!) I once went on a first date with someone in the height of the pandemic when restaurants were closed and meeting new people meant you needed to get creative! I spent a lot of time outdoors […]
THE INDIVIDUAL VS. COLLECTIVE DYNAMIC WHEN PRESENTING One way that I find helps me to connect quickly with an audience I’m presenting to, is to do my best to make them feel like they’re the only one in the room with me. At a conference or keynote, how many times have you heard the words […]
CONTENT PREPARATION IS KEY TO A CONFIDENT PRESENTATION Last week, I shared some tips to help you mentally prepare for any nerves you may experience on the big stage in this blog post. I hope those mental strategies resonated with you. What makes me most nervous when presenting is when I feel I haven’t prepared. […]
A QUICK-GUIDE TO CALM YOUR NERVES AT YOUR NEXT PRESENTATION As a TV presenter and stage actor, auditions are crucial and with that comes immense pressure and stress. I had a conversation with a director, once, who was running a long week of auditions and I asked her about the process. She said, “Every Time […]
WHERE THE RUBBER MEETS THE ROAD In my last blog post, I shared some story-telling tips with you which I hope are helpful! As per the idiom, “where the rubber meets the road”, simply put, when theory becomes a practice, I’d like to share some examples of how you might be able to do this […]
THE PURPOSE OF STORYTELLING AND DEVELOPING STORY IDEAS “The age-old secret to generating buy-in is to strategically design, target and deliver a story that projects a positive future.” Have you thought about the power of storytelling? Telling stories in business needs to be purposeful, appropriate for your audience and authentic! In this video, I share practical tips and how to deliver a compelling […]
SIMPLIFY, SIMPLIFY, SIMPLIFY One of the greatest gifts of my Broadcast Journalism degree was learning how to write for television; specifically, how to write for TV News. I was taught to speak the way we all speak. To use words that are relatable and succinct. I was trained to tell all sides of the story […]
THERE’S AN INCREDIBLE RESILIENCE ABOUT THIRD CULTURE KIDs (TCKs). Growing up amid so many different cultures, we are pros at adapting to change. We can navigate through unfamiliar social settings, languages, and customs like it’s our second skin. TCKs have a truly global perspective, shaped by our exposure to multiple cultures and traditions throughout our […]
QUALITIES OF THIRD CULTURE KIDs Let’s talk about the awesome qualities that Third Culture Kids (TCKs) bring to the workplace. TCKs are special! We have some marketable gifts and we are sitting on a gold mine! 1. Highly adaptive2. Strong team players & natural leaders3. Embrace change4. Built-in global mindedness5. Empathetic & communicative6. Internationally mobile7. […]
HOW FEELINGS INFLUENCE DECISION MAKING Decision making happens in the same part of the brain where our feelings occur. That blows my mind and makes absolute sense! This is why how we feel about someone makes all the difference in our decision as to whether we want to work with them or buy-in to what […]
TIPS TO CONNECT WITH ANY AUDIENCE, ANYTIME Whenever I receive good feedback after a presentation or hosting gig, I often get asked, “Are you with our company? What department are you in?” Sometimes they’ll say, “You’re really natural and you know so much about our industry.” The truth is, I cannot possibly know as much […]
HOW TO BE A STRONG PRESENTER Making somebody feel comfortable and safe is a powerful gift and a really good indicator of a strong presenter. Don’t hide behind big energy or focus on appearing and sounding confident. Relatability and empathy trumps confidence every time! So next time you’re presenting, think about having coffee with a […]
GLOBALIZATION IS IN THEIR DNA “For TCKs, cosmopolitanism is not a mere philosophical or political value that they should admire or aspire to but rather their way of being.” They have, “what many multinational companies seek: innate intercultural instincts, mobility and adaptability.” I have focused my area of study on the Third Culture Kid experience […]
WHY YOUR ENERGY IS GOOD FOR BUSINESS AND HOW TO RAISE IT COME SHOWTIME The Business of Interpersonal Communication The truth is everybody communicates for a living. Because no matter what business you’re in, you’re in the people business. The role of a good presenter and communicator is to hold space for everyone in the […]
COMMUNICATE BETTER WITH CURIOSITY I often emphasize empathy, relatability, clarity and confidence as being the key characteristics of a strong and effective communicator. But I’ve come to believe that the foundation is… curiosity. Curiosity fed the cat. My dad always used to tell me that I ask too many questions! The only reason I even got […]
WELCOME HOME I say this because it took 37 years for me to understand where I truly belong. Belonging is a fundamental basic human need; we all want to feel accepted and supported by our peers, a tribe, a community. Everybody needs roots somewhere (or so many often say) and yet, for over 200 million […]