Everyone has a communication style when interacting with others. It is their primary, “go to” approach to dealing with situations. It’s the main tool in their communication tool box that they reach for instinctively in a difficult situation. Some people are passive, letting others take the lead or win arguments. Some people are aggressive, viewing everything […]
Conversation Dominators. We all know at least one. It’s the woman at work who only asks how you’re doing so she can jump in and tell you how she’s doing. It’s that guy next door who has to let you know all about his son’s great accomplishments in sports, but never asks about even ONE […]
In today’s competitive employment environment, it’s increasingly important to do everything you can to get and stay relevant in your organization and your area of expertise, and to be able to communicate that relevance to others. From job knowledge and the latest trends, to technological savvy, employers have increasingly higher expectations that their employees will do their […]
For those who don’t know it, when I’m not training on communication, customer service, and working relationships, I foster animals for my local animal control facility. Right now, I’m fostering a mother Chihuahua and her four puppies, who turned 6-weeks old this week. They’ve just gotten to the age where they’re really a lot of […]
I have a love/hate relationship with email. On one hand, I love the emails I receive that: Clearly communicate their purpose Are concise Are formatted strategically Have subject lines that are aligned with the email body (for subject line tips, check out this previous blog post on the subject) Use proper grammar and punctuation Are sent […]
The other day I was in my office finalizing a proposal I had to submit that day. I was tired, stressed, and had FINALLY gotten into the flow of writing, when my cell phone rang. I glanced down and recognized the name of the caller, but made the decision NOT to answer it, because I […]
Most people would agree that conveying a sense of confidence at work is integral to making a good impression, communicating assertively, and for leaders, to inspiring people to follow them. Unfortunately, many people don’t realize that instead of communicating confidence, they’re actually sending messages of weakness through their nonverbal communication. Emotional leakage is a term […]
In last week’s post, Stop Criticizing and Start Giving the Gift of Performance Improvement Feedback, I discussed the evolution of criticism, constructive criticism, and constructive feedback. I also outlined the benefits of providing others with “Performance Improvement Feedback”, so that the giver and receiver both see the feedback as a gift, an opportunity for improvement, rather […]
Over the years, I’ve seen an evolution in terms used for negative feedback. The first term I remember hearing is constructive criticism. The problem was, most of the criticism wasn’t constructive, so it was really just criticism. Then someone decided to soften the term and call it constructive feedback. However, once again, it wasn’t very constructive, so […]
As a trainer, I often get calls from leaders who want me to teach them how to “fix” employees, or worse, want me to “fix” their worst employees myself. One of the main purposes of training is to help people learn new skills. If the person needs new skills, I’m in. However, training cannot fix […]
