Effort is free of charge. Make a bit more effort. Make your shop window look special, make your presentation pack look special, make your character more special.

In the creative world, a lot of people take themselves very seriously, but there's no reason why you can't have a lighthearted approach. Provided you're gentlemanly, well-mannered, do things properly and don't let people down, that will definitely get you through life a lot better.

I often talk about something called the squirt of lemon. It means having something in your job or conversation that people will remember.

So much is about communication, and bad jokes. You might think that rubber chickens and a train set in a suitcase are really stupid things, but the point is, they are communication things that make people feel relaxed. They never forget things like that.

Of course a sense of humour is really, really important. I think one of the reasons why I've got quite a substantial business in Japan is communication skills and humour.

Communication is vital. One of the reasons why I've managed to progress my career is I've been able to talk to people and be honest with them right from the beginning.

I'm the king of bad jokes. I'm very polite, very well mannered, very correct, but odd and unfunny and sort of cheeky; sometimes a bit theatrical.

When I first went to Japan hardly anyone spoke English. So I'd be in a meeting and I'd just go into my bag and go, 'Bleurgh!' and pull out a rubber chicken. They'd go, 'Whooor!' Then of course, the next time they'd want to know where it was. It was one of those things where it just breaks the ice, makes people relax and makes people realise you've got a sense of humour. And they could never knock it because I was always so correct.