Most, if not all, of the problems and conflicts in organizations, stem from cultural issues, baked in before you started working there. “This is how we do things here.” (Status quo) “Isn’t everything going great here?” (False expectations/Poor feedback loop) “Don’t say anything and it’ll just get ‘better’ on its Read more…
The uncomfortable truth is that an understanding and appreciation of the impact of human emotions is required to address the conflicts of the present day. The comfortable fairy tale is that everywhere human beings are freed from the impact of their emotions by more economic choices, more scientific knowledge, and Read more…
Before a new baby comes into the world, usually a family diligently prepares for its arrival. The family prepares the environment that the baby will thrive in, from the set-up of the room to the clothes the new baby will come home in. The family prepares their emotional life as Read more…
Most of the time, in conflicts, we engage in listening to the other party long enough to create a counter-argument that supports the narrative we already have in our heads. This is not active listening, it’s passive consumption of content while idly waiting for a turn to speak. This passivity Read more…
The voice is a communication channel. So is a pen, a piece of paper, a keyboard, a desktop computer, or even a mobile phone. So is a television screen, a computer screen, and a mobile phone screen. The eyes, the hands, the body are communication channels. So are mobile applications, Internet platforms, Read more…
Sometimes a presentation doesn’t “work.” Sometimes there’s no connection with the audience. Sometimes the presenter talks more to themselves than they listen to the crowd. Sometimes questions aren’t asked (or answered) by the audience or the presenter. Sometimes there is no active listening on the part of the audience. Sometimes Read more…
Three points need to be emphasized at the beginning of any training, workshop, or seminar. Your way of thinking about conflict, communication, and persuasion must shift before anything else can happen. Your way of consuming information, your attention span, and your level of caring about the content you are about Read more…
“If I were you…” is the worst beginning to providing feedback to anyone. The statement merely says, if the person giving the feedback were the person receiving the feedback then this is what the feedback would be. This is a poorly considered bit of critical shorthand, because if the person Read more…
The first sentence in a discussion anchors the rest of the conversation. “I need him to shut up.” “I don’t like what’s happening here.” “She doesn’t know what she’s talking about.” “The fact that we’re focusing on this issue is crazy.” “They don’t know what they are talking about.” “Who’s Read more…
The skills required to facilitate training for an audience with content that wasn’t developed by the facilitator, are the same skills sale people practice every day: Persuasion: Since a facilitator doesn’t create the presentation content (or product) they are facilitating (just like the sales person doesn’t create the product they Read more…