How to Strive - with Nick Adkins

• Leave Well - Neil Mullarkey

  Send us a textIn this final episode of How to Strive’s mini-series on Neil Mullarkey’s Seven Steps to Improve Your People Skills, Nick explores the essential and often overlooked skill of leaving well.Drawing on Neil’s insights from the stage, business, and psychology, we unpack why endings matter, how the final moments of an interaction, meeting, or relationship shape how it’s remembered. From the Peak-End Rule explored by Daniel Kahneman to practical advice on closing conversations, meetings, and connections with intention, this episode helps you finish strong and leave the right lasting impression.Discover how to create closure, follow up meaningfully, and ensure the “aftertaste” of every interaction reflects trust, gratitude, and growth.Because how we end something says as much about us as how we begin. Start Striving at www.strive25.co.uk/

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• Neil Mullarkey

  Send us a textIn this special episode of How to Strive, Nick is joined by the brilliant Neil Mullarkey; actor, author, comedian and co-founder of The Comedy Store Players, Europe’s longest-running improv troupe.Neil shares insights from his book Seven Steps to Improve Your People Skills, exploring how the principles of improv, Learn, Look, Listen, Let, Link, Lighten and Leave Well  can transform the way we communicate, collaborate, and lead.From the importance of listening with intent to the power of humour in leadership, Neil’s approach blends psychology, performance, and empathy into a timeless guide for connecting with others and with yourself.This conversation is both insightful and uplifting, reminding us that the ability to “strive” isn’t about perfection, but about presence, curiosity and the courage to say “Yes, and…”Whether you’re leading a team, developing yourself, or simply looking to improve the way you connect, this episode will help you learn to communicate with confidence, kindness, and creativity. Start Striving at www.strive25.co.uk/

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• Lighten - Neil Mullarkey

  Send us a textIn this episode of How to Strive, Nick explores Step Six of Neil Mullarkey’s Seven Steps to Improve Your People Skills 'Lighten'.Humour, as Neil reminds us, is about connection. It’s a leadership tool that builds trust, creativity and resilience. A leader who can laugh at themselves invites others to do the same, creating a culture where people feel safe to grow, fail and try again.Drawing on research, stories and Neil’s decades of experience in improv and leadership development, this episode explores how humour brings perspective, strengthens teams and humanises leadership.Because when we lighten, we lift and when we lift others, we lead. Start Striving at www.strive25.co.uk/

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• Link - Neil Mullarkey

  Send us a textIn this episode of How to Strive, Nick explores the next step in Neil Mullarkey’s Seven Steps to Improve Your People Skills 'Link'Link is the step that connects all the others where learning, looking, listening, and letting come together to create genuine connection. Neil reminds us that “The seven Ls are not distinct, discrete ploys, they are overlapping aspects of getting on better with people.”Through the improv principle of “Yes, and”, we explore how intentive listening, openness and collaboration turn everyday conversations into opportunities for trust, creativity, and growth.This episode unpacks how to replace the limiting “Yes, but” mindset with a “Yes, and” approach,  one that builds bridges instead of barriers and helps you bring out the best in others. Start Striving at www.strive25.co.uk/

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• Listen - Neil Mullarkey

  Send us a textIn this episode of How to Strive, Nick explores the third step in Neil Mullarkey’s Seven Steps to Improve Your People Skills, Listen.Neil reminds us that hearing is automatic, but listening is a skill,  one that requires attention, presence, and empathy. We look at the difference between hearing and truly listening, how to tune into both content and emotion, and why giving someone your full attention is one of the greatest gifts you can offer.Hearing + Attention = Listening.Drawing on insights from improv, neuroscience, and leadership, this episode helps you shift from waiting to speak to listening to understand. Start Striving at www.strive25.co.uk/

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