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There are some days that I...

About six weeks ago I was...

I don’t know about you, but I’m getting tired of living through unprecedented times.  I want my times to be precedented where our government isn’t engaged in a hunger games exercise, or global pandemics, wars and cost of living crises seem to be a constant.

A popular question I get asked by almost all potential students is how long it will take them to finish their CIPS studies. Now, this is a difficult question to ask because it depends on how much effort you are willing to put in.

By far the question I get asked the most from students is how much revision to do for their exams. Now CIPS obviously has its guided learning hours, but I’m a firm believer in that there is no one size fits all approach to revision. It depends on the individual, but it also depends on the quality of that revision.

First off don’t panic. Take a deep breath, unclench your jaw. Anyone can have a bad day, perhaps you failed to revise a particular topic or misinterpreted the question. It happens, this does not mean that you are not capable of passing the exam. Here are three steps to follow to make the best of the situation.

So, the day has finally arrived. I’m sure you feel dread, butterflies in your stomach. I wanted to write this blog because I see students make the same mistakes on exam day which creates stress. We want you to be the most positive version of yourself on exam day, so we have put together several tips to help you maximise your chance of success.

We are well aware that getting started with CIPS can be a minefield. Firstly there are so many different ways to study, will you choose a classroom in person, virtual, or a more flexible distance learning approach. Then once you have decided this you’ve still got to choose between a variety of different study centres.

Memory is something that fascinates me. I wonder if you also feel like your brain is full and to add another topic to remember means that old memories are lost. Our memory is best at remembering events with a high emotional load, in an effort to keep us safe for the future.

The fundamental rule of business is that people will do business with those they know and like. Yet traditional negotiation training is very much focused on a more adversarial approach, with tactics and power play.

Now you are probably thinking that I am some evil Trunchbull style teacher from Matilda from the headline of this blog. However, to be clear, I am not advocating for our students to be on the edge of burnout.

Ok, I will admit it. I am a massive neuroscience geek. A total nerd for how our brain works and in particular learns. Memory also fascinates me. So, I have researched and ready the studies out there to see how I could help our students perform better.

I have a confession to make.  (Whispers) I am addicted to learning.  The number of courses I have undertaken is probably in their hundreds.  From this, I have seen the good, the bad, and the mediocre when it comes to teaching.  I remember my A-level Sociology teacher so clearly, he made what was occasionally dull material so much more interesting with his wit and sense of humour.  I scored an A on his topic, and I always put it down to his teaching.

I had an interesting call this week.  A potential student called me and asked me to explain to her why she should study with Business Academy Online and not a competitor centre.  I was a little surprised by the question as I believed that our marketing material and social media posts gave all of these reasons.

I’ve always been fascinated with my memory. Why is it, I asked, that I can remember every lyric from some 90s RnB tune (my karaoke performance of sugar hill gang is legendary I’ll have you know..) but yet I cannot remember anything from the zoom webinar I attended three days ago?

Not many people actually enjoy exams, I am one of the rare creatures who loved the challenge of exam. Like a strange unicorn creature, I looked forward to the exam challenge as long as I had done enough revision.

I remember the day I first experienced severe imposter syndrome vividly. It was the first time that I was delivering a training course. As I stood in front of the group I could feel my heart beating frantically in my chest, my mouth was dry, and a voice in my head repeated these words over and over.

In case you missed this, we have a number of revision webinars available to purchase to help improve your chances of success in your exam.

Negotiation is a concept that is steeped in adversarial attitudes. No matter how we attempt to be collaborative, the fact that we are in a situation where there is likely to be some difference of interests, can lead to a quick escalation in tension.