Despite the notion that 'those who can, do and those who can't, teach' many people find themselves in the position of teaching others at some point in their working life. This might be a manager teaching a new subordinate or introducing new systems to the department. Or it might be someone given the job of showing a new colleague the ropes. In most cases it is assumed that having the technical skill enables the person to teach it to someone else.

This booklet recognises that this is not the case and allows the reader to learn some of the skills associated with effective teaching very quickly. Bearing in mind that a teacher training course takes a minimum of a year of full time study there is no way that this booklet can be any more than an introduction. However with the time saved by teaching it right first time you can always continue your study through more detailed books or a college course if you feel the need.

The ideas here are based on twenty years of teaching people of all ages and abilities from 6 year olds with learning difficulties, to post graduates at university, to adult education classes and in house company training of managers. The ideas have all been well tested and proven to work. But don't take my word for it. Try them and see!

Author: Ian Nelson
Publisher: Ian Nelson

Time is one of the most precious commodities of our age. We cannot save it up to use later. We cannot earn some more to replace what we have lost. We cannot create it or stop it or borrow it to pay back later. And yet rarely have I met anyone who can tell me how much time they spend on various activities in a normal week. In some cases people have been unable to account for up to 70 hours out of the week's total of 168!

Quite clearly to handle our money in the same way would be regarded as foolish in the extreme, yet if times became desperate financially we might be able to earn some more by finding extra work or selling something, Not so with time however! This booklet aims to start you on your own programme for making more effective use of your time. Working on the principle that you are busy and haven't got time to read an extensive time management manual of several hundred pages it gives you ideas and tips to enable you to start organising your time more effectively within the hour.

However reading this booklet will not make you more efficient or effective. Only your actions can do that. So enjoy reading it but most importantly enjoy putting into practice some of the suggested strategies and then face the "problem" of what to do with all the time you have to do what you want!

Author: Ian Nelson
Publisher: Ian Nelson

We live in a time of rapid, dramatic and constant change. No longer can you expect to join an organisation when you leave school and stay there doing much the same job until you retire. Even if you could stay with the same organisation the odds are that reorganisation of departments would mean a change in the nature of your work. So people today need to be able to cope with change as a matter of course even when this means effectively having several different jobs within a single career. This book considers some of the implications of the pace of change and outlines some of the reactions commonly found. It suggests strategies for coping with the stress caused by the pace of change and includes ideas on positive thinking and personal effectiveness which are recognised as crucial for standing the pace of modern life.

This book is aimed at individuals or groups of people who recognise that change is inevitable and wish to be as prepared as possible to cope with it. It aims to assist those who are the victims of change but in doing so may also be useful to those whose job it is to initiate change within their organisation.

Author: Ian Nelson
Publisher: Ian Nelson

Often people find themselves in a position where they have to lead a team yet few are trained for such a role. There is an assumption that leaders are born and not made. Leading a team requires an understanding of how teams work and how they develop over their lifetime. This book outlines the development stages that all teams go through and the leadership styles appropriate for each one. It explains the theory of team skill profiles and how having the best technical experts in the business working together will not necessarily give the best results. It also explains how the three essential leadership functions of managing the task, the team and the individual overlap and are interdependent.

The ideas in this book are a combination of reading the research of others and many years practical experience of leading some teams and setting up and supporting others at work and within voluntary groups.

This book is intended as an introduction to leadership for anyone who already has a team to lead or is looking to take on a leadership role either at work or within a voluntary group. However as with all the books in this series merely reading it will not make you a better leader. Only putting some of the ideas into practice will do that.

Author: Ian Nelson
Publisher: Ian Nelson

This book is aimed at all those people who say "yes" when they really mean "no" and as a consequence get landed with things they do not want. It is for those who when asked "coffee or tea" reply "whichever is easier for you" despite their preference for coffee.

It is also for those who don't let anyone get in the way of what they want though I doubt that too many such aggressive people will see the need to read up on assertiveness! It will also be useful to anyone who works with other people and wants to establish good assertive working relationships with colleagues, subordinates or bosses.

It outlines what assertiveness is and the effects of non-assertive, assertive and aggressive behaviours. It looks at the sources of the different types of behaviour and includes strategies for increasing your own assertiveness which should in turn enable those around you to become more assertive too.

Reading it is only the start however. Once you have read it you will only become more assertive when you begin to act upon some of the ideas suggested here. So the sooner you start, the sooner you can begin to enjoy the benefits of greater assertiveness.

Author: Ian Nelson
Publisher: Ian Nelson

Body language is the popular term for non-verbal communication. As we all transmit and receive non-verbal signals all the time we should be proficient at understanding them. However we have lost some of our capacity to read body language as we have become more sophisticated so that misunderstandings still occur because our words and gestures give different messages and confused the listener.

This book is an introduction to body language and will cover some of the more common and more significant points. However it cannot cover every aspect of the topic in such a short space and you are recommended to follow it up by careful observation of people in a variety of settings and then deciding whether to pursue your interest further by looking at the more academic studies that are available.

Whoever you are and whatever you do you will find something of interest and something of value to you within this book but only if you use it as a guide and a starting point for your practical study of body language out there in the big wide world.

Author: Ian Nelson
Publisher: Ian Nelson

Everyone has far more potential ability than they ever use. Having worked in the field of developing human potential for 20 years I have learned that often the difference between those who succeed and those who fail is not innate ability but attitude. Success is far more a matter of how you interpret results and events than the results and events themselves. Where some people see endless opportunities others perceive only problems and difficulties. Where some people face a setback others in the same situation see a major disaster.

Having worked with learners of all ages and abilities from preschool children to pensioners, from people with learning difficulties through to post graduate students I have become more and more convinced that lack of belief leads to failure more often than lack of ability. Those who are successful believe they can be and see the world very differently from those who aren't. This booklet contains some thoughts about how you might become more successful and achieve what you want out of life. However reading it will not make you successful. Only your actions can do that.

Author: Ian Nelson
Publisher: Ian Nelson

Everyone is involved in meetings in some way whether at work, through a voluntary organisation, parents evenings at school, or an interview with the bank manager. Yet despite the fact that meetings are such an important part of everyday life few people receive any training b meetings skills.

In fact in the world of business a survey predicated that around 70% of managers had received no such training so it is hardly surprising to find that around 70% of them believe meetings to be a waste of time!

The aim of this booklet is to offer some ideas for managing meetings more effectively. It does not contain all the answers but it should highlight some of the issues and encourage you to begin to plan ways in which you can be more effective in meetings. To become really proficient in meetings you will need to go on to improve your presentation skills, your knowledge of body language, and your understanding of people and what makes them tick. This booklet should however start you on your way to becoming more effective in the meetings you attend.

Author: Ian Nelson
Publisher: Ian Nelson