PW Coaching & Consulting

10/10/2026

We all know that awkward five minutes…

You know the one - the backward five minutes before the call officially starts.
Half the people are on mute.
Half are pretending to fix their camera.
And the rest are stuck in small-talk purgatory.

And yes.
I talk about the weather.
Every. Single. Time.

I even hear myself saying, “Bit chilly today, hey?”
And I cringe.
CAN YOU NOT, PETRO.

It’s South Africa, for goodness’ sake.
No one in the UK cares that it’s raining here and they don’t even know what pancakes are anyway.

So, here are a few ways to small-talk better on online calls: no meteorology degree required.

Small talk doesn’t need to be small.
It just needs to be real.
Connection over convention, that’s the only icebreaker that actually works.

09/10/2026

https://petrowells.co.za/blog/why-were-all-fcked/

Women were told they could "have it all." What nobody mentioned was that "all" would apparently include a thriving career, emotionally secure children, perfect gut health, strength training, collagen, financial literacy, a spotless house, deep friendships and a regulated nervous system. Modern woman...

08/10/2026

08/10/2026

https://petrowells.co.za/blog/have-we-made-ourselves-too-important/

Have we made ourselves too important? Dive into a reflection on ego, humility, and how shifting our perspective can lead to more meaningful connections.

06/10/2026

https://petrowells.co.za/blog/a-letter-from-an-exhausted-mother/

06/10/2026

Confession time.

I am so bad at over-communicating.
Jip - I know, hard to believe if you’ve been following my corporate rants.
(Joking. Not joking.)

BUT…
I’m also a notorious over-thinker.

And the root of my over-thinking?
That little internal gremlin whispering:

“How will this person perceive this email?”

That’s right, folks.
Can we get a big “what the fudge, Petro?” 👋
Insert your judgment here.

Because in trying so hard to sound “professional,” I often sand the edges off my actual voice.

We’ve all done it:
Write the email → reread it → re-write it → send it to ChatGPT to “make it sound corporate.”
And suddenly, your personality has been bleached out of your communication. 🫠

Here’s the problem:
When we prioritise non-offensive, we lose authentic.
When we try to sound professional, we stop sounding human.

You don’t need to AI-wash your emotions.
You just need to write like a person who means what they say.

Because you can’t control how people perceive you -
but you can control whether it still sounds like you.

And one-liners?
Still underrated. Still unrelated. Still the best part of any email. 😉

02/10/2026

https://petrowells.co.za/blog/the-stories-we-tell-ourselves-shape-our-entire-internal-world/

The stories we tell ourselves shape our entire internal world. Learn how to rewrite your personal narrative for better mental clarity and lasting growth.