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best way to communicate

If You Don’t Get Them on the Swings, Get Them on the Merry-Go-Round: The Platinum Rule of Communication

Gerald Rosen, a Contracts professor at Loyola Law School used to say “if you can’t get them on the swings, get them on the merry-go-round; if you can’t get them on the merry-go-round, get them on the slide; if you can get them on the slide, get them on the monkey bars.” Having heard those words lo these many years ago, I haven’t a clue as to…

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woman giving feedback to a man at work

Tips for Successfully Communicating Performance Feedback

“How many supervisors like to give performance feedback?” When this question was posed to over 500 leaders in one of the nation’s largest municipal water and power companies, a scant few raised their hands. When asked to explain why, the answers boiled down to three responses: “Because I don’t want to hurt their feelings,” “She’s my friend; I don’t want her to feel bad,” and “I don’t want to  deal with the anger.”

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communication tips in unexpected places

Communication Tips in Unexpected Places

As an avid mystery reader, consuming a series from beginning to end, I return to the first in Louise Penny’s series featuring Armand Gamache, a complex detective that steals one’s heart. Among his many, and diverse qualities, his wise counsel on the human condition is distilled into four communication tips that say it all. Introduced…

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self-employed consultant

So, You Want to Be a Self-Employed Consultant?

Internet communication can be a wonderful thing. I just reconnected with a friend who was formerly employed in a large consulting firm and is struggling to make it on his own. His LinkedIn post to me: “wow, finding new clients is a full-time job.” My response, which is the nuts and bolts of this blog:…

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teamwork

Teamwork: The Whole is Greater than the Sum of its Parts

Whether it’s called an ice breaker or a warm-up exercise, we facilitators have a number of them in our bag of tricks to engage – immediately – the audience. One of my favorites is a trifecta; it can be used to demonstrate in real-time, structured brainstorming, diversity, and teamwork – and all in a matter…

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holiday responsibility

Holiday Communication Woes: Whose Responsibility is it Anyway?

“The most wonderful time of the year,” can also be filled with stress. For me, this year, the so-called “great communicator,” encountered miscommunications that led to hurt feelings, misunderstandings, and three less for a family holiday dinner. What happened and whose responsibility is it anyway? Over the years I, like many trainers/facilitators have developed numerous…

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