“It was amazing to see the improvement in everyone over the 2 days, including myself. Bill was able to quickly recognise things that we initially didn't realise we were doing, or not doing so well. He coached us and gave plenty of tips how to improve our communication and have greater impact, while still being ourselves.”
Nick Hobbs
Programme Architect, Ernst & Young
“Have just completed a 2-hour online training on influencing people via Zoom/video conference. The training was brilliant. Bill is a fantastically engaging trainer and all three of us in the session identified and developed new skills we will use in our work.”
Graham Gilby
Senior Fundraising Manager at Greenpeace UK
“After the course, I took on Bill as an Impact coach to give me guidance in becoming a better form of myself and progress to that next level. He has helped me develop skills to see reason and rationale of other people’s opinions and to overcome those barriers. Thanks for everything Bill”. ”
Richard Stickler
Senior Commercial Manager, Electronic Arts
“Bill perfectly balanced the group and enabled each of us to work on specific, targeted areas for development. Bill demonstrated great sensitivity in his delivery and the group as a whole demonstrated significant progress in the two days under Bill's direction.”
Emma Walsh
Senior Manager, Ernst & Young
“Bill was fantastic at delivering the impact and presence course for my company. This course had originally been designed to be undertaken in person but due to the current circumstances was run in 6 zoom sessions. I was skeptical about this approach but Bill's energy and adaptation left me feeling like I could not have gained much more from the face-to-face training.”
Harshil Devalia
Customer Quality Engineer, Parker Hannifin
“Bill provided excellent coaching throughout and he was not afraid to give honest feedback which helped me a lot to learn and improve during this short space of time. Bill is passionate about his work and he is a great example of what he is teaching.”
Ralitsa Slavova
Group Reporting Accountant, ED&F Man
“Without question Bill has enabled me to improve my technique and my confidence. Bill manages to get the very best out each individual and makes a challenging subject really enjoyable, he is both professional and approachable. Bill has obvious expertise, and I have found him a warm, supportive and motivating coach.”
Lucy Wright
OD Consultant, University of the Arts London.
“I really liked Bill's coaching techniques and his creativity. I was really impressed by the workshop and it is thanks to Bill - with his charisma and coaching and people skills - he really managed to bring the best out of all participants. Thank you Bill!”
Iveta Koutna
Research Project Manager, Source Global Research
“It was amazing to see the improvement in everyone over the 2 days, including myself. Bill was able to quickly recognise things that we initially didn't realise we were doing, or not doing so well. He coached us and gave plenty of tips how to improve our communication and have greater impact, while still being ourselves.”
Nick Hobbs
Programme Architect, Ernst & Young
“Have just completed a 2-hour online training on influencing people via Zoom/video conference. The training was brilliant. Bill is a fantastically engaging trainer and all three of us in the session identified and developed new skills we will use in our work.”
Graham Gilby
Senior Fundraising Manager at Greenpeace UK
“After the course, I took on Bill as an Impact coach to give me guidance in becoming a better form of myself and progress to that next level. He has helped me develop skills to see reason and rationale of other people’s opinions and to overcome those barriers. Thanks for everything Bill”. ”
Richard Stickler
Senior Commercial Manager, Electronic Arts
“Bill perfectly balanced the group and enabled each of us to work on specific, targeted areas for development. Bill demonstrated great sensitivity in his delivery and the group as a whole demonstrated significant progress in the two days under Bill's direction.”
Emma Walsh
Senior Manager, Ernst & Young
“Bill was fantastic at delivering the impact and presence course for my company. This course had originally been designed to be undertaken in person but due to the current circumstances was run in 6 zoom sessions. I was skeptical about this approach but Bill's energy and adaptation left me feeling like I could not have gained much more from the face-to-face training.”
Harshil Devalia
Customer Quality Engineer, Parker Hannifin
“Bill provided excellent coaching throughout and he was not afraid to give honest feedback which helped me a lot to learn and improve during this short space of time. Bill is passionate about his work and he is a great example of what he is teaching.”
Ralitsa Slavova
Group Reporting Accountant, ED&F Man
“Without question Bill has enabled me to improve my technique and my confidence. Bill manages to get the very best out each individual and makes a challenging subject really enjoyable, he is both professional and approachable. Bill has obvious expertise, and I have found him a warm, supportive and motivating coach.”
Lucy Wright
OD Consultant, University of the Arts London.
“I really liked Bill's coaching techniques and his creativity. I was really impressed by the workshop and it is thanks to Bill - with his charisma and coaching and people skills - he really managed to bring the best out of all participants. Thank you Bill!”
Iveta Koutna
Research Project Manager, Source Global Research
Ever suggested something and had it ignored, only to hear someone else suggest the very same thing and be greeted with enthusiastic approval?
The messenger is the message..
Consider how quickly you form an impression of people when you first meet them. Within a few seconds you get a sense of what they’re like as a person. And others do the same when they meet you. This impression will determine how they respond to you and your ideas.
is created by hundreds of tiny cues in how you speak and behave. You’re unaware of them – that’s just how you are, right? But while others don’t consciously notice most of these cues, their subconscious is continually picking up on what you say and do. So if someone asks “what’s she like?” or “what do you think of him?” they’ll probably describe you in terms of subjective personal qualities like credible or warm or serious or trustworthy or disorganised and so on. They won’t necessarily know where they got that impression but, for them, it’s who and what you are.
But this is about more than simply first impressions. The way others experience you on a day-to-day basis – whether they believe in you – will hugely affect your ability to influence them. Many of my clients want to shake up the way they are perceived at work. Sometimes it’s about stepping up to influence more senior people. Often it’s about gravitas.
So I start by asking how you want to come across. I then give specific, expert feedback on the impact you’re currently creating and how it’s being created. Then we work to merge the two by practising in a safe, supportive environment.
Many of my clients are women who routinely find themselves underestimated, particularly at senior levels.
The psychologist Nalina Ambady spent much of her career researching our ability to thin-slice i.e. to make snap judgements of people and situations. In one of her most important pieces of work (Ambady & Nicholson 1993) she and a colleague found that people’s assessment of the personalities of high school teachers, based on just 10” of silent video footage, were remarkably similar. Not only this but they were largely the same as the assessments of students and principals at the end of the semester. Think about that – in just 10” of visual observation, most people reach similar conclusions about personality to those who spend an entire semester getting to know someone.
“I recently worked with Bill on a personal impact course and can't recommend him highly enough . He was incredibly adept at making people feel at their ease and also at pushing them outside of their comfort zones in a responsible and really effective way.”
Sarah Roscoe
Sales & Business Development Director
Penguin Random House
