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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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(How to Avoid) Assuming Facts Not in Evidence

It may sound overly formal, however “assuming facts not in evidence,” is a common term used in the practice of law that has resonance in our daily communications. In a trial, the term involves a witness answering a question relying upon a “fact” that has yet to be established in the trial. Thus, the witness…

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Owning the Communication: Using “I” Statements

“Words, words, words, I’m so sick of words . . .“ sang Eliza Doolittle in My Fair Lady. In that work of art, the use of words and enunciation consistent with the so-called “Kings English,” were used by Professor Henry Higgins to take what he called a “gutter snipe” and transform her into a lady…

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Communication “How-to’s” for the Virtual Meeting Initiators

Thirty days ago, many of us were just learning to communicate virtually. Fast-forward one month, and we’ve all become experts! Maybe not experts; however, the comfort level has risen dramatically, and our once unscheduled days have become full of GoToMeetings, SKYPEs, Zooms, Google Chats and the like. I, for one, have three standing virtual meetings…

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