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Courageous conversations
The most important conversations are often the most difficult ones...
Who it’s for: From instigating a difficult conversation, to responding better to challenge… proven results for all comers, all mindsets, and all workplace environments.
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Team membersEmerging leadersManagersHigh performers
Tools & Techniques
- Your brain in conflict: the Chimp Paradox
- Chimp to Human exercise
- Stressors & motivators for you and the other party (using Insights Colour Energies)
- Openings, interaction and resolution techniques
- CALM technique for better interaction
- What to do when conversation gets hot
- Thomas Kilmann conflict model
- Conflict wheel tool
- Covey’s Circles of Concern & Influence
- Cultural differences in approaching conflict (Erin Meyer)
- Giving a positive ‘no’
- Question handling prep techniques
- Positive intent: when you don’t know 'the answer'
- Body language review
- Filmed role-plays and playback
Alita Buttress
Director & Head of Media Training
Alita is a former BBC News editor and self-proclaimed ‘news junkie’ with 17 years’ experience across national broadcast, print and digital. She has since transitioned into Executive Leadership coaching, preparing CEOs and senior leaders for high-stakes conversations. As an experienced trainer, Alita specialises in supporting businesses with their most challenging internal and external communication moments. Alita brings her abundance of energy to The 100th Monkey team, super-charging any training session with her supportive feedback and fascinating anecdotes of lessons learned in busy newsrooms.
Question & Answer
Who are you?
A Midlands native who has lived in London for 20 years. I’m a mum and a former journalist and TV editor who is still a complete news junkie. In my spare time you’ll find me with my nose in a book or planning holidays
What's your role?
I’m a director on the Personal Effectiveness side of the business and lead our media training work which involves planning and delivering sessions for our clients
So what do you actually spend your day doing?
Some days I’ll be planning for upcoming training, reading in on client issues and having briefing calls to discuss future work or new business. Other days I’ll be delivering training either face-to-face or virtually. In between, I spend time planning with our brilliant team and supporting on projects across the business
Greatest strength?
I can survive on very little sleep and always have lots of energy!
Favourite part of the job?
Showing people their split screen ‘before and after’ videos during our media training or Personal Effectiveness courses. The progress people make in a short space of time using our toolkits is always so inspiring. It’s the best part of my day!
Favourite TedTalk?
Shonda Rimes, 'My year of saying yes to everything'
One of my biggest influences is…
The Maya Angelou poem, ‘Still I Rise'
Ann HUGHES
Director
Ann has worked for 20 years advising big pharma on their corporate and brand messaging as well as delivering global launch campaigns. Now she is using that expertise on a more personal level, coaching individuals and teams to be more effective in their communications. Delivering training that calls on her consulting background and combines with her interest in psychology and theatre, she’s never been more passionate about her work.
Question & Answer
Who are you?
An American ex-pat in Dorset, a twin mum, avid reader, yogi and occasional quiz master/stand-up comedian (at PTA events..)
What's your role?
I’m a Director on the Personal Effectiveness side of the business, which means I deliver training and help add training talent to our network. And since I love making connections and solving problems, I’m always meeting new people to see if our training is a good solution to some of the challenges they face.
So what do you actually spend your day doing?
Some days I’ll be entirely dedicated to training, other days I’ll be upskilling new trainers or meeting with potential clients to understand the skills gaps their trying to solve. Or I’ll be drafted into the Team Effectiveness side of things to help design and facilitate client meetings.
Greatest strength?
Helping people see the best in themselves.
Recent work highlight?
Watching one of our Personal Effectiveness delegates in action – standing up at a big meeting in front of 100+ people to present naturally and eloquently, and also asking articulate, challenging questions. Both feats that I know personally terrify her, or at least they did before our training!
One of my biggest influences is…
My mom. And Woody Allen movies.
Joanna Edwards
Co-Founder & Director
As founding partner and leader of the 100th Monkey’s thriving team effectiveness troop, Joanna is highly sought-after by emerging leaders, established leaders and industry-leading teams. She has developed a four-pillar model for high performing teams, and designed and delivered hundreds of programmes, offsites and workshops to help leaders sharpen and articulate their thinking, and teams to be more productive, satisfied and happy.
Joanna has honed her skills through 20+ years’ experience as a consultant, facilitator, trainer and coach.
Starting out in corporate communications for Biotech company, Acambis, Joanna went on the become an award-winning communications consultant, working in various agencies and supporting clients ranging from GSK, Sanofi, Eli Lilly and Novartis to Weetabix, Jaguar Landrover and the Department of Health.
As part of The 100th Monkey team, Joanna has led training and team development programmes across multiple sectors, including UK Government departments, leading pharmaceutical organisations, counter terrorism teams and innovators in the worlds of aerospace and energy.
Her greatest skills are as a strategic thinker, visual storyteller and facilitator.
Question & Answer
Who are you?
Daughter to an Irishman and a Brummie, wife to the king of optimism and mother to three amazing kids – I love film, Bristol, fun, family, friends and of course, The 100th Monkey
What's your role?
Co-founder, chief puzzle solver and strategist, working closely with leaders to help them sharpen and articulate their thinking, and teams to help them be more productive, satisfied and happy
So what do you actually spend your day doing?
I spend lots of my time talking! To clients - to help really understand what they are wanting to achieve through our support, sharing ideas and designs for programmes and sessions, and reviewing the impact our work is having. Also to our team - collaborating, co-ordinating and coaching. Amongst all the talking, I like to carve out space and time to think deeply about the briefs we are working on – I pride myself on our work being insightful, creative and beyond expectation – this requires focused brainpower.
Greatest strength?
To be able to see the big picture and how everything pieces together quickly, and enable others to see it too through simplification, visualisation and speaking their language
Biggest weakness?
My ‘go hard or go home’ approach to nights out
Favourite part of the job?
Supporting people to shine – helping them to achieve their aspirations and be proud of how they do it
Tell us two truths and a lie about yourself
1. I moved to Brazil to dance the Samba in the Rio Carnival 2. I met my husband on a week-long, no food retreat 3. As a child, I competed nationally as a synchronised swimmer
Richard EDWARDS
Founder & Managing Director
At the helm of a thriving business, Richard has the privilege of leading a troop of trainers, facilitators, coaches and consultants who have helped thousands of individuals and teams to be have greater impact, confidence and clarity in their work.
The 100th Monkey’s story began in 2012, when Richard retrained as a facilitator and coach, after a prolific career as a news reporter at the Daily Telegraph and London Evening Standard.
He designed a series of communication skills workshops and programmes, which pioneer a data-led approach to learning (putting science behind the art of communication), and draw on Richard’s experience of 20 years in journalism, complemented with principles of performance, neuroscience and psychology, to create a practical package of tools to enhance individuals’ clarity and confidence.
The training receives industry-leading feedback. On average 9/10 delegates rate the 100th Monkey’s flagship courses in presentation skills and media training as 5*, with frequent and humbling praise describing it as “life-changing” and “career highlight” training.
Question & Answer
Who are you?
Son of incredible musicians and teachers, husband to an extraordinary wife, father of wonderful children, orchestrator of a brilliant band at the top of their game. And affectionate user of adjectives
Greatest strength?
Optimism - "proceed as if success is inevitable"
Biggest weakness?
Over optimism, particularly when it comes to the number of hours in the day
Coffee order
Nespresso tells me I am one of its 'ambassadors', which I took to mean I'm like George Clooney. But it turns out it's just a way to label my addiction
Favourite part of the job?
Instilling confidence in others
Tell us two truth's and a lie about yourself
1. My dad played with the Beatles on the Sgt Peppers album 2. We named our son Elvis. 3. I met Queen Elizabeth II and invited her to our wedding (she didn't come)
Proudest moment
100th Monkey was my first foray outside of journalism and started only with the ambition of keeping three babies in nappies. I'm proud to say it's surpassed all expectations. There was a moment recently at a team social when I looked around the table at 10-or-so of us, and felt an incredible pinch of pride at what together we've built
What the data says
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Popular frequently asked questions
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Can training be made bespoke to address particular team and organisational concerns?
Absolutely. Prior to training, we can take a briefing from you to gain an understanding of the challenges being faced. We can also discuss upweighting specific sections or adding in additional material.
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How do your trainers and facilitators approach diversity, equity and inclusion?
We strongly believe in creating and delivering courses and workshops that are inclusive and accessible. We have continually adapted our programmes to suit a diverse range of audiences, recognising that different people and different brains work in different ways. Through the pre-work we ask participants to complete, we are able to identify the specific needs and learning preferences of participants and adapt accordingly. We strive to create a safe space that helps participants step out of their comfort zone in an environment where they feel supported.
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How do you engage participants who don’t see this training as a priority?
We appreciate that taking time for personal or team development can be seen as a luxury and not always a necessity, which is why we design our courses to deliver immediate wins, to demonstrate their value. Time after time we have proven that our innovative strategies help companies and individuals to work more effectively, saving you time in the long term. Seeing these countless ‘a-ha’ moments is incredibly rewarding for us as trainers.
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How does a face-to-face session compare to a virtual session?
We have received fantastic feedback for both formats and the quality and outcomes of both courses are the same. Offering both face to face and virtual sessions allows us to tailor the course to suit delegate preferences, which differ by team and organisation. It also helps us to equip participants to be confident communicators in our increasingly hybrid world.
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How do you make the learning stick beyond the session itself?
Feedback from delegates says that the unique data we provide them with – personalised pitch, pace and sentence analysis – is something that stays with them for months and years after the training. The worksheets and materials used during the session are also provided as an aide memoir, and trainers respond to any follow-up questions by email, or work with individuals 1:1 over a course of six months to keep refreshing the learning. Finally, we invite delegates to sign up to a twice a year email which brings the learning back to the top of their inbox and mind, offering fresh tips.