Let's Talk About........With Nicky Perfect

Jaksot

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  A Single Conversation Sparked A Trip That Changed How I Communicate 02.10.2026 19min

  A 14-hour bus ride, four hours along some very challenging roads and a village welcome filled with singing and dancing. It sounds like a travel story, but my trip to Tanzania became something much more. I came home thinking about communication, community, education and how much we can understand about another human being — even when we don't speak the same language. In this episode of Let's Talk About, I share three lessons that have stayed with me. First, the power of community. I saw what c...
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  Why Conflict Happens And How To Talk Through It 25.09.2026 19min

  One small moment can light a fuse: a late sleep-in, a sharp comment, a meeting that goes sideways, a family gathering where you brace for tension. I’ve just come back from a life-shifting trip that left me feeling deeply grateful, and it also got me thinking about why we struggle so much with the conversations we know we need to have. The truth is that most conflict isn’t only about the topic, it’s about the meaning we assign to it and the beliefs we’re defending. I walk through what a...
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  Transparent Communication Builds Credibility Before You Need It 18.09.2026 42min

  Trust is harder than ever to win, and easier than ever to lose. We sit down with Bradley Harris, a boutique strategic advisor with years in boardrooms and high-stakes environments, to break down what trust actually looks like in real communication, not theory. When media channels are fragmented and people are tired of excuses, we argue for a simple standard: tell the truth, be transparent, and take accountability without hiding behind fluffy language. From stakeholder engagement to crisis co...
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  You Cannot Control Others But You Can Control Your Response 11.09.2026 23min

  The news can make your chest feel heavy in seconds. One brutal headline, one angry debate, one more “nothing I do will matter” thought and suddenly you’re stuck in helplessness. We wanted to sit with that feeling and ask a simple, uncomfortable question: do we actually have choice when the world feels out of control? We start with climate change because it’s a perfect mirror for modern overwhelm. Some people are certain it’s accelerating, others doubt it, and many sit somewhere in the middle...
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  What If The Problem Is The System Not The Child 04.09.2026 39min

  “You’re nice to us.” That’s what the kids said when Sally Michaels asked why they could learn in her setting but not in school, and it’s the line that frames everything we explore here. Sally runs Blue Squid, a non-school alternative provision supporting young people aged 9 to 16 who are struggling with school attendance, especially neurodivergent teenagers who feel crushed by rigid rules, sensory stress, and constant pressure to perform. We get into what changed after COVID and why so many ...
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  Mum, Dad, We Need To Talk 28.08.2026 27min

  The moment you realise you need to say “Mum, Dad, we need to talk” can hit like a wave. Not because you don’t love them, but because the topics are loaded: driving safety, memory changes, money worries, and the painful question of whether they can still live independently. I’m sharing a solo, honest walk-through of how I’ve handled these conversations in my own family and what I’ve learned from working with older adults, where dignity matters just as much as safety. We start with drivi...
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  What Would A Good Handover Look Like 21.08.2026 34min

  Death admin is one of those tasks that feels “optional” right up until the day it becomes urgent. We sit down with Caro from Your Final Matters to talk about the reality facing the sandwich generation: juggling work, kids, and ageing parents while trying to avoid conversations about funerals, wills, powers of attorney, and what happens if someone loses capacity. Caro shares a practical, compassionate approach to end-of-life planning and estate planning that starts with trust, not paperwork. ...
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  From Anticipatory Grief To Sudden Loss And Healing Tools 14.08.2026 39min

  One phone call can split your life into a before and after and grief rarely stops at just one loss. I’m joined by Lisa Archer from Holistic Life Coaching, who shares her deeply personal story of receiving a brain cancer diagnosis for her dad while living thousands of miles away in the UK, then facing the jolt of sudden loss soon after. We talk candidly about the difference between anticipatory grief and unexpected death, and why your coping style can change from one bereavement to the next wi...
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  Under The Mask It Is Absolute Chaos 07.08.2026 35min

  You can spend decades thinking you are disorganised, too intense, too sensitive, or simply “not trying hard enough” and still look like you have it together. Then one ADHD assessment lands, and suddenly your whole timeline rearranges itself. I’m Nicky, and I’m joined by therapist Rachel Young for a candid, sometimes emotional conversation about being assessed for combined ADHD in midlife, and what it’s like to finally have language for patterns we’ve carried since childhood. We dig int...
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  What If Listening Is The Real Leash 31.07.2026 35min

  Your dog is not ignoring you, they are choosing what feels most meaningful in the moment. That one idea reshapes everything, from recall training to the way we speak to the people we love. We sit down with Sam (Sameaysam.com), a relationship-first dog professional who can walk dozens of dogs off leash, and we dig into what actually makes that possible when the forest is full of better distractions than us. We talk about the hidden communication gap between owners and dogs and why “more...
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  How To Respond When Someone Says They Want To Die 17.07.2026 15min

  Someone tells you, “I can’t do this anymore,” and suddenly every sentence you’ve ever known disappears. That freeze is normal, but it’s also the moment where a few simple words and a steady presence can change the direction of a life. We’re sharing what I’ve been teaching across the UK from my work in hostage and crisis negotiation, sparked by a question from GP practice managers after a young person threatened suicide in a surgery. We talk plainly about why you should not be afraid to say t...
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  Surviving Summer With A Teenager 10.07.2026 15min

  Your teenager used to want to do everything with you and now they would rather sleep, scroll, or stay in their room and somehow the summer holidays make that shift feel even louder. I talk honestly about the guilt, the internal questions, and the sheer exhaustion that can come with parenting teenagers when routines vanish and the push for independence ramps up. We look at the summer from both sides: what is happening for us as parents and carers, and what may be happening for young peo...
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  Parenting Teens Without Losing Yourself 03.07.2026 31min

  Teenagers can go from cuddles to closed doors so fast it feels personal, and that’s where many parent-teen conversations start to break down. We dig into what’s really happening during adolescent brain development, why emotions run hotter than logic, and why fitting in can suddenly matter more than our opinion. Along the way, I share the book that helped me make sense of it all, “Blame My Brain,” plus the hard-earned reminder that most of us are doing better than we think, even when it feels ...
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  The World Cup, The In-Laws, And The Big Pause Button 26.06.2026 12min

  There are parts of this podcast where the sound dips a little, this is due to a poor signal whilst recording. Holidays put relationships under a microscope. The same people you adore can become the people you clash with fastest, especially when you’re together 24-7, routines disappear, and everyone brings different needs into the same space. From a real family break with partners, mums, in-laws, pets, and all the logistics that come with them, we talk honestly about why tension shows up and h...
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  What Changes When You Stop Hiding 19.06.2026 38min

  In this episode of Let's Talk About, I sit down with Tom Emery, founder of HEX Talent and Development, to explore authenticity, trust, emotional self-awareness, and the conversations many of us avoid. Tom shares his personal journey of growing up queer, hiding parts of himself from the world, and the impact that authenticity has on our confidence, relationships, and leadership. Together, we discuss how understanding our genetics, adaptations, behaviours, and stress responses can help us navig...
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  How To Turn Teen Conflict Into Cooperation 12.06.2026 24min

  Your teenager didn’t wake up one morning and decide to become impossible. The shift can feel sudden, but there are real reasons behind the door-slamming, the sarcasm, the “that’s not fair”, and the long stretches of silence from their room. We bring a hostage and crisis negotiator’s lens to one of the most personal challenges there is: negotiating with teenagers while keeping your relationship intact. We talk through what’s changing in the teen brain, why the prefrontal cortex being under co...
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  From Trauma To Tools For Healing 05.06.2026 49min

  Silence can feel polite, but it can also be lethal. We sit down with Heather Rose and talk about the subjects many families tiptoe around: bullying, suicide, miscarriage, and the messy reality of living with trauma while still needing to show up for the people you love. Heather shares her personal story with a rare mix of honesty and practicality, from being bullied as a teen to surviving a suicide attempt, and from enduring repeated pregnancy loss to rebuilding her self-worth. We explore wh...
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  Living Alongside Grief 29.05.2026 46min

  Grief is not one feeling, it is a total rewrite of your life, your body, and your relationships. We’re joined by Clare, someone who has lived through multiple devastating losses, including the sudden death of her mum from rare gallbladder cancer and the death of her seven-year-old daughter Annaliese after sepsis was not picked up in time. Clare speaks with honesty about shock, anger, brain fog that feels like injury, and the brutal “what could I have done differently?” loop that often returns...
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  How To Stay Calm In Difficult Conversations 22.05.2026 11min

  The fastest way to ruin a difficult conversation is to believe you can control the other person. We talk through what actually happens in the mind and body when stress hits, and why grief, loss, change, and fear can flip us from logical thinking into a reactive emotional state in seconds. Drawing on experience as a hostage and crisis negotiator, we share three practical lessons that show up everywhere: crisis is part of life and often comes with real or perceived loss; loneliness can creep i...
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  An Undercover Cop’s Breaking Point And The Road Back 15.05.2026 47min

  One morning can split your life in two. Todd joined me to tell the story he carried for years: finding his girlfriend Karen after she died by suicide on New Year’s Day, and the shock that followed him into everything that came next. What he shares is confronting at times, but it’s also deeply human and, for many listeners, reassuring in the most unexpected way: the feelings you’re struggling to name often have a reason. We talk about how grief and trauma can push you toward avoidance t...