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!
By Claire Doole, www.doolecommunications.com
Are you, like me, experiencing your own pandemic of webinars and meetings over various videoconference applications such as Zoom (my favourite), WebEx and Microsoft Team Meetings?
Are you that person who now turns off their camera citing connectivity issues so that you can focus on something else rather than actively take part in the videoconference? Or, as a friend related, that person who strategically places themselves with their back to the window or light so that all people see on the call is their silhouette?
It may be because the moderator is just failing to engage you and manage your limited attention span. That is not a criticism. We all have more limited attention spans when we are on these remote calls.
Here are some of my tips and techniques for moderating remotely so you captivate your audience. They are based on my experience as a former TV and radio journalist, panel moderator, public speaker and remote and in person trainer.
By Tara Lissner, Swiss Gardening School
I recently posted a blog speaking of springtime openings of gardens and parks, lovely plant markets and fairs and all the jobs to get started with in the garden. Today our reality has changed. Most of these markets have been cancelled or postponed, the gardens remain closed and we must now learn to garden when all the garden centres are closed! I’ve put together a list of gardening related businesses who will deliver or allow you to pick-up. It is by no means an extensive list but a small start especially to support small, local business owners. I hope you find it useful.
Rémy Jaggi
Located in Trélex, this small producer has a large variety of herbs, salad plug plants, early bedding flowers and tons of perennials, fresh cut tulips are also available. Orders must be made in advance by phone 022 369 11 66 or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. collection is only in the afternoons and only by appointment. There is no self service.
Nature en scène
Located in Arnex-sur-Nyon (Borex), this small garden centre has a wide selection of salad and early vegetable plug plants, seeds, soil and early bedding flowers, fresh cut tulips are also available. Orders must be made in advance by phone 022 367 12 34 or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. Pick up on Thursday or Friday only. There is no self service. A seed order form and a plant plug form are attached below for ease of ordering.
Jardins Belle Vue
Located in Borex, this small producer will delivery early bedding plants among other things. Orders must be made by phone 022 367 12 39.
Maréchal Jardiland
Located between Chavannes des Bois and Versoix this small garden centre will take your order by phone 022 779 03 58 for pick up.
By Claire Doole, www.doolecommunications.com
Travel bans, remote working and social distancing are making us all think creatively on how we can continue to interact and get our messages across to as many people as possible.
On Thursday, 19 March, I was involved in what the main newspaper in French-speaking Switzerland, Le Temps, called an " unprecedented online press conference" on the pharmaceutical industry's response to COVID-19.
Working with an excellent team from Acumen public affairs, we brought together the heads of 5 global pharmaceutical companies for a press briefing with media from around the world - with just a week's notice.
Here are my tips and lessons learnt on how to moderate a live studio discussion and press briefing. We are in unprecedented times but the tips apply to any studio setting.
Photo by Andrea Leopardi on Unsplash
By Anna Lascols, Organizing Geneva
I would have never imagined to write this kind of blog post. Just as all of us would have never imagined to be living in our homes for an undefined number of weeks, without being able to go out, go to work, meet our friends, bring our kids to school… we feel like in a blockbuster scenario, stuck in a couple of square meters, anxious to even go for groceries. Our basic routines are threatened, we watch the news and worry, Covid-19 is in all our discussions, we do not know what will happen next. Will the contamination rate go down? When will we get our freedom back? When can we go back to work? And when can we send our kids back to school?
Yes, all of this sitting at home would be nice if we had a couple of extra vacation days and could relax on the couch, read books, have a nice cappuccino and practice yoga all day! If you are like me, then reality does not look like that though! In reality, we have to work from home, without actually seeing our colleagues and clients, but WITH our kids around. We have to simultaneously home school them, be creative, limit the number of screen hours, explain why home is the best place to be, stay calm, cook and tidy! That is like being a 200% stay at home parent while working 100% on top. WOW! Who can do this?
I must say, the first week was pretty ok. Sun was shining, in Switzerland we are still allowed to go outside without being fined, kids are quite excited to learn things from their parents and some video calls with their best friends kept up the spirit. Yet, this was only week 1! How are we going to talk about this in week 8? Here is my prognosis: those who consider this as a marathon will win, stay mentally healthy, enjoy their family time, invent break through business ideas and be able do things at home they never had time to do before; those who prefer the sprint will end up in Covid-burnout.
You will need to hold your pace through the long run, through an undefined number of weeks. So set yourself up for success! How? Here a couple of humble tips from my side:
By Melitta Campbell, www.melittacampbell.com
No one starts out in business as a successful entrepreneur. It’s what you become in the process of creating, trying, failing and learning. There is a certain magic in learning and building as you go too, which makes creating and growing a business all the more exciting.
But this excitement is often accompanied by fear and doubt.
You know you want to start a business, but if you don’t know exactly where to start it can feel like a daunting task, leading you to feel overwhelmed and start doubting your ability to make your dreams a reality. Then the fear of how others will react to your ideas can creep in too. Success can feel like a distant dream – procrastination is often the easier option!
Fear, doubt and overwhelm are all normal reactions when creating your own business. It’s easy to get caught in a cycle of self-doubt, questioning your abilities and worrying about what others think. The result? We stay small. We don’t allow ourselves to dream big or chase what we truly want.
However, it doesn’t have to be this way. By taking the right actions, doubt can be turned into determination! Here’s how…
Ditch the traditional business plan
There’s a common misconception that to be successful in business you need to start with a fancy business plan, elaborate marketing strategy and beautiful website.
While these are important, they can often distract you from answering the real questions that will help you form the foundation of a solid long-lasting and heart-centred business.
