Chairing meetings is a learning superfood! In this quickfire How To Learn mini-podcast, Thembi and Jonathan identify nine skills you can develop through the process of chairing meetings: from time management to tech, from body language to diplomacy. So don't see it as a chore to avoid, see it as a way of building valuable skills.. and a way of helping your colleagues not to waste their time in the kind of meetings we all hate!

Ever picked up a random dog-eared, second-hand book on holiday.. and learned something? Ever picked up a surprising amount of knowledge without actually noticing how you did it? From double-glazing sales techniques, to life tips for avoiding airport stress, to mastering the London Underground, and to Emotional Bank Accounts - Thembi and Jonathan share some stories of random learning and argue that they're all perfectly valid. Even if Thembi still calls it 'the silver line'.

Do you feel slightly guilty that you're not making full use of all the amazing self-management, personal organisation and efficiency hacks out there? In this episode, Thembi and Jonathan look at the need to learn what actually works for you - and what doesn't! Prompts and notifications, colour-coding, post-its, reminders, notebooks and auto-prompts all come under the sceptical microscope of How To Learn.

They're inside your head.. and they're using the most powerful techniques to make you remember and learn. But do you want your most effective tutors to be the algorithms of your favourite social media? In this mini-podcast Thembi and Jonathan look at the role of scrolling behaviour - and more generally, the role of habits - in creating learning. How can we be more intentional about our habits? How can we harness the power of daily scrolling behaviour for our own learning?

We believe there is an important life skill called 'the willingness to ask questions'. But what does skilful question-asking look like, and can we get better at it? In this mini-podcast Thembi and Jonathan discuss: - why we shouldn't stop asking 'stupid' questions: certainly not when we're still new, and actually not when we're more experienced, either - the need to pick your person, pick your moment, and articulate your question - a specific skill that Jonathan is not willing to get better at.

It might feel like a boring chore to take notes at an event, or to 'cascade' some learning back to colleagues. or even to explain something that you know - or think you know. But in this 5-minute mini-podcast, Thembi and Jonathan talk about the known 'Protégé Effect' - basically how teaching or explaining something helps you to learn it better. It can also add to your visibility in an organisation. Or maybe your pupil or 'protégé' is simply the you of tomorrow, who would already have forgotten what you learned today.. had you not taken some well-organised notes. So.. are you ready to pass this on? Let's begin :)

"Learning on the job" starts on Day 1. Here are three tips from Thembi and Jonathan: - avoid the experts! (or rather: find somebody who can remember what is was like NOT to know what they were doing..) - be curious: start volunteering for stuff beyond your role - remember you need to induct THEM to YOU It's also never too early to work out the skills you will need further down the line.

In this 5-minute mini-podcast, Thembi brings up a skill which is often neglected: conversation. We talk all the time, but how often do we think about it, consciously, as a skill which can be improved? From active listening to building rapport, conversational skills are crucial for our working and social lives. Thembi talks about 'How to Talk to Anyone: 92 Little Tricks' by Leil Lowndes as a way into this set of skills we should be talking about more often.

A cheerful mini-rant about good intentions and bad habits. Why do we trip up our own learning with procrastination, poor planning, bad filing and other habits? Or maybe it's just Jonathan? Plus a bonus moan on how the route to free content is strewn with annoying extras and roadblocks. Rant along with How To Learn..!

"You can tell when you're reading from the notes." In this 5-minute mini-podcast, Thembi and Jonathan chat about office skills, and plunge straight into two examples: how to facilitate meetings, and how to deliver presentations. How did they actually get better over time? (assuming they did) The episode covers: - the role of observation, copying and practice - using an emotional reaction to things you don't like, to motivate yourself to do better - seeking out the things you won't observe for yourself: eg getting feedback, and getting insight from experts via formal learning. Improving your impact is a messy process, but you can also get better at getting better! - 

A new study shows the difference that managers can make in encouraging their staff to pick up training opportunities. 'High-training managers' see up to 50% more participation - with benefits for performance and productivity. In this mini-podcast, Thembi and Jonathan discuss: - the link to leadership potential: are 'high-training managers' the leaders of the future? - what to do if you've got a different type of manager..

We're all tempted to rush into a new job or project, to show that we can 'hit the ground running'.. but in this mini-podcast Thembi and Jonathan say: Please don't. Much better approach: - take your time, you have to crawl before you can walk (let alone run) - be kind to yourself, it's ok not to know things - don't abandon your induction halfway - keep an induction mindset, and never stop asking questions.

We have a disagreement in this podcast: when you see a colleague demonstrate a real skill, is it intimidating ("oh wow, I don't know how to do that") or is it inspiring ("oh wow, show me how")? Either way, we think we should definitely learn more from others in the workplace. The discussion also covers: - are we losing random workplace learning? - how can we be more curious, and more grateful?  Please share your ideas on getting the most out of workplace learning!

Thinking about your workplace: do team members feel able to admit mistakes? Do you feel comfortable asking questions, and expressing incomplete ideas? Or do you find yourself avoiding situations, questioning your own capability, and feeling demotivated or stressed? How you feel in the workplace is a major factor in how (and whether) you learn and develop. In this mini-podcast, Thembi and Jonathan explore Amy Edmondson's concept of 'psychological safety' and what to look out for - good and bad.

Don't bother blocking out time for learning.. just find a learning buddy instead! In this episode, Thembi and Jonathan talk about how they used the learning buddy system to finally get round to reading a book (Julie Dirksen's Design for How People Learn). In the end, we feel more accountable to other people than to our Outlook or Google Calendars. Let's use that power!

The medieval apprenticeship model was a superb piece of learning design. Unfortunately a seven year skills programme is a hard sell in the modern workplace :) But you can still use the apprenticeship model for your own benefit, even if you're not technically an apprentice, and even if you don't aspire to become a master violin-maker in Bavaria. In this mini-podcast, Thembi and Jonathan offer a quick checklist: how do you know you've developed an apprenticeship mindset?

Networking is an important part of learning - and even introverts can be brilliant at it! In this two-minute special from the floor of a buzzing exhibition centre, Thembi and Jonathan share some quick networking tips: - how to set yourself an achievable target - how to use social media - how to act like a pro and collect the contacts.   Plus - after many years on the diplomatic circuit - Jonathan's top reception survival tip :)  

The human brain is wired for distraction. We're always scanning, processing and deciding on trivial things.. from noises outside the window, to WhatsApp notifications, to random thoughts about shopping. But can you really define the human (or goldfish) attention span? In this mini-podcast, Jonathan gets grumpy about fake precision and Thembi asks, so if this is affecting our learning, what can we do about it? 

Part of learning is putting ourselves forward for new things: for new projects, for interesting experiments, for more responsibility, for stuff that looks a bit scary but will develop our confidence and skills. We need the confidence to say yes to good opportunities. So why do we hold ourselves back? This episode looks at 10 common psychological barriers to learning: from impostor syndrome to perfectionism, from fear of failure to cultural norms. How many can you tick off? And what can we do about it?

In this four-minute mini-podcast Thembi and Jonathan decide to pass some new legislation, and to enforce it immediately. So please get ready to comply with:   🎇 the new National Labelling Scheme for Training, based on the traffic light model for sugar, salt and fat in foods. "Short, one-off things" are now labelled Red. Consumer choice and employer information are paramount. If it isn't based in learning science, it's not getting a Green, sorry/not sorry. 🎇 the Skills Act 2025, mandating L&D as a "golden thread" for all organisations. The national skills shortage is unaffordable. Parliament is imposing an obligation on employers and employees alike to get learning.   Admittedly this legislative plan may be a bit of a stretch, given that we're private citizens who have never bothered to stand for Parliament, let alone acquired a working majority, but let's see how it goes..