David Walter

Recently, two major brands have given object lessons in how not to communicate. The first was Toyota, which fatally underplayed the accelerator fault on its Prius model. Then BP even more fatally underplayed the consequences of the deep sea oil leak in the Gulf of Mexico.

Poor communication, it has been calculated, costs the British economy around eight billion pounds a year. People these days need a very wide range of skills.

The word “training” sometimes sends out the wrong vibes. Senior people can feel that there is something slightly infra dig at admitting that they need it.

Central School of Speech and Drama, alma mater of top theatrical talent including Oscar winners Laurence Olivier, Judi Dench, Vanessa Redgrave and Julie Christie, is looking to recruit a record number of overseas students for the upcoming academic year 2010-2011.