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Category: COMMUNICATION & RELATIONSHIPS
Like personal relationships, organizations can’t thrive without excellent communication and listening skills. In fact, companies invest hundreds of thousands of dollars in leadership development, trust-building, and communication skill training. However, even before typing and texting were the preferred method of communication, we humans have needed tips on the best ways to express ourselves and make others feel heard. Now, we need those skills more than ever. In the WorkSMART blog, we explore best practices for developing deep relationships and conversation prompts perfectly suited for different goals and occasions. Plus, find tips for formulating your own great questions that will lead to deeper discussions.
Starting the Conversation (#LetsTalkDiversity)
Over a year ago, inspired by Starbuck’s #RaceTogether flop, we came upon a great way to get people to start talking about diversity and inclusion. It came in the form of a soft vinyl ball that looks like a soccer ball, but has conversation prompts printed on each panel, and is called Diversit... Read More
New Ground Rules for Work
As we try to regroup and refocus after our country’s “great divide,” we all need to work hard at setting new ground rules for respect and open dialogue. A refresher on good manners is long past due. As you talk with people who may have different viewpoints, you may first want to ... Read More
Learning how to talk to each other again
After the most divisive political season in our nation’s history, I think we’re all trying to figure out how to move on. We talk about unifying our divided country, about building mutual support and repairing relationships, but have little idea how to do it. The key to building relations... Read More
Getting to Know You – How deep can you go?
I have a friend who’s always said you don’t have to get to know someone in the first 5 minutes… or even the first few times you meet. It takes a lifetime to get to know someone. How true that is. And yet, for many, our tendency is to rush and learn as quickly as possible… Read More
Why we shouldn’t abandon Starbuck’s “#RaceTogether”
Starting “The Conversation” In early April, 2015, Howard Schultz, CEO of Starbucks, reflected on the fatal shootings of Michael Brown and Eric Garner and tried to do right. He introduced the “RaceTogether” campaign as a way to get people talking about race relations in the U.S. Unfortunate... Read More
The Art of Difficult Conversations
Those of us who are conflict-averse hate difficult conversations. It’s no wonder that experts have started calling them “Courageous Conversations.” What makes them hard is: Uncertainty about how others will react Fear of it getting out of control Discomfort about opening a can of worms with no... Read More
Get the conversation going
I just read Kim Marshall’s synopsis of an article by Paul Bambrick-Santoyo about ways to ways to get discussions going. Not surprisingly, if you just say “exactly,” in response to a participant’s comment, your affirmation may actually result in closing off the conversation... Read More
DIVERSITY TRAINING GAMES AND EXERCISES
Emotional intelligence, acceptance, empathy, and understanding are hot topics in companies, schools, and homes around the world. Some folks are just gaining awareness of the implicit bias and prejudice surrounding them. Others have grown up with it. Well-crafted diversity games allow groups of all k... Read More
It’s not about the Nail – men and women communicate differently
When the book Men are from Mars, first came out, I remember being fascinated by these predictable differences between men and women, how they communicate, and how they approach problems. In keeping with that theme, this video made me laugh out loud.... Read More
Ladder of Inference to Minimize Misunderstandings
How many times have you acted on an assumption that turned out to be wrong? It happens all the time. Several weeks ago, in the early aftermath of the Marathon Bombing tragedy, I found myself believing that my younger brother, Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, was a solely victim of his brother’s violence. As... Read More
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