You may have heard that it's good to give your conclusion first in today's business world. This is because many people are busy and want to get straight to the point. This can apply to your presentations, meetings, and emails.But if you're Japanese, do you feel a little uncomfortable about this? You're perhaps more comfortable with the traditional Japanese structure of kishotenketsu (起承転結), or Introduction, Development, Twist, Conclusion.

Which is better - conclusion first or last? And why?

In Episode 40 of the Sasuga! Podcast, you'll hear the answer to this question, plus

• The reason why you may be confusing and losing your audience when you speak English in business situations (and it's NOT because of your English capability)
• How to structure your message when you expect that the other person will be unhappy with what you're proposing (how to deliver bad news in a good way)
• The story of when I sang the enka Hisame with simultaneous interpretation (and what that has to do with communication structure!)

Enjoy!

Have you ever been in a business meeting and you didn't understand something? If English is not your native language, but the meeting is in English and you hear a word or phrase that you don't know, what do you do? When they first come to me, corporate clients and members of my online communities often ask me about this. Recently, I received this question: What would be an effective way to learn new words in English that are used in a meeting or conference where I don't have an opportunity to ask what they were? How did you deal with this when you were studying Japanese? In Episode 39 of the Sasuga! Podcast, you'll hear

• The 5 steps to take when you don't know a word
• The key to remembering new words and increasing your vocabulary
• How to stop feeling like an Insecure English Speaker and start being a Confident Global Communicator

Enjoy!

We all have embarrassing moments - such as going blank in a presentation, forgetting an important person's name, sending a message to the wrong recipients, spilling something down a white shirt, breaking wind in a quiet office full of people... These are just a few of my own examples!What do you do to overcome your embarrassment when something horrible like that happens?Do you replay the event over and over in your mind and keep feeling bad about it?Episode 38 of the Sasuga! Podcast is the second part of my interview with top-class event host and MC Miho Noguchi. She shares a 3-step approach that she uses to overcome embarrassing situations.

In this episode, you'll also hear

• What's different about praise in Japan compared with many other countries
• How your childhood probably impacted your attitude toward work
• Miho's 3 top tips for making a great impression on stage or in business meetings

Enjoy!

When you go to an event that has a professional MC, like a Japanese wedding reception or a high-level business function, are you amazed by how engaging the MC is and how confident he or she appears?Wouldn't you like to know the secrets of these expert event hosts?Well, today, you have that opportunity as you listen to my interview with bilingual event host and MC, voiceover actor, winner of the Mrs. Globe beauty pageant, and voice of Japanese GPS on the Google Maps app! (And she gives us a demo on this episode!)

In Episode 37 of the Sasuga! Podcast, you'll hear

• What people really remember about you - it's not the words you say
• Top tips from a bilingual MC that you can easily use to be a great speaker
• How to practice your English without paying for English classes and potentially get other benefits too!

Enjoy!

I was walking in the park one morning when a Japanese lady who I often see exercising there came along with a pair of scissors! She said to me, "Goya," and pointed over to the edge of the park, where a goya plant that was growing in her garden had spread over into the park and a lovely green, bobbly goya was hanging from it.She snipped the goya off the plant and handed it to me.I was thrilled. To be honest, I'm not the biggest fan of goya, but it was fresh from the vine and it's supposed to be healthy, right? I was so grateful and I think she was happy to see that in my face.Now here's the funny thing. There was a time when I was considering developing a training called the GOYA training. I was thinking of this especially for people who keep holding themselves back and not developing their skills, not making their best contribution, and not enjoying their life and work to the fullest. They tell themselves they're not good enough or they don't have time. They give themselves all sorts of reasons for not doing something different to make the best of their lives.

In Episode 36 of the Sasuga! Podcast, you'll hear

• What the GOYA Approach to personal and professional development is
• Why committing to study for 90 minutes every week day isn't a good idea
• How to build your confidence, increase your productivity, and get meaningful results the easy and fun way

Enjoy!

Do you sometimes feel stress at work or in your personal life? Maybe more than just sometimes?Stress not only feels awful, but it has a terrible impact on your communication with others and your health.Over the years, I've found what I consider the best way to reduce stress, and I introduce that in Episode 35 of the Sasuga! Podcast.. In this episode, you'll also hear

• What made me angry and stressed in the early days of my corporate career
• How to get stress-free, great results in a difficult situation
• Why it's so important to avoid long-term stress

Enjoy!

How often do you think the same things and use the same words without fully considering the impact? This is the same for both English and Japanese.

American author, Betty Eadie, said,

"If we understood the power of our thoughts, we would guard them more closely. If we understood the awesome power of our words, we would prefer silence to almost anything negative. In our thoughts and words, we create our own weaknesses and our own strengths."

In Episode 34 of the Sasuga! Podcast, you'll hear

• The biggest problem with your English, if you're a Japanese businessman or woman
• How the words you habitually say to yourself in English or Japanese impact the results you get in business and life
• An easy exercise you can do immediately to start improving your results

Enjoy!

If you're like most of my Japanese clients and online community members, you want to grow professionally and personally and make a contribution in your work and life. Yes?But you probably feel under pressure to do what others expect of you. You're worried about what others will think of you - especially if you do something different or make a mistake. Maybe you think the answer is to believe in yourself. Well, you might be surprised to hear what my coach, Jim Fortin, has to say to you about that. In Episode 33 of the Sasuga! Podcast, you'll learn

• How analytical thinking actually stops you from reaching your highest potential
• Why better education does not necessarily mean greater success in life for you
• What to do if you don't believe in yourself
• Where your confidence REALLY comes from (probably not where you think)
• A super simple way for you to stay positive in challenging circumstances

Enjoy!

Do you ever tell yourself that something you do isn't good enough? And that holds you back?

I see this all the time when I'm coaching Japanese managers and executives. So many of them are hard on themselves.How about you? This is not unique to Japanese culture.People around the world suffer from "I'm not good enough" thinking.

Me included. Even though I recognize it and move on quickly now, I still have my moments.In fact, I had one with this episode of the Sasuga! Podcast.

My questions at the beginning of this episode were far from a shining example of clear communication (fortunately, the responses from Jim, the interviewee, were hugely insightful and valuable).I decided to go ahead and publish the episode anyway even though I'm not communicating at my best. As you'll hear Jim say, it's more important to just get the message out even if it's not perfect.

And that may be the same for you too when you're worrying about your English or something else that you feel you're not good enough at.In Japanese, we say 猿も木から落ちる (Even monkeys fall from trees). But even when monkeys do fall, they don't roll around on the ground saying, "Oh, I'm not good enough, I can't do this."

They climb right back up into the tree.

And if they do that without making a fuss, others might not even have noticed that they fell out of the tree in the first place!

In Episode 32 of the Sasuga! Podcast, you'll also hear

• What to do when you're not enjoying your job
• How to get out of thinking "I don't have enough time"
• How you can be hugely successful even if your English is only okay

Have you heard of the book Think and Grow Rich? The author, Napoleon Hill, introduced the concept of the mastermind in this book in 1937 - around 80 years ago! Today, masterminds are becoming increasingly popular as a way to grow professionally and personally, overcome specific business challenges, and receive support from others inside and outside your industry. I've even seen them referred to as the #1 business growth tool. I've been a member of three masterminds in my career and benefited tremendously from them. In Episode 31 of the Sasuga! Podcast, you'll hear

• What a mastermind is and how you can benefit
• How important it is to put yourself first to avoid ill health, diminished performance, and burnout
• My top 3 takeaways from Jim Fortin's mastermind in Dallas and how you can use them too - especially if you're a manager or a business leader

Enjoy!