What do you have in common with a highly-skilled ninja-type assassin? A lot more than you may think. Ninjas, you, everybody can panic in situations that feel threatening. It may be when coming up against a heavily-armed adversary, even if it’s in a computer game rather than in real life. For most of us, it’s more likely to be a less life-or-death situation – having a difficult conversation, speaking up in an important meeting, or making a presentation. Whatever the situation, real or imaginary, your sense of panic is real and it has the same effect. It’s the stress response,…

Transparency and being a bit vulnerable are the thing now. So how about trying the following approach the next time you make a presentation or speak at a meeting? It should sound familiar … “Hello. Right, where shall I start? Let’s see, obviously, um, you know, there are so many points and stuff I basically, er, want to sort of make, that, well, actually I couldn’t really decide exactly, er, what I wanted to say. Haha. So I’m just going to um think out loud for a bit and, you know, sort of say a lot of stuff while you…

What do you have in common with a highly-skilled ninja-type assassin? A lot more than you may think. In the novel “The Rhythm Section” (soon to be a major motion picture), a down-on-her-luck young woman is selected to become a secret agent. She goes through a gruelling training process that pushes her to her limits, and beyond. In the depths of cold, wet, exhausted despair her trainer, Geordie, then gives her a valuable tip: “‘When you’re in a tight situation, you canna be panicking. You gotta keep hold of yourself [..] By looking after your rhythm section […] When you…