We all have a different sense of personal privacy. Five years ago, when I was diagnosed with breast cancer (now cancer-free!), I had no need to keep the news private. To the contrary, I saw myself as part of a community—one that could support me and that I could help by sharing my experience. As�...
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“I can’t talk about that at work.” “My boss wouldn’t want to hear what I have to say.” Employees have so many reasons for not talking about meaningful topics at work. Sometimes, they’re tight-lipped simply because giving feedback is difficult. In other cases...
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Not sure which Thumball is perfect for your needs? Take a moment to complete this quick quiz and get a handful of ideas about which discussion prompts will be best for your team and what your Thumball Style is! What’s a Thumball? It’s a soft ball imprinted with 32 discussion starters...
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Can ethics be taught? We know the question is at least 2500 years old, as the Greek philosopher Socrates is said to have debated the questions with fellow Athenians, and expressed the opinion that doing what is “right” can be taught. Why then, do only 46% of consumers in the United Stat...
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As a designer of conversation starter tools, which I’m proud to say have been wonderfully received, I have some strong feelings about what makes a good icebreaker question and what simply fails to inspire sharing. If you’re hoping to weed through the millions of discussion-starter questi...
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Some people have the gift of the gab . . . and some of us just don’t. Sometimes I wish I did. When it comes to conversation, I suppose I’d say that I’m comfortable with silence and that I prefer quality to quantity. But I do relish rich, meaningful, and insightful conversations.�...
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When opposing parties get to the negotiating table, they too often dive into the meat of the deal and begin arguing for their perspective. We see that in how our government operates today and in how people discuss politics, family matters, work challenges, and more. It’s time to STOP, take a s...
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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...
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