The Christmas adverts are online now!

I used to work for the John Lewis Partnership in Reading many years ago, so that’s always the first video I look out for.

In this video a young man shows an unexpected guest from outer space how Christmas is celebrated.

Percy Pig comes to life in the M&S advert.

And in the Sports Direct advert, some of the biggest players in UK sport have a snowball fight.

So which one is your favourite?

We’ve spoken about procastination before, and how difficult it is to stay focused.

So what is the answer?

Look what Victor Hugo did.

Hugo promised his publisher a new book in 1829. However, he spent a year doing other things.

Frustrated, Hugo’s publisher set him a six-month deadline, demanding that the book be finished by February 1831.

And Hugo came up with a strange plan. He asked his assistant to lock up all his clothes,  leaving him with nothing but a shawl.

Unable to leave his study, Hugo  wrote nonstop for several months. His novel, “The Hunchback of Notre Dame” was published five months later, two weeks before the deadline.

It wasn’t a such bad idea, was it? 😉

(Story about Victor Hugo via: James Clear)

When we make an ‘appointment‘, we’re usually referring to a business or more formal meeting.

I might have an appointment with my dentist or doctor, or with a client of mine.

A ‘date‘ or ‘rendezvous‘ is used for leisure meetings, such as going out for a meal with a member of the other gender, or to the cinema with your friends.

Of course, you can always quite simple say that you’re meeting some friends after work later.

I hope that helps.

“We must establish a personal connection with each other. Connection before content. Without relatedness, no work can occur.”
Peter Block

This principle ought to run through everything we do—in our conversations, meetings, projects, correspondence, presentations and so much more.

Before we get down to any serious work with others, we need to take the time to establish a relationship first.

Is this something you focus on first, too?

A speaker of American English, talking about the different levels in a building, might say that there’s a conference room on the first floor and two on the second floor.

A speaker of British English, would say that there’s one conference room on the ground floor and two on the first floor.

The British call the floor of a building at street level the ground floor (the floor in contact with the ground), whereas the Americans usually call it the first floor.

That can cause a little confusion! 😉

The Cultural Atlas aims to inform and educate the public in cross-cultural attitudes, practices, norms, behaviours, communications and business skills.

If you’d like to explore the culture of a specific country, look here.

I found some some interesting information on British Culture, like etiquette, do’s and don’ts and communication and so on.

You might like to take a look a “Dates of Significance” in Germany and see what they’re called in English!

There’s also a useful glossary of words describing cultural values, behavious and concepts.

Are you interested in learning about other cultures?