Lee Jackson is an Award-Winning Motivational Speaker and Presentation Coach working in organisations businesses and education to help people Get Good® - his style is engaging, authentic and jargon free.
Hear the story of writing Get Good at Life and why it almost never happened – here on the top 1% podcast – Focus On Why here.
https://focusonwhy.libsyn.com/339-look-for-the-light-with-lee-jackson
Thanks Amy Rowlinson – yes you messed up my life for a whole year – in all the right ways of course!
5 ways to really enjoy your Christmas holiday in 2021…
Things I love about Christmas:
Turkey and cranberry sauce, slightly mad Christmas lights, food, seeing my family, food, time off work, great TV specials, food and a drop of Port with good friends, oh, and, err food!
Things I hate about Christmas:
People buying stuff they don’t need or can’t afford, presents that go straight to landfill, the over-hype of “the day”, hearing of people I know being on their own at Christmas, people who say it’s just for kids, Christmas pudding!
What do you love and hate about this time of year?
Sure, there are things that I love and hate about Christmas time like most people do – but I certainly wouldn’t ban it, like some have said that they would on Martin Lewis’s classic online poll.
He says: “…20,367 voted on whether they’d cancel Christmas if given the choice. Perhaps unsurprisingly, parents of school-age kids were most festive, with 64% of those mums and dads happy to celebrate. Of the rest of voters, 55% would choose to press the cancel Christmas button if they could. Bah humbug!”
People who want to ban it may well be in the majority, but why is that?
Maybe they are reacting to the over-hyped season of shopping?
Maybe they have a different religion, like my old neighbour who was a Jehovah’s Witness?
Maybe they have bad memories of certain events at Christmas time?
Maybe it’s an expense that they just can’t afford?
Or maybe they are just a bit grumpy?!
But for most semi-Scrooge’s, maybe they don’t realise the power of a celebration. Christmas is good for us, in fact any good holiday or celebration is good for us. But we in our British culture often just don’t celebrate very much. And some make not celebrating an art form! It always makes me laugh that anti-Christmas type people still go to Christmas parties but they sit there with a “Bah humbug” hat on while there! Or as I saw the other a few years ago at a posh hotel where a works party was taking place – everyone was wearing a Christmas jumper. I never saw the party as such as it was behind closed doors but one by one people were popping to the loo looking very sheepish wearing a really embarrassing jumper at a 5 star hotel! Their faces were a picture as they mumbled under their breath “please don’t see me please don’t see me” in their rush for the loo! I think they’d had an email from the boss to wear a light-up Christmas jumper, none of them were doing it by choice.
But amazingly it can be good for you…
5 reasons Christmas is good for you
(taken from a classic article in The Mirror newspaper)
1. You sing more at Christmas.
Singing is good for us, it lifts our spirits and makes us feel part of a community. Why not get to a carol service or start a sing-song at home? A study for the annual Sing for your Heart campaign by Heart Research UK found singing is a “great aerobic exercise, giving your heart and lungs a fantastic workout”.
2. You give and receive.
Studies show that when we give and receive gifts, the brain releases the feel-good chemical dopamine. Giving also releases the “cuddle” hormone oxytocin.
3. We spend more time together.
The average family manages just 36 minutes of quality time together a day, according to recent research, yet a separate poll reveals 95% of parents believe the key to happiness lies in spending quality family time together.
4. We make family traditions that will last.
“Whether it’s buying a new tree bauble every year, leaving a mince pie out for Santa or watching It’s A Wonderful Life, family traditions unite all generations”. We always watch National Lampoons Christmas vacation as our start to Christmas!
5. Err and lastly,
“The Christmas holidays are the most popular time to conceive, according to one US study, probably due to a combination of socialising more and the long, cold days of the Yuletide period when, for many, there isn’t the distraction of work! Condom sales also double in December, showing that sexual activity in general rises. And extra sex is good news for your health. As well as giving your heart a boost and relieving stress, its great for your self-esteem and wellbeing – and even makes you look younger!”
Here’s my 5 ways to really make the most of Christmas this year:
1. Take time to stop and think, reflect on the last year, write down the positives, learn from the negatives, then throw them away.
2. Don’t buy tit-for-tat presents for the sake of it, buy presents for those you want to, maybe even make a present or two yourself, a tin of homemade mince pies is much more meaningful than a bottle of talc! Or just send a text, have a video chat or send a card to someone you’ve lost touch with.
3. Write down a gratitude list. What are you thankful for this Christmas? It’s proven to make us feel better. Maybe also write down a task list for work too, so you can forget it and relax.
4. If you are not on call in the emergency services, then switch off your phone for a while (it’s so rare to do that these days) and put an autoresponder on your email too for a while, use it as your winter break.
5. And lastly, if you are able to go to a party or get-together – be in the moment, enjoy the random conversation, games or cheesy TV, you’ll enjoy things so much more. Just go with it. Work can and should wait every now and then.
Have a great Christmas holiday, however you chose to celebrate it.
Like a Bargain?
Most people like to find a bargain but Brian Robson (not the football one!), now, a 75-year-old from Cardiff took it to a whole new level. When he was 19 he was desperate to come home from Australia. He’d gone there with work, but he was feeling really homesick and he wanted to come home. But in 1965 the fare from Melbourne to London was £700 and the newspapers report that he only earned £40 a month.
So one night he had an idea.
He decided to send himself as a parcel!
He bought a small crate about the size of one of those hotel room mini-bar fridges, minus the whiskey. And he persuaded his new friends Paul and John (no, not one half of The Beatles!) to strap him in and pack him up along with a ‘water in’ and a ‘water out’ bottle, a pillow and his suitcase. The flight was supposed to last around 36 hours, but it ended up taking three days and unfortunately, he didn’t land in London, he only got as far as Los Angeles.
When he landed in the US, an eagle-eyed customs worker found him after thinking he was a dead body. He told the BBC that a man had “looked through a hole in a wood knot in the chest and we caught each other eye to eye”.
It was a miracle he’d survived. He’d spent a day upside down even though there was a sticker saying “THIS WAY UP” and he’d almost died of extreme heat and cold while in the plane’s hold. Once the U.S. authorities realised he wasn’t a spy he was released, found his way home and resumed his life in Wales, hobbling from sore muscles and exhaustion.
Like most Northern blokes I like to save a bit of money, but I also realise that sometimes I have to pay someone to do things.
I paid a guy to fix our lawn the other day, my Facebook friends told me I could do it myself, but I chose to use an expert instead.
Both at work and at home, when have you wished you’d hired someone to help you rather than do something on the cheap?
Remember: your time is valuable, and, whether you like it or not – you, like me, are not an expert in everything.
Because of strict copyright, I can’t use a good photo for this article so please go here to see them all:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-56648439
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/04/14/world/australia/brian-robson-crate-australia.html
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P.S. Brian is trying to track down his old friends, so Paul and John, or their relatives can contact Mr Robson at brianpms@hotmail.com
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The worlds best icebreaker questions!
I found this gem of a resource and made it into a PDF for you all below.
PDF The world’s best icebreaker questions – from four years of research
Also below…
The worlds best icebreaker questions. Ideal for Zoom and Teams meetings.
Enjoy.
Original Link:
https://knowyourteam.com/blog/2018/01/08/the-25-best-icebreaker-questions-for-team-building-at-work/
The world’s best icebreaker questions – from four years of research
#1: What was your first job?
#2: Have you ever met anyone famous?
#3: What are you reading right now?
#4: If you could pick up a new skill in an instant what would it be?
#5: Who’s someone you really admire?
#6: Seen any good movies lately you’d recommend?
#7: Got any favourite quotes?
#8: Been pleasantly surprised by anything lately?
#9: What was your favourite band 10 years ago?
#10: What’s your earliest memory?
#11: Been anywhere recently for the first time?
#12: What’s your favourite family tradition?
#13: Who had the most influence on you growing up?
#14: What was the first thing you bought with your own money?
#15: What’s something you want to do in the next year that you’ve never done before?
#16: Seen anything lately that made you smile?
#17: What’s your favourite place you’ve ever visited?
#18: Have you had your 15 minutes of fame yet?
#19: What’s the best advice you’ve ever heard?
#20: How do you like your eggs?
#21: Do you have a favourite charity you wish more people knew about?
#22: Got any phobias you’d like to break?
#23: Have you returned anything you’ve purchased recently? Why?
#24: Do you collect anything?
#25: What’s your favourite breakfast cereal?
The worlds best Icebreakers, in fuller form, from the team at:
#1: What was your first job?
By far, this question has prompted the most interesting responses for the companies we work with. Employees are always finding it hilarious to learn that their boss’ first job was as a pool boy, or find it fascinating that a coworker’s first job was working in her mom’s doctor’s office. While it’s an unassuming question, the responses stand out.
#2: Have you ever met anyone famous?
This question is a fun one, as it taps into the people that your coworkers admire. Folks bond over a mutual love for Jude Law, or have a laugh when a manager shares her story about meeting LeBron James at a gas station.
#3: What are you reading right now?
People are always looking for something new to read- and so swapping book recommendations are a great way for people to know each other. Learning what others are reading also provides insights into coworkers’ interests.
#4: If you could pick up a new skill in an instant what would it be?
With this question, you’ll learn how your coworkers want to grow or what they aspire to do. For instance, you might learn that a coworker would love to be able to pick up Italian instantly, or that your boss has always wanted to get good at woodworking.
#5: Who’s someone you really admire?
Understanding who someone looks up to reveals a significant amount about a person’s influences, preferences, and outlook on life. This is a great question to ask to help get a sense of what and who a person values.
#6: Seen any good movies lately you’d recommend?
Perhaps you’ve asked this question before?—?but don’t overlook it. Movies are a great shared conversation topic. It never fails to be one that people like to answer and like to see other people’s answers too. Often times, people will end up going to see the movies that are recommended and talking about it over lunch, etc.
#7: Got any favourite quotes?
Personally, I’m a sucker for a good quote. I think it can provide a fascinating look at a person’s point-of-view. Asking about a person’s favourite quote is a great way to break the ice and get to know them better.
#8: Been pleasantly surprised by anything lately?
While this question may seem vague, the answers to this question are often a delight and intriguing to read. Someone might share an excellent customer service experience that surpassed their expectations or share a funny story about them liking squash soup despite their initial reservations. This is especially a great question to ask a group of folks who might know each other a little better already.
#9: What was your favourite band 10 years ago?
This question always elicits a chuckle or two. You’ll find out that you shared an embarrassing favourite band from years ago, and also find the generational difference between coworkers humorous as well.
#10: What’s your earliest memory?
This is typically something that’s not shared even between close friends?—?so asking about it creates a special connection between folks. Hearing about an intimate, early part of someone’s life says a lot about who they are.
#11: Been anywhere recently for the first time?
Sharing a new, novel experience is a wonderful way to create a sense of connection between people. You’ll learn about a new restaurant, a fun out-of-the-city getaway, or a never-heard-about bookstore you might find interesting.
#12: What’s your favourite family tradition?
Cooking Korean dumplings together around the holidays is one of mine. When you ask this question, you get an inside look into your coworkers family’s heritage and the things that bring their family together.
#13: Who had the most influence on you growing up?
A mother, a sports hero, a grandparent, an elementary school teacher… This question is touching to hear the answer to. You’ll gain a sense of respect about who has shaped your coworkers.
#14: What was the first thing you bought with your own money?
Maybe it was a goldfish as a pet or a pair of Air Jordans. This is another great question that fosters a sense of nostalgia and provides insights into people’s interests in the past and what they valued when they were younger.
#15: What’s something you want to do in the next year that you’ve never done before?
I love asking this question instead of the stale, “Do you have any goals this year?” Rather, this is a great aspirational question that exposes people’s dreams and hopes they’d love to pursue.
#16: Seen anything lately that made you smile?
The answers from this question are often unexpectedly lovely. You’ll find yourself nodding your head as a coworker talks about his kids or about a beautiful tree she saw on her walk recently.
#17: What’s your favourite place you’ve ever visited?
Responses to this are varied and fun?—?you’ll find that some folks have the same “favorite place” in Spain that they’ve visited, or a place that happens to be just 20 minutes from where you live.
#18: Have you had your 15 minutes of fame yet?
This is a cheeky question that turns up a variety of answers and interpretations. You might be impressed with how a coworker was in the newspaper one time or get a good laugh about how they were on the evening news.
#19: What’s the best advice you’ve ever heard?
I’m a big fan of this question, as you’re essentially asking a person about what wisdom they personally find most valuable. The best advice I’ve ever received, myself? “Trust yourself.”
#20: How do you like your eggs?
Our customers who ask this question are always shocked by how popular the answers to it are. They discover that colleagues are immensely passionate about scrambled eggs or are sunny-side-up diehards.
#21: Do you have a favourite charity you wish more people knew about?
This is a fantastic question to ask. One company I know took it as a way to make a small donation to each charity mentioned.
#22: Got any phobias you’d like to break?
Spiders, heights, the ocean… Sharing fears is always a great way to feel closer to someone.
#23: Have you returned anything you’ve purchased recently? Why?
Ask this question and you’ll unearth some interesting observations on why people buy things?—?and what they find unsatisfactory.
#24: Do you collect anything?
Skip the boring question, “What are your hobbies?” and ask this instead. You might find that someone is unexpectedly avid butterfly collector (my uncle does this), or enjoys finding a new postcard every time she travels (my mom does this). Regardless, it’s a more unique way to learn about a person’s interest.
#25: What’s your favourite breakfast cereal?
This question continually (and surprisingly) blows people away with the response when they ask it. One customer of ours had such an enthusiastic response on this from her staff, she created a Cereal Day for her team.
Get Good® At Meeting Online by Lee Jackson – Top tips, videos, notes and reflections.
What has changed now we meet mainly online?
The delivery mechanism, we are all TV presenters now! The rules have changed.
The intensity of video (30% more tiring than a face-to-face meeting) aka ‘Zoom gloom’, do you remember how we all used Zoom in lockdown one for lots of family gatherings? We slowed down when we realised that it is tiring.
Our backgrounds are now important – find a nice space or blank wall in your home for video meetings and be aware of your lighting too.
What hasn’t changed?
Good preparation + interaction = a successful meeting.
We are still relational beings. “People buy from people”.
Key points to remember
Just because you are saying something doesn’t mean that it is being taken in.
Tame your technology – test it all with a colleague, leave nothing to chance.
“Eye level is buy level” – Get your webcam/camera to your eye level.
Looking into the lens is the equivalent of giving eye contact to your colleagues.
If you use notes then put them near to the lens or stuck to the laptop screen.
Reminder: your job is not to go to meetings. It is to make things happen.
Limit email discussion after a meeting, email is not designed for that purpose.
Your job is also not just to do email, so keep them brief and to the point.
Always keep the purpose of your role and your teams at the forefront.
In-meeting tips – how to encourage people to be present in meetings…
Fundamentally – attention spans wane over time. More so online.
Video on or off. That is the big question – switch it on for engagement
People who attend and switch off their video for more than a few minutes are usually not present and are multi-tasking…
Sadly, multitasking is one of Neuroscience’s greatest myths. It simply doesn’t happen. We just switch tasks. It is good to remind colleagues of this.
Smile more than normal. I have a grumpy resting face, do you?
Sit down to meet but stand up to present, it changes your physiology and gives you and your presentation more energy and engagement.
Use voting systems like ‘Ahaslides’, ‘Menti’, ‘Slido’ etc. to encourage interactivity and to do anonymous polling.
Use people’s names when discussing i.e. “Sarah, what do you think about…?”
Please mute and unmute quickly, to save us all some time!
Structuring meetings
Plan what you’re going to say and say it concisely, we need to be more concise in online meetings.
Have gaps in between work meetings. If not you/they will start to burn out.
Write a short agenda and keep the agenda moving along.
Agree your action points and own them.
Wrap up on time, allowing extra post-meeting chat if agreed to.
The Big Question…what is your organisations meeting culture?
We need a new set of eyes to see our workplace culture, ask people to visit.
Culture creep is very real. You may not have noticed the small changes to your culture and values that have crept in over the months and years.
Ask “why do we do things like this?” And ask it often.
You set the meeting culture. So, start on time, end on time, set the tone.
Why not share some good news at the beginning of the meeting to help the tone?
Add up the hours being used in your meetings – respect people’s times.
A 15-minute focused meeting is better than a 60-minute rambling meeting.
Zoom without a pro licence has a 40-minute limit. That is a handy guide for us.
If a meeting could be an email. It is not a meeting. Aim for interaction.
Allow people to leave if they’ve done ‘their bit’ – release them!
PowerPoint/Visuals. Death By PowerPoint is bad on or offline! Make them big, bold and interesting. Switch your slides on and off. Mix it up.
Social interaction + relationships are so important. So set up those things separately or make the meetings start earlier for some social interaction.
If you are making meeting culture changes. Discuss them with your team and make those changes well, you may not get full agreement though – that’s ok.
Going deeper – discussion Q’s – setting the right values, behaviour and culture…
Where have you failed in your meetings recently? Be honest, not personal.
What is unhealthy about your online meeting culture?
What could you implement to help meetings be better – now, in the next few days, or in the next few weeks?
Could you agree to choose three lengths of meetings? i.e. 15/40/60 minutes
And finally – remember we are online more because of a global pandemic, so be kind, be transparent, and look out for each other.
Further reading:
https://sloanreview.mit.edu/article/the-surprising-science-behind-successful-remote-meetings/
https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365/blog/2020/07/08/future-work-good-challenging-unknown/
https://hbr.org/2020/03/what-it-takes-to-run-a-great-virtual-meeting
Videos:
Further links and videos: https://leejackson.org/get-good-at-meeting-online
®leejackson.org
2020 was tough, but maybe in all this madness, we got a taste of 20/20 vision after all?
As I sit here wrapping stuff up, in both senses (!), and having done my last speaking gig this year, I’ve been trying to find the right words to bring some meaning and understanding to 2020. Then I started to see some great Christmas decorations on Facebook, and they cheekily made me laugh.
Firstly, the more measured approach:
Then, the (ah-hem) more direct approach!
These and similar are still for sale on Etsy by the way.
Ok, deep breath…..2020….
This time last year people were blogging and posting stuff about ‘2020 (or 20/20) vision’ in the year 2020 ?. I’ll be honest I thought it was a bit too easy and dull. Bloggers just trying to get better ratings on Google. There was so much of that talk around it became like noise and most people I know just rolled their eyes and didn’t read that stuff. There is always is a bit of jumping on the bandwagon from bloggers, journalists and speakers and yes, 2020 was a date that related to a phrase about clarity.
Geeky bit: It actually is a measurement used by opticians to state that you can see the bottom row of the eye chart from 20 yards away without specs. So you have ’20 yard’ vision – well that’s the simplified version. And over time through slang from Jazz musicians, it became a phrase that means – ‘I can see clearly’ or ‘the fog had lifted’ – ‘we can see the future now’. Perfect for business consultants and motivational speakers like me of course.
So at the beginning of March 2020 we were all ticking along, I was in New York celebrating my big 5-0 and then we started hearing about a virus, people were texting us, and in those few days in March – it got serious and by the time we had left New York the shops were emptying and Times Square was nearly deserted, except for me grabbing the last New York Knicks basketball bargains that I could find. When we landed back home, we were locked down. At that point, everything changed.
It has been a tough year for most, really tough for many, devastating for some.
But as we approach the end of 2020, for me personally through all the trials, worry and upheaval I feel like, in part, that 2020 has weirdly given me better vision and has helped me focus, at work and personally.
I have simplified my business, I am now offering a much more focused offering to my clients, I have focused my attention on what I do well and what solves peoples problems (the heart of any good speaking or training business).
Plus, even though I haven’t been able to see as many of my friends and family as I’d have liked in 2020, I have certainly realised how grateful I am for them, have kept in touch, and have already thought of ways to enjoy hanging out with them in 2021.
All that has happened in a strange sort of way, through tough times and frustration, but I do feel that I have gained some new vision and focus, for my business and for other things too. It’s been uncomfortable, boring and challenging at times but also a kind of a refining process.
Anyway, that’s just me thinking aloud. What about you?
We all want to leave 2020 behind asap. But what did you learn from it?
Where have you been better focused, or refined even?
Press pause for five minutes – have a think, write down some thoughts.
Don’t rush into 2021 without taking stock of 2020.
Then let’s move on into a year of recovery.
NEW VIDEO: Top tips for online meetings.
How to make Zoom and Teams meetings better in just 6 minutes!
Speaker Lee Jackson helps people to Get Good At Work From Home, more info here: https://liinks.co/leejackson
Feel free to share with your colleagues…
Download and print out…
Get Good At Presenting Podcast Ep27 – The future of Speaking, Speakers and the Speaking industry!
A frank, funny and helpful Pro Speakers panel discussion.
You can subscribe/listen to it now, wherever you get your podcasts, more info/podcast links here, click the player below or watch us in glorious technicolour here:
Lee brings together a stellar panel of top award-winning pro speakers to answer the big question…
“What is the future of Speaking and what is the future of the Speaking industry?
In this unique Pro Speakers panel discussion, Lee asks the panel “what do they do different now they deliver online?” and “how have they changed their business model to help their clients post-covid-19?”
The panel consists of Wellbeing expert Pam Burrows, Neuro-science expert/President-elect of the Professional Speaking Association Dr Lynda Shaw, Motivational expert/Chief Zookeeper Nigel Risner, Researcher/Massive goals Speaker David Hyner, Corporate Sales expert Simon Hazeldine and Entrepreneurial mindset expert/Chair of the Professional Speaking Association Rebecca Jones.
Enjoy a lively debate with top tips (occasional light swear words) and honest appraisals of where we are now and how we can adapt to thrive in the Learning and development world in this new season.
P.S. We banned the use of the words “unprecedented” and “new normal” 🙂
Find out what all our speakers are doing post-coronavirus here:
Here is Lee’s printable PDF of helpful signs, notices etc to hold up while on Zoom calls.
How many times do you say “can you unmute yourself?!” not any more, download, print and enjoy…
Free printable Zoom Signs for online meetings…
Free PDF Printable Hold up Zoom signs notices phrases cards LeeJackson.biz
You can book Lee to teach his Zoom Presentation Masterclass by emailing or calling him today.
