reThink: How you think, work and thrive

What if your slides weren’t there to impress but to support you?

In this episode of Rethink, Nicki Hambleton talks with Nici Foote about designing slides as visual cues rather than content.

Drawing on a real presentation created for BETT, they explore how intentional design can support memory, pace, and confidence, reducing cognitive load for the speaker and creating a greater sense of belonging.

A reflective conversation about restraint, care, and designing presentations that support thinking, not performance.

We all need a rethink once in a while, so why not start today?

Slides as Mirrors to what you Hear
Design choices that make ideas stick

We often think slides are there to hold content.
But what if their real role is to support memory and meaning instead?

In this short solo episode, Nicki Hambleton reflects on a recent experience helping a neurodivergent speaker prepare slides for a high-pressure presentation. The challenge wasn’t the thinking or the script, it was distilling what mattered and knowing how to represent it visually.

This episode explores:

• Why slides work best as visual cues, not bullet points
• How simple design choices can reduce cognitive load
• The role of imagery and restraint in supporting memory
• Why slides that mirror what we hear help ideas stick for both the speaker and the audience

If you’ve ever felt overwhelmed by slide design, or wondered why some presentations linger while others fade, this episode offers a calmer, more human way to think about visual support.

Because sometimes, clarity isn’t about adding more, it’s about designing with intention.

We all need a rethink once in a while, so why not start today?

Episode 50: Thinking Becomes Stronger When It’s Shared

with special guest Tricia Friedman

Episode 50 of Rethink: The Podcast offers a moment to pause and reflect, not on numbers or milestones, but on how the podcast, and the thinking behind it, has evolved over the past year.

In this reflective conversation, Nicki Hambleton is joined by Tricia Friedman to explore a simple but powerful idea:

Thinking becomes stronger when it’s shared.

Together, they discuss the shift from solo episodes to shared conversations, and how inviting another mind into the space has deepened ideas, strengthened confidence, and changed the nature of the podcast itself.

The episode explores:

• The difference between thinking alone and thinking together
• Why conversation can act as a powerful thinking tool
• How curiosity, challenge, and perspective strengthen ideas
• Moving away from performance towards reflection and connection
• What has changed through choosing to share the thinking space

Episode 50 is not a celebration in the traditional sense. Instead, it is a thoughtful reflection on growth, learning, and the quiet impact of thinking alongside others.

This episode will resonate with anyone who has noticed that their clearest ideas often emerge through conversation.

We all need a rethink once in a while, so why not start today?

Episode 49: Are You Sitting Comfortably? Let Me Begin.

Story, Rehearsal and Authentic Communication with James Healy

In this episode of reThink, Nicki Hambleton is joined by communication specialist James Healy for a thoughtful conversation about story, presence, and what it really means to rehearse.

James shares his journey from classical drama training to working with leaders, law firms and organisations around the world, helping them communicate with confidence, clarity and impact.

Along the way, the episode explores a common challenge many people face: feeling well-prepared, yet still nervous, flat or disconnected when it comes time to speak.

Together, they unpack why preparation alone often fails and why rehearsal, storytelling and embodied presence make such a difference.

James introduces his SOAR storytelling framework, showing how:

• situation sets context
• obstacles create engagement
• action builds momentum
• and results make ideas memorable

The episode also talks about:

• why stories engage us more than data
• authenticity and vulnerability in the age of AI
• how quieter voices can still command attention
• and how imperfection often builds stronger connection than polish

This episode is an invitation to slow down, speak ideas out loud, and rethink how stories, including your own, are told.

🎧 Whether you’re leading, presenting, teaching or simply trying to be heard, this conversation offers a more human way to communicate.

The Shift

James Healy LinkedIn

The Squiggly career: Helen Tupper

Forbes: From Classroom to Career

Olivier Mythodrama

We all need a rethink once in a while, so why not start today?

From Visuals to Voice: A Year of Rethinking Out Loud

As the year comes to a close, this episode of Rethink: The Podcast is a moment to pause and reflect.

Rather than introducing a new visual tool or hosting a guest conversation, Nicki steps back to join the dots between the ideas, conversations and moments that have shaped the podcast over the past year.

From revisiting her 2014 Learning2 talk on the power of visuals, to noticing recurring themes across conversations with educators, leaders, creatives and facilitators, Nicki reflects on how visualising thinking has helped people make sense of complexity, reduce cognitive overload and communicate ideas more clearly.

This episode explores the shift from thinking visually to thinking out loud and how hosting the podcast has become a quiet practice in finding confidence, clarity and voice.

Nicki also reflects on her earlier podcast, The Confessions of an Introvert, and shares why she feels drawn to revisiting those quieter, story-led conversations.

If you’re someone who thinks deeply, sketches ideas, or feels overwhelmed when thoughts stay stuck in your head, this end-of-year reflection offers a gentle reminder: making thinking visible doesn’t require perfection, just space, curiosity and the courage to say the next honest thing out loud.

Learning2 Asia 2014: The Power of Visuals by Nicki Hambleton

We all need a rethink once in a while, so why not start today?

Rethinking Journalling: Calm, Creativity, and the Power of Visual Reflection

In this episode of reThink, Nicki Hambleton is joined by educator, coach, and podcast host Kim Cofino for a reflective conversation about journalling, not as a writing habit, but as a visual, calming practice.

Kim shares how journalling supported her through a demanding year, helping her slow down, process experiences and remember everyday moments more clearly. Rather than focusing on written entries, the conversation explores how simple visuals, doodles, colour, and small observations can make journalling feel more accessible and sustainable.

The episode explores:

• How journalling can support calm and emotional processing
• Why visual cues help memory and recall
• Letting go of perfection and consistency
• Journalling as a personal, flexible practice rather than a performance

This episode offers a gentler way into journalling, particularly for those who have struggled to maintain traditional written journals.

https://www.linkedin.com/in/kimcofino/

https://www.instagram.com/superkimbocreates/?hl=en

https://www.1101.com/store/techo/en/all_about/

We all need a rethink once in a while, so why not start today?

What Happens When You Stop Typing and Start Seeing Your Notes?

An Introduction to Sketchnoting

Most of us type far more notes than we ever return to.
We capture everything, but remember very little.
So what actually changes when we stop writing pages of text and start seeing our notes instead?

In this episode, I share how sketchnoting transformed the way I process information over ten years ago, because dense text overwhelmed me, bored me, and stayed hidden on my computer. I needed a way to stay engaged while capturing ideas, and a way to actually use them later.

I explore:

• Why sketchnoting isn’t about drawing well
• How visual notes help you see, choose and act on ideas
• How to get started
• Why choosing what matters reduces overwhelm
• How sketchnotes become notes you actually revisit

 Try capturing one idea visually and see what happens when you come back to it.

We all need a rethink once in a while, so why not start today?

In this episode, Nicki is joined by creative facilitator and multipotentialite Angel Takooree for an insightful conversation about what truly makes a workshop engaging, human, and meaningful.

Angel shares how her squiggly career, spanning food innovation, interior design, service design, LEGO® Serious Play®, and visual thinking, has shaped her approach to facilitation. She talks about designing workshops through the senses, rethinking space, using visuals to reduce overwhelm, and creating environments where people feel safe, relaxed, and ready to contribute.

Together, Nicki and Angel explore:

• How thoughtful space design transforms group dynamics
• Why sensory cues (music, scent, layout) help people feel at ease
• How visual thinking invites people into conversations differently
• Why metaphors and LEGO bricks help adults stop overthinking
• What multipotentialites bring to creative and collaborative work

When people feel comfortable, curious, and cared for, they begin to relax into experimentation and that’s when real creativity emerges.

This episode is full of joyful stories, practical insights, and gentle encouragement for anyone wanting to rethink how they design meetings, workshops, or learning experiences.

We all need a rethink once in a while, so why not start today?

Episode 44: Rethinking Journalling. One Day. One Drawing.

In this reflective episode of Rethink: The Podcast, Nicki Hambleton explores why traditional journalling is so hard to sustain and how a simple daily drawing ritual can turn reflection into something calming, consistent, and deeply grounding.

Nicki shares her own struggle with keeping a diary, yet drawing, especially ten minutes a day, became a meditative practice she could return to again and again.

So what happens when you combine the two?

Through personal stories, family memories, cognitive science, and a practical four-step method, Nicki shows how visual journalling can help anyone create a small, meaningful daily ritual.

Listeners are invited to try their own “one day, one drawing” moment and share their methods, tools, and pages.

We all need a rethink once in a while, so why not start today?

Episode 43: Look Again! How Community Helps Us Feel Seen

In this reThink episode, Nicki is joined by educator, facilitator and community-builder Maxine Buttigieg, founder of Mira: Where Teachers Connect. Together, they explore what it means to look again; to slow down, notice what’s often overlooked and understand why feeling seen is essential to well-being.

Maxine shares the story behind Mira, the inspiration drawn from Spanish children joyfully shouting “Mira!” (“Look!”), and her commitment to creating spaces where teachers can genuinely belong. The conversation moves through the emotional landscape of teaching, the power of community and the importance of having a safe place to reflect, connect, and breathe.

Throughout the episode, Nicki and Maxine discuss:

• why being seen matters just as much as seeing others
• how teacher communities can support well-being and reduce burnout
• the “octopus brain” and the reality of multi-passionate people
• the role of visual metaphors in helping us think, reflect and understand ourselves
• how simple noticing moments can transform the way we engage with the world

This reflective episode is ideal for educators, leaders, facilitators and anyone seeking a renewed sense of clarity, belonging and connection. A warm reminder that sometimes, the world doesn’t need to change, we just need to look more closely.

Maxine Buttigieg: https://www.linkedin.com/in/maxine-buttigieg/

Mira: https://www.instagram.com/mira__education/

https://www.linkedin.com/company/mira-where-teachers-connect/posts/?feedView=all

Metafox Coaching Cards: https://metafox.eu/collections/coaching-picture-cards

We all need a rethink once in a while, so why not start today?