In my communication keynotes and workshops, I frequently share this popular quote: Speak so that others love listening to you. Listen so that others love speaking to you. What I love sharing, even more, is HOW you go about doing that. How do you get a positive reaction from others when you speak…and when you listen? I sometimes share jokingly—truth…

On a Monday morning one of my colleagues ditched email and actually called a client. He had been wringing his hands and stressing all weekend after receiving an email from the client on Friday that led him to believe he had somehow unintentionally offended her. On the phone call, he was relieved when his client clarified that her message “I…

I learned from reading the book The Five Love Languages by Gary Chapman that my preferred love languages are “acts of service” and “quality time.” In fact, my husband—with whom I celebrated our one-year wedding anniversary in December 2015—won me over with his acts of service such as offering to take me to the airport before dawn for a 6:00am…
Golden Nuggets After speaking at a recent western-themed staff appreciation event, I was inspired to do a little mining for the golden nuggets in my popular presentation “How to Stay Positive and Focused in Uncertain Times.” Here’s what I dug up! In times of uncertainty and challenge your big picture serves as a “true north” which can be helpful in…
Are you a L.I.A.R.? Brainstorming in a breakout brought forth the brash but brilliant acronym L.I.A.R. Truth be told, it was some of my workshop participants who came up with it. With their permission I share this newfound abbreviation, and have embellished it with some of my own examples. Read on and see if you are a “L.I.A.R”….at least as…
Say What You Mean “Say what you mean and mean what you say, but don’t say it mean!” I recently heard this expression and thought it succinctly summed up my philosophy. Better yet, I ran across some share-worthy suggestions supporting this thought. Below are some concrete examples that I found in an article on how teachers can soften the harshness…