BLOG ARTICLES BY AMY
Answers to the most common questions people ask me
Whether it’s an email received after a workshop or the line of people waiting to ask that burning question after a conference session, for the 25+ years in business, people have had a LOT of questions related to communicating at work and at home that they’ve looked to me to answer. As I was sitting […]
If your team is going back to working from home, you need to read this
I wrote this post in March 2020 thinking, like many of you, that “leading from home” would be a short-term thing. Despite the fact that many organizations had employees working from home for more than a year, these organizations continued to believe closed-down offices and employees working remotely would end “any day now,” and thus, […]
Excuses and Explanations – What’s the Difference?
For this week’s blog post, I thought I’d share a chapter, Chapter 15 to be exact, from my book “Practical Communication: 25 Tips, Tools, and Techniques for Getting Along and Getting Things Done.” EXPLANATIONS, NOT EXCUSES There are times when things go wrong, or when we know we can’t undo what’s been done, but we […]
To be a leader, you have to speak “Accountability”
Over the past week, the word “Accountability” has come up over and over again. First, it was a client who was looking for a customized program for her leadership team to help them learn how to hold themselves and their employees accountable for their actions. The second time was when I was having a discussion […]
4 Ways to Shut Down a Conversation Dominator
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 […]
Delegate or Drown: 5 Easy Steps to Effective Delegation
Marcel Schwantes posted a great story in INC., sharing some of Warren Buffet’s top leadership advice. One of the key points was: “Learn to delegate your authority” So, I thought I’d share some of my best delegation advice from more than 20 years of helping leaders and business owners avoid drowning in tasks and responsibilities […]
How good are your customer communication skills?
Last week, I wrote about how to respond when your customer service efforts fail. This week, I want to dig deeper and take a look at a variety of customer service scenarios and opportunities for excellent communication with customers where too many customer service providers fall short. If you’re brave enough, take my Customer Communication […]
Responding to Customer Service Failure
No matter what business you’re in, there will be times when things go wrong when serving your customers. From forgetting to process an order to selling a product that doesn’t meet the customer’s expectations, you’re going to let your customers down. Customer service failures don’t have to define you. It’s how you RESPOND to service […]
Why my morning coffee reminds me of your supervisory skills
I have this little one-cup coffee maker that I use in the morning to make my coffee. Sometimes, I make it the “normal” way by adding the water to the pot, adding the coffee, placing the cup below, and pressing START. When I make my coffee this way, I add my milk after the brewing […]