Guest Blogs

Knowitall.ch often invites local experts in their field to contribute to their own blogs on our site. This means not only you will benefit from the useful recommendations that we make on our News pages, but you can also profit from some of the great advice and tips that these experts have to make on their favorite subjects. Whilst each of these bloggers has been recommended to us at some point during the evolution of Know-it-all passport and knowitall.ch, obviously we are not able to test out all the suggestions they make on their blogs, nor do we necessarily agree with all their opinions. So if you do find one of their tips useful (or not!), do let us know!

To make these blogs more accessible to you, we have now decided to group them altogether in one section, entitled Guest Blogs, accessible from our main menu bar. We will also post the most recent blogs on the home page of our site in the right hand column.

We are still building up this area of the site, and are looking for bloggers in a number of sections, including Your Home, Travel, and Leisure, so if you feel you have a useful contribution to make in either of these areas, and have the time to submit blog entries approximately every month, then please get in touch!

: Published: 09 November 2025

Celeste Saulo WMO

By Claire Doole, www.doolecommunications.com

From the time humans gathered around fire, our minds have been drawn to stories. It’s instinct — the way our brains lean forward when a tale begins, eager to connect, to feel, and to imagine what comes next. Stories don’t just entertain us. They move us and inspire us.

I am always struck by it – rooms filled with overcomplicated PowerPoint slides and speakers piling on facts like bricks, rather than telling a good story whose emotional pull, if well told, we will always remember.

Below are three examples of good storytelling during an event that I hope will inspire you to tell more stories.

1) Stories on panels: At Geneva Peace Week, I helped the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom design a panel where the speakers were asked to share their stories with the audience. The team created a space for the audience to think differently and listen deeply. People were shown to their seats by torchlight. They listened in darkness to an audio recording we created to mark an event in history, and then the moderator went on stage.

She turned on the light next to her and asked each speaker one by one to turn on their side light and tell a 3-minute story before she moderated a discussion. It was a STAR panel (something they will always remember).

: Published: 19 October 2025

heart Lisa Cirieco

By Philippa Dobree-Carey, From High School to Uni

As parents, we prepare ourselves for the big university departure with emotional farewells, late-night phone calls about feeling isolated or lost, and the occasional existential crisis over course choices. But one thing we might not expect is the mysterious phenomenon known as the 'fresher five'.

No, this isn't the name of a new boy band or a secret society. It's the average weight gain that students experience in their first year at university — around 5 kg (or 11 pounds). It sneaks up on unsuspecting students faster than you can say 'free pizza' or 'happy hour'.

What Causes the Fresher Five?

University life involves making a number of questionable choices. From late-night kebabs and two-for-one pints to all-you-can-eat dining halls, students are suddenly responsible for their own nutrition. And it shows!

Add to that a poor diet, stress, a sedentary lifestyle fueled by empty calories and energy drinks at 2 am while cramming for exams or finishing an assignment at the last minute, not to mention hours spent on Netflix or gaming, and it's clear these habits are not conducive to healthy digestion or involve any kind of exercise.

: Published: 28 September 2025

superman

As someone who works closely with international families navigating the ups and downs of life abroad, Mirsada Hoffmann connected with knowitall to share her experience, a great value to our international community here in Switzerland. Her work centers on supporting parents raising children across cultures—helping families build emotional resilience, strengthen connection, and find steadiness in the face of change.

We caught up with Mirsada and asked her a few questions.

What has been the inspiration behind Thriving Global Family?
I started Thriving Global Family because, as a mother of four, I saw firsthand how layered and emotionally complex international life can be—for children and parents alike. Every move affected our family in different ways. What worked for one transition didn’t necessarily work for the next. Concerns shifted as the kids grew, and I came to understand just how deeply my own emotional state impacted their ability to adjust and thrive.

Parenting is already a complex job—even in one language, one culture, and one school system. Add the layers of international living—new countries, unfamiliar languages, shifting educational expectations—and it can quickly become overwhelming. While the global lifestyle offers incredible opportunities, the harder, more human aspects are often hidden or dismissed. This can leave families—especially parents—feeling isolated.

I started this work to create the kind of support I wish I’d had: community, connection, and real conversations that help families feel seen in both the joy and the struggle.

: Published: 11 September 2025

By Claire Doole, www.doolecommunications.com

Geneva brands itself as the humanitarian capital of the world. Its ecosystem of UN agencies, international organisations and NGOs contribute to what is known as “International Geneva”. Yet since the arrival of President Trump in the Oval Office, international Geneva has been facing an existential crisis.

Many of these organisations depend heavily on US funding – in some cases it accounts for up to 25% of their budget. On top of this European donors are shifting development budgets to military spending and the UN has itself launched an initiative - UN80 - to downsize in order to be more efficient.

In these uncertain times, leadership communication is more important than ever.

Heads of organisations are having to make tough decisions on the programmes they cut, the contracts they don’t renew and the people they fire. According to local media 30,000 jobs are expected to go.

In times of crisis the ways leaders communicate can determine whether people feel trust, clarity and resilience or confusion and fear. More generally if done well it can drive change and enhance performance. Successful leaders influence guide and inspire others towards a share goal.

: Published: 13 July 2025

By Claire Doole, www.doolecommunications.com

In last month’s post, I shared some tips and techniques on the art of handling audience questions - whether you’re online, in-person, or in front of a tough crowd.

Now let’s take things a step further. What happens when the question is messy, hostile, or downright confusing? How do you respond when you're caught off guard—or worse, when no one asks anything at all?

Below are some tips and techniques:

Reframe convoluted questions: If a question is overly long, vague, or hard to follow, help your audience by tightening it up.
“I am sorry I can’t quite grasp every detail of your question, but I would like to respond to your part about X”
Be clear when you don’t know the answer: You can’t have all the answers. Here are three options on what to say when you don’t have the answer:
i. Say ‘I don’t know’ – you’ll get back to them. Never, ever, guess.
ii. Ask someone in the audience to respond who is an expert on the subject.
iii. ‘I’m not 100% sure’ When you say this you’re not saying ‘I don’t know’, you’re saying ‘I’m not completely sure’, which is a totally different thing.
Answering challenging questions: When faced with a challenging question from that angry staff member, board member or at an official hearing – you need to employ the ABC technique I teach in media training - acknowledge the question, potentially reframing it before you bridge to a broader point you want to make – moving from the specific to the general.
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