Blog posts

Is Humour a Core Skill in Productivity Training?

Submitted by Jack Milner on January 14, 2026

As we move into 2026, I’ve reflected on a chat I had years ago with a senior banker. I asked him a simple question: where and when were you happiest at work?

It wasn’t the trading floor or achieving an immense KPI rolling out x project. It was when he was 18, fresh from A-levels, working for three months as a labourer on a building site.

“Until you asked me I’d never thought about it. But it was then. And it was because of the banter. It was a really tough job. But I loved it.”

The “Dis Technique”: The Smartest Way to Stand Out

Submitted by Jack Milner on November 25, 2025

If you really want to sound clever, try recommending someone no one else has ever heard of. You know the type of thing: an art critic proclaiming, “Oh, Maddy Diggy-Doo Buggy-Doom is unquestionably the most important artist of the 20th century,” and everyone nods sagely, hoping no one notices they’re Googling under the table.

Can Anyone Do Funny?

Submitted by Jack Milner on November 11, 2025

It’s a great question,  and one I’m often asked.

When I ran comedy workshops, I only met one person who was adamant they couldn’t do funny. He told me, “My wife sent me here because she says I need a sense of humour so we can watch Fawlty Towers together.” In truth, he was actually very funny – even if he didn’t always realise it.

So, can anyone really do funny?

Why Most Presentation Openings Are Dull – And How to Fix Yours

Submitted by Jack Milner on November 5, 2025

How many of us start a presentation with:

“I’m here today to talk to you about…”

It’s the presentation equivalent of a beige sandwich - brown bread, beef or mushroom pate filling. Safe, polite, and sadly very forgettable.

But what if you started with something that made your audience sit up, lean in, and think, “Ooh, this is different”? And different in a good way.

Rule of 3

Submitted by Jack Milner on September 10, 2025

Three things that have made a massive difference to my productivity, mental health, and overall effectiveness—so I thought I’d share them:

  1. I don’t need to keep checking my favourite news websites. A quick glance at the TV news is enough.

  2. Avoid social media. It’s designed to eat time.

  3. And Stoke City really don’t need me constantly checking how they’re doing.

I love the rule of 3 - breaking things down into threes. It’s not just a productivity hack, it’s also a comedy staple.

Impostor Syndrome: The Rude Motivational Coach

Submitted by Jack Milner on September 3, 2025

 

Meet Your Noisy Inner Critic

One of the biggest challenges in presenting is that little chap on your shoulder: Impostor Syndrome. Giving you constructive feedback like, “You’re rubbish, nobody’s listening, you’ve messed it up again. Oh God, you’re so boring, no one’s listening!” Meanwhile, you’re just trying to get through your slides without your laptop or your boss catching fire.

Why Serious People Are Ruining Everything

Submitted by Jack Milner on August 22, 2025

We all know them. The Serious People™.

They speak in that “business voice” – the one that makes everything sound like it was written by a legal bot with attitude. Sadly they’re convinced that anything less will make them look like a candidate for Love Island. They have to look uber professional and are under the impression this will make them look impressive. It doesn’t. It makes them forgettable. It makes them exhausting.

Why too much Seriousness Fails