Category: Communication Tips

  • “Do whatever you will keep doing.”

    When I was in high school, I competed in speech tournaments. In my last year I focused on the delivery of speeches rather than just the content of them. Before the second tournament that year my speech coach told me to practice my speech 5 times a day. I didn’t. I knew I wouldn’t practice…

  • What is your body telling you?

    I get ancy sometimes if I haven’t moved enough. That tends to make it easy for me to ramble in conversation, or lose concentration and miss something that was said. Pacing the hall or going for a walk helps me concentrate and be a better conversational partner. What might your body be trying to tell…

  • Sleep is an underrated communication skill.

    Getting a good night’s sleep can be the difference between successfully negotiating a deal and setting good expectations, or failing to do any of that. When we are sleep deprived, we don’t think clearly, and offen can’t find the right words. The worst part is that like drunk people don’t know when they’re drunk, sleep…

  • Assume for a moment that they’re not crazy

    If someone does something that seems crazy, it’s worth asking yourself: Assuming for a moment that they aren’t crazy, why would they do this? I’m in a leadership group online and came across a question and answer that went like this: Question: “How can I show them x when they’re missing something so obvious?” Answer:…

  • What do you mean by that?

    What do you mean by that? The  “warning signs” of the big problem my client dealt with in yesterday’s post were there, he just didn’t see them. A team member was acting like everything was under control, but almost as an aside they mentioned they were overwhelmed. He later found out that they were very…