You might not think of England as an "exotic" destination, but you'd be wrong.  Visit England and you can visit a rainforest, scuba dive with penguins and explore a tropical Malaysian island, all without using your passport, as England is as exotic as far-flung destinations the world over.

Job fairs and trade shows are very important for any growing business. Job fairs allow for the recruitment of qualified personnel through direct interaction and on-the-spot interviews, while trade shows give time for companies to interact with colleagues and other companies within their industry, while attracting the attention of potential new customers. Both of these kinds of exhibitions can be intensely competitive, so it's important to make your business stand out as much as possible. Some of the tried-and-true methods include pop up displays which showcase new and upcoming products, include tutorials about intended uses and the way they work, and feature general information about the company, including company history, with a large-print version of the company's logo or trademark.

If you are reading this with any degree of understanding then you must have a good standard of English already.  What?  You don't believe me?  Then perhaps what you need is a little more confidence  - yes  you will make mistakes, but don’t we all?  I have a friend who met her husband to be when he visited her home in Peru. He speaks Spanish only in its most elementary form (the kind that requires you have a guidebook in one hand), and at that time she spoke not one word of English. Nevertheless they fell in love. Once his time was up and he had to return to England, she followed him two weeks later and today, perhaps three months later, we received the invitation to their wedding.

‘The Good Life’ was a comedy programme set in suburbia in Southern England.  A couple were trying to be self sufficient  not on some remote hill farm in Wales, or in a Tuscan idyll,  but right where they were, a tube ride away from central London and surrounded by thousands of other people who were trying to live their own version of ‘The Good Life’ i.e. one where the golf club, the right schools and expensive holidays were the norm. The comedy came from the contrast between the two.

Do I have to have a coma here?

by Gisele Méndez edited by Lynne Hand

Amused by the title above? Don’t worry – the spelling mistake "coma" instead of "comma" is intentional, and it highlights an important point: If you're writing a letter to a friend or relative, it doesn't really matter if you make a silly mistake, but if you want to be taken seriously in business; errors – comic or not – can hold you back.

Perhaps you find yourself nervously rushing through a presentation, or you forget the pronunciation of an important word during a meeting. When English is your second language, it is all the more important to speak and write clearly and concisely in business to avoid miscommunication. Luckily, there are some simple ways to improve your skills and communicate more effectively.

People don't always realise that offices are a direct reflection of the company and the staff within it, and appearances may have a bigger impact on potential clients than you may think. Mess and clutter equals disorganisation and clumsiness whereas a clean, smart and tidy office screams success and professionalism. So which reflection would you prefer for your organisation?

A company cannot claim to be up to date in business and have the latest most competitive approach in their profession without an office to match those claims. However before you panic about losing business over old fashioned chairs and untidy desks, there’s no need to fear, there are a few simple steps you can take to make a powerful impact.