It only dawned on me recently that the one, underlying theme of my career so far is communication. From my earliest interest in ethology, particularly the writings of Tinbergen, Lorenz and Frans De Waal, I have been fascinated by the signals humans and other social animals display, and the insights these give us into their cognitive, physical and emotional conditions.
It was this overriding interest that led me to embark on a degree in Comparative Psychology and, after graduating, to impart the knowledge I had learned to others while working as a lecturer.
But a passion for writing, discovered during my studies, drew me into the worlds of news and journalism. It was in the newsrooms of, among others, the Dewsbury Reporter and the Hull Daily Mail I learned the craft of writing, and more importantly, the things worth writing about.
Now, as a director of The PR Company, I use my understanding of journalism and psychology to devise strategies to help companies and individuals communicate the messages important to them. As technology continues to open up new channels for the exchange of information, it is the combination of these with an erudite understanding of how, why and what people respond to, that informs my ideas on how to achieve effective communication.
