But only after I get back. Helen and I got back from a short post January holiday and then a few days visiting assorted children in Sheffield. All in all, we had a good time, but it was oh so painful going back to work last Monday. I am sure you will recognise that feeling.

Monday was bad, as we thought it would be. I console myself with the thought that if we had not enjoyed our time away, Monday would not have been so bad.

It took until Wednesday night to work my way through all the emails. I still have people I need to contact. In addition, there is a mountain of invoicing to catch up with after January. Never mind! We are back now and over the next few weeks we will get everything caught up. I normally reckon that it takes as long as you have been away to get caught up again and get back to normal.

It used to be that when you went away, you always dreaded what disasters had happened during that time and there was inevitably something. At least these days mobiles enable us to keep an eye, albeit at a distance, on what is happening back home. So, no unwelcome surprises waiting for us last Monday morning. The work was bad enough!

We were due to fly back on the previous Friday but due to weather warnings and late running earlier flights, we had to re-book for Saturday. Not a problem as it gave us the opportunity to catch up with other family. Next morning we took off but just short of our destination the pilot announced that there was a problem with the plane, and we could not land at our destination. We turned back to where we took off. No one explained how we could land (safely) at that airport but not at our destination.

Sometimes there are details that are better not shared! I don’t particularly want to know that the plane currently flying at whatever thousand feet up, has a fault and cannot land. I did not mind the turning back but surely the pilot could have come up with something else to say.

I find that there are many times in life when saying less achieves far more. My mother had an expression “Least said, soonest mended” and I think that is very true. I find it particularly relevant when there are apparently irreconcilable differences in an argument leading either to long rambling emails or similar conversations. Many years ago, I was told of a response that fits many such situations namely “you may be right”. I think that this is one of the most effective phrases in my armory and generally puts an end to the downward spiral associated with disagreements. It ranks along a phrase given to me by my prospective mother in law “yes dear” which I gratefully adopted.  The other and quite succinct response is “noted” and I have used that more times than Helen would have liked, but not to her.

It’s funny how important a few words are in our lives. I was listening to a presentation by Sophia Hanson yesterday. She runs The Speaker’s Sanctuary in Inverness and amongst other things helps people who have trouble with public speaking. She uses a mixture of hypnotherapy and coaching and has built up quite a reputation for the work she does. As you can imagine, she is a good and entertaining speaker herself. Her closing remark on Thursday was “Sex sells and so does public speaking.” So, if you feel that your presentation style could do with a makeover, maybe you should give her a call.

How often do you find your mind wandering when you listen to presentations? I am not good on audience participation, but I also don’t like being spoken at for however long. Am I really that hard to please?

When I was at University, I knew people who were doing a psychology degree. The lectures were never more than 30 minutes because that was believed to be the maximum that any of us could concentrate continuously in that environment and absorb information. My lectures were all nearer an hour.  In my experience, I have found 30 minutes to be about right. So, if what you have to say is important, include it in the first 30 minutes of your presentation.

Isn’t it funny how our brains work, yet how often are we expected to sit through much longer presentations, and in my case, I probably disconnected and got drowsy. I have sat through countless tax presentations post one budget or another of 1.5 hours or longer. The presenters were always entertaining, and they held my attention for more that 30 minutes, but certainly not for 1.5 hours.

What has been your experience and how do you cover up the fact that you nodded off?

Alan E Long

The Long Partnership

07770 738770