The Blog / Archive

Over the last two years I have been thinking and reading a lot about communication strategies, particularly on remote teams and when starting new working relationships. My big takeaways so far are not going to surprise anyone: we need to be intentional about how we set up our communication strategies, we assume way too much about how other people want (and don’t want) to be connected, and we don’t have enough strategies ready to deploy. A client recently passed along a new strategy that she gleaned from someone she’s on-boarding, and I really love everything about the strategy and how … Read more

I was leading a group in some coaching recently, and each participant was telling a brief story about how they embody their values at work. Unexpectedly, one woman got choked up. It clearly surprised her, and she apologized before moving on. She wasn’t sobbing, and the emotion did not derail her presentation. After she was finished, I led the group in some structured appreciative feedback. One person said that, while in general the presenter had done a good job, obviously she would not want to “get emotional” while she was presenting. The presenter apologized again. Another person hesitantly piped up … Read more

I’m a reader. My house is full of books, and I trace chapters of my life through what I was reading at the time. In high school and college, you could count on me to always do the assigned reading, not because I was a nerd (though I was), but because I enjoyed it.  But there can be too many words, even for me. Recently I received a packet of documents meant to prepare me for an upcoming work engagement. I like to be prepared, and I like to have an idea of the context I’m walking into. However.  This … Read more

I don’t know about you, but 2022 has gotten off to a very busy, maybe a little overwhelming start. My typical response to having a ton do to is not, as my desktop photo would remind me, to “slow down since there is so much to do,” but instead to try to speed up to get it all in. (I’m a work in progress, y’all.) In the video below, Ignite CSP coach Anne Thibault gives us all a technique to help us be better listeners and to slow down just a bit. As we all know in our calm moments, … Read more

I’ve been seeing a specific kind of strained communication more and more lately. See if this rings a bell for you: Two or more people are having a discussion that needs to lead to an outcome: a decision, an understanding, a set of actions. Somewhere in the back and forth, at least two people stop making sense to each other. This happens for lots of reasons—assumptions, indirect communication style, someone gets annoyed by something that happened before this meeting—it can be anything.  The longer the discussion continues, the farther the conversational tracks diverge. It becomes almost impossible to get to … Read more

A good friend and I have been saying this to each other lately—“just start.”  There are a ton of quotable quotes with this idea at their core: The journey of a thousand miles starts with a single step. (Lao Tzu) The secret of getting ahead is getting started. (Twain) The way to get started is to quit talking and begin doing. (Disney) And perhaps the pithiest of these:To begin, begin. (Wordsworth) To be clear, it’s not that this idea is new to my friend and me. But knowing that you should “just do it” and being able to step into … Read more

I’m a huge fan of the HBO drama “Succession.” The third season ended last month, and I’ve been reading articles and listening to podcasts about the writers, the actors, the showrunner, and the rest of the creative team. In one interview, Mark Mylod, the director of many of the episodes, spoke about the decision that was made  to shoot the series on film rather than digitally. He explains: “The discipline of having a 1,000- or 400-foot roll of film that limits how long you can go focuses everything…It gives us a structure we really need.” Why would this be? Why … Read more

Do you ever have the experience of being sure you told someone an important something, but they don’t remember it? Or maybe you’re on other side of the exchange, with a friend or loved one insisting they mentioned a specific crucial topic to you, but you have no recollection of it? I have been noticing this in my own life lately, and I have thoughts! If you want the person you’re talking to to have a chance of recalling an important conversation, try these ideas: Don’t talk to someone who is doing something else. This may seem obvious, but it … Read more

The majority of presenters kind of sneak up on their content. They have what I call a long on-ramp. They thank people, introduce themselves, give some context around what they’ll be talking about, then finally get around to what everybody came to hear. By now, several minutes have gone by, and the presenter has wasted the crucial time when audiences are most primed for engagement. In addition, the speaker is not really engaged yet, either. Typically, the speaker will vocally downplay and throw away this content, as they are more interested in getting to the meat of the presentation.  This … Read more

You may have seen a speaker or someone at a conference say this, or you may have even said it yourself. “Well, I know I’m the only thing between you all and lunch, but I promise this will be worth it!” Or “…so I better get started.” Or some other version of this seemingly light-hearted remark. I found myself having a meandering train of thought about this common occurrence yesterday. What I found myself wondering was, why do I think this is a bad idea? I do encourage speakers and presenters to be transparent, and even to name the elephant … Read more