Category: COMMUNICATION & RELATIONSHIPS

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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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 that surrounds them. Others have grown up with it. Well-crafted diversity games allow groups of al... Read More

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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

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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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