Awkward conversations test the limits of your social skills and can confirm what you suspect about yourself… you’re not great with awkwardness. Here’s 5 tips that will help you improve yourconversational skills.
So, what can you do when you find yourself “peopled-out”? How do you replenish your depleted social and emotional capacity? Here’s a handful of ideas that have worked well for me.
I recently watched an episode of “Naked and Afraid” on the Discovery Channel. Yes, I’ll admit to being a fan of the show. The sociological landscape gets really intriguing when you set a male and female who are total strangers, in the middle of some uninhabitable region on the earth, without supplies of food and … Read more
I regularly use customized 360 assessments in my consulting practice. After a couple meetings with the client and some candid conversations with peer, up-line and down-line employees, I design a set of questions that cover eight different quadrants having to do with workplace relationships, leadership, and communication. A specified number of participants complete an anonymous … Read more
Whenever I train managers and supervisors on the importance of developing empathy I get outward assurances that they understand and agree (through nods and uh-huh’s), but I can see behind their eyes that this idea is filled with concern. If they were honest about this behind-the-scenes response, most of them would admit that showing empathy … Read more
Many parents tell their children to be nice to friends or siblings. That’s good training, but what does it mean to be nice? On the surface it seems we are asking children to be polite and not mistreat others. Often, however, nice implies that I act in a way that pleases the other person. The … Read more
I spend a lot of time on the road these days and while I like traveling by car because of the solitude it affords; mind-wandering time is not always that helpful for me. When my mind wanders I tend to think through anticipated conversations. You know what that’s like, right? This practice is especially true … Read more