Penny Haslam Podcast - Communication and Confidence

Penny Haslam podcast - Workplace Confidence book announcementThe book is out on 1 June 2027 and it's called Workplace Confidence, with the strapline Learn it. Teach it. Build it.So, I thought I'd share a few nuggets about the book. What's it all about? Why do we need it? And who's it for? Because it may well be for you.For book updates, subscribe to my Workplace Confidence LinkedIn Newsletter.Confidence BookHear all episodes of the Penny Haslam Podcast.

Penny Haslam Podcast - How to give praise at work that feels genuine, builds confidence and motivates people. In this episode, Penny explores how managers and leaders can give praise at work that feels genuine, rather than awkward, vague or overdone.She shares a simple approach: use the person’s name, notice a specific contribution and explain why it worked. Why saying “You’re brilliant” can be difficult to accept, particularly for people whose confidence has not caught up with their ability, and how more precise recognition gives them evidence of their own capability.Penny also looks at when public praise can lift the whole team, why recognition does not need to be distributed like a rota and how remote managers can make people feel seen in a message or video call.Hear all episodes of the Penny Haslam Podcast.

Penny Haslam Podcast - New leader, old baggage: how to build trust in a troubled organisation. A new leader may arrive with fresh energy and ambitious plans, but the organisation they inherit may still be carrying years of frustration, change and broken trust.In this episode, Penny Haslam shares five practical ways to help a new leader understand the history, communicate with both heart and mind, prepare for difficult questions, support managers and become genuinely visible.Useful advice for anyone stepping into a new leadership role or helping a new leader earn trust in a troubled organisation.Hear all episodes of the Penny Haslam Podcast.

Penny Haslam Podcast - The Power of Hello: Why small workplace behaviours matter. Find a speaker on connection, inclusion and belonging at work. Saying hello at work sounds almost too simple to matter. But what if those tiny everyday moments are shaping how people feel, connect and contribute?In this episode of the Penny Haslam Podcast, I introduce my new keynote, The Power of Hello, and explore why small workplace behaviours are not just nice-to-haves. There is a pressing commercial advantage for organisations.I talk about what happens when people stop acknowledging each other at work, from cameras-off meetings and heads-down offices to messages sent across the same bank of desks. I also share a story from my early BBC career, when a senior leader ignored me in a lift, and why that tiny moment stayed with me.This episode is about the practical side of inclusion and belonging. Daily behaviours that help people build trust, share knowledge, ask better questions and work together more effectively.You’ll hear why saying hello matters, why using someone’s name can make people feel noticed, how listening properly changes the quality of conversations and why leaders have a particular responsibility to set the tone.If you are planning a cultural inclusion day, away day, all-staff event or employee engagement session, The Power of Hello is designed to start a positive, light-touch conversation about workplace connection, belonging and the everyday behaviours that make organisations work better.Hear all episodes of the Penny Haslam Podcast.

Penny Haslam Podcast - How to give a farewell speech that shows real leadership. In this episode, how a farewell speech at work can become a leadership visibility moment. Penny discussed how leaders, managers and senior colleagues can use the simple request to just say a few words as an opportunity to make a valued colleague feel seen, recognised and appreciated. She explains how to prepare a thoughtful farewell speech, gather useful examples, avoid awkward mistakes and use a small workplace moment to build trust, strengthen culture and show what the organisation valuesHear all episodes of the Penny Haslam Podcast.

Penny Haslam Podcast - How to help leaders talk about the things that matter in a way that sounds clear, confident and human.How fluent are your leaders when you need to talk about the things that matter most at work? Not in a polished, scripted or corporate way, but in a clear, natural and human way that helps people understand what you mean, why it matters and what they need to do next.In this episode, Penny explores how leaders can become more confident with the key messages they need to share again and again, from strategy and vision to purpose, products, services and change. She explains why a single message rarely works for every audience and why leaders need to consider how they speak to senior stakeholders, new recruits, customers, suppliers, investors and their own teams.Hear all episodes of the Penny Haslam Podcast.

Penny Haslam Podcast - How to have more effective leadership conversations. Why do capable, experienced leaders sometimes fall flat in senior meetings?In this episode, we explore why leadership conversations can so easily lose impact and what leaders can do to change that. From highly technical experts who struggle to command the room to fast-tracked leaders who have never developed their personal impact, Penny unpacks why this is such a common and costly issue for organisations.You’ll hear practical, real-world advice on how to sharpen your leadership presence by shifting your focus from what you want to say to what your audience actually needs to hear. Penny shares how to frame messages around your audience’s pains and gains, use clear and human examples instead of overwhelming detail, bring more energy and clarity to your language and join the dots so your message connects to the bigger picture and really lands.This isn’t about becoming a slick presenter. It’s about becoming a more aware, intentional communicator who helps others think clearly, decide confidently and move forward together.Hear all episodes of the Penny Haslam Podcast.

Penny Haslam Podcast – Why doesn’t my team remember what I say? And how to fix it.Leaders often assume that if they’ve said something once, clearly and confidently, it will stick. But real life doesn’t work like that. Messages fade. Priorities blur. People get busy, distracted and overloaded. Before long, the thing you thought you’d landed has quietly vanished.This episode explores why that happens and what you can do about it. Penny takes a closer look at the forgetting curve – the natural drop-off in retention we all experience – and explains why even the best messages disappear faster than you think.But this isn’t a gloomy story about human frailty. It’s a practical guide to helping people remember, understand and act. You’ll hear how repetition builds clarity rather than boredom, why stories are far more memorable than statistics and how tailoring your message to what matters to each group makes it far more likely to land.This is a simple rethink of how leaders communicate when the stakes are high. No shouting louder. No complicated frameworks. Just smart, human techniques that help your message stay alive long enough for people to act on it.If you’ve ever wondered why you keep repeating yourself, or why important updates seem to evaporate, this episode offers a clear, confidence-building way forward.Hear all episodes of the Penny Haslam Podcast.

Penny Haslam Podcast – The simple goal setting tool that sets your team up for successWhen goals feel too big, too vague or too overwhelming, people stall. They lose momentum. They quietly give up. And leaders are left wondering why bright, capable colleagues aren’t moving forward.This episode takes a fresh look at goals and how we help others achieve them. Not with grand strategies or complicated systems, but with a simple paper-based tool Penny uses in her masterclasses – one that turns vague intentions into clear, doable steps.It’s practical. It’s human. And it works because it breaks the habit of setting huge all-or-nothing goals that people abandon the minute real life gets busy.You’ll hear why small wins matter more than big declarations, how to support colleagues who’ve lost their spark and why confidence grows fastest when progress is visible and celebrated.This is an easy rethink of how you and your team approach goals – and a shortcut to getting things done.Hear all episodes of the Penny Haslam Podcast.

Penny Haslam Podcast - Workplace Confidence Book - Sample Chapter. This time, something a little different — I’m sharing a sneak preview from my forthcoming book Workplace Confidence, arriving in 2027. Over the past seven years, I've had so many organisations come to me asking for help with confidence. They've realised that when self-belief is missing, progress slows right down.Confidence isn't just a nice-to-have for colleagues — it's actually a commercial advantage. Because when people at work have self-belief, the whole organisation starts to believe in itself too.So, in this episode, I’m reading from a chapter called Who’s on your bus? It’s all about trust, psychological safety and the importance of surrounding yourself with people who lift you up. Penny Haslam is a speaker on confidence at work.Hear all episodes of the Penny Haslam Podcast.