“I told my wife I was thinking of having an affair.”

In the first of Helen Frewin’s 3 Conversations interviews as part of her book-writing journey, Mark Smith is in the hot seat.

Sharing his experience of big scary conversations, little everyday chats and what he’s learnt about how to do all of this well – he certainly started big and scary with, “I told my wife I was thinking about having an affair.” A powerful example of the benefit of having a conversation before it is too late and a fascinating look at what we can learn from such challenging experiences.

As always, you can find loads of free resources on our website or Pay as You Go tutorials in our online store:

http://www.totem-consulting.com/

http://www.totem-consulting.com/online-learning-store/

And our podcast can be found on most mainstream platforms too, including Spotify & Apple Podcasts.

https://open.spotify.com/show/1wTd7m3g1fcJoWjiSqTBuI

https://podcasts.apple.com/podcast/id1507293934

Have a great day everybody!

How do you Delegate?

Poor delegation will cause you frustration, demotivates and confuses the other people, and even fails to achieve the task or purpose itself. On the other hand, good delegation not only gets results, but also increases the capabilities of the team, and frees up your time for more important things.

In this podcast, Mark Smith & Helen Frewin explore the tricky topic of Delegation - easily one of the most important life skills we can learn. We explore a few different techniques to help delegate well, build trust with those around you and motivate your people.

As always, you can find loads of free resources on our website or Pay as You Go tutorials in our online store:

http://www.totem-consulting.com/

http://www.totem-consulting.com/online-learning-store/

And our podcast can be found on most mainstream platforms too, including Spotify & Apple Podcasts.

https://open.spotify.com/show/1wTd7m3g1fcJoWjiSqTBuI

https://podcasts.apple.com/podcast/id1507293934

Have a great day everybody!

What is Gravitas? And how on earth do we develop it?

In the latest episode of Totem Talks, Mark Smith & Helen Frewin discuss several key components to Gravitas, or that notion of your own ‘gravity’ or authority – sharing how you bring this to life through calm confidence, keeping it together under pressure, being personable and having credibility.

We also touch upon the physical aspects like the tone of voice someone uses, how they use silence, their posture and pace. Showing us how we can use our bodies to have great impact with our colleagues and clients.

As always, you can find loads of free resources on our website or Pay as You Go tutorials in our online store:

http://www.totem-consulting.com/

http://www.totem-consulting.com/online-learning-store/

And our podcast can be found on most mainstream platforms too, including Spotify & Apple Podcasts.

https://open.spotify.com/show/1wTd7m3g1fcJoWjiSqTBuI

https://podcasts.apple.com/podcast/id1507293934

Have a great day everybody!

Transactional Analysis is one of the cornerstones of modern psychology. It was developed by Eric Berne, and describes the infamous ‘parent adult child’ theory.

In this podcast, Mark Smith & Helen Frewin explore its use in our everyday lives, from home to work. Transactional Analysis is a great starting point for building your self awareness, and an awareness of others. So if you find yourself struggling to communicate with others (or others with you!) it can be a very helpful tool.

We have several Transactional Analysis resources available on our website, but this is probably the most helpful:

http://www.totem-consulting.com/transactional-analysis/

We’ve also done a quick book review on The Games People Play by Eric Berne himself – it’s an excellent read if you want to learn more about this subject:

http://www.totem-consulting.com/the-games-people-play/

And if you’d like to find out more about our wonderful friends over at the Young MCA, here’s the promised link:

https://www.mca.org.uk/about-us/the-young-mca

As always, you can find loads of free resources on our website or Pay as You Go tutorials in our online store:

http://www.totem-consulting.com/

http://www.totem-consulting.com/online-learning-store/

And our podcast can be found on most mainstream platforms too, including Spotify & Apple Podcasts.

https://open.spotify.com/show/1wTd7m3g1fcJoWjiSqTBuI

https://podcasts.apple.com/podcast/id1507293934

It’s Mental Health Awareness Week and the theme for this year is kindness. Mark Smith shares his personal mental health challenges and Helen Frewin quizzes him about how toxic masculinity can get in the way of some really good conversations, and our ability to be kind.  

We were surprised that this ended up being a discussion as much about diversity and inclusion as it was about mental health….   

And we realised how the language of “being open about mental health” might be the very thing holding men back. All with a fascinating debate about privilege in white middle class men too!  

Follow the Podcast on Spotify or Anchor:  

https://open.spotify.com/show/1wTd7m3g1fcJoWjiSqTBuI 

https://anchor.fm/totemtalks  

Find out more about us and our online learning store here:  

http://www.totem-consulting.com 

http://www.totem-consulting.com/online-learning-store/  

Catch up with us on twitter too...  

https://twitter.com/totemltd

Helen is writing a book!  

In this latest podcast Mark Smith and Helen Frewin discuss her tentative and surprisingly emotional first steps in writing a book.  What's the book about?  Who is she writing it for?  Secrets will be revealed...  

If you're considering writing your own book, this podcast is a simple and quick way to catch that first glimpse of the journey that you'll need to embark on.  And as the book progresses, well update this playlist with more of Helen's discoveries.  In this podcast we mention the fabulous Alison Jones, who has helped us start on this exciting adventure...  

https://alisonjones.com/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/alison-jones-9b09893/

Find out more about Totem here:  

http://www.totem-consulting.com/

Catch up with us on twitter too...  

https://twitter.com/totemltd

Why do we not like giving feedback?  Why do we not face up to those honest, tough or difficult conversations?  Whatever we call them, and many businesses have tried their share of variations, feedback and performance conversations are still a challenge for many people.

In this Podcast, Mark Smith & Helen Frewin look at why interventions to date may not have worked and share some top tips that are working well for us and our clients.  And then we'll get to some meaty stuff - preparing for the other person’s response…

Find out more about us and our online learning store here:

http://www.totem-consulting.com/

http://www.totem-consulting.com/online-learning-store/

Catch up with us on twitter too...

https://twitter.com/totemltd

What are other people doing with virtual learning?  

This is a question we are getting asked a lot right now, so we thought we’d share a few experiences and tips that have come up across our clients.  Mark Smith & Helen Frewin talk about the stand out issues, and some personal quirks about the "new normal" during Covid-19.

Find out more about us and our online learning store here:  

http://www.totem-consulting.com/

http://www.totem-consulting.com/online-learning-store/  

Catch up with us on twitter too...  

https://twitter.com/totemltd

Business Psychologist Helen Frewin and her trusty sidekick Mark Smith give us an overview of what causes anxiety and tips to manage it. 

In this fourth episode, we also explore Acceptance & Commitment Theory, and how it can help you overcome your anxieties.

Find out more about us here:

http://www.totem-consulting.com

Catch up with us on Twitter too...

https://twitter.com/totemltd

Silos in the workplace cause nothing but frustration for customers, clients and employee's alike, so why do we often find ourselves operating in this way?

Mark Smith & Helen Frewin have a natter about their experience of silo working, the psychology that creates silos, and how to challenge the 'silo' mentality.

Find out more about us here: 

http://www.totem-consulting.com

Catch up with us on Twitter too...  

https://twitter.com/totemltd