Are You a Slider or a Diver?

There’s plentiful advice on the internet for those seeking to be a better listener? In all that advice, one key quality is given less attention: Curiosity. Before we get to listening, let’s take an inventory. Are you a slider or a diver? Here’s what you do when you “slide.” You ask a friend or colleague “how was your weekend?” Something they …

Did He Just Yawn?

After 23 years teaching high school, I’m still not immune to disinterested and dissatisfied attendee’s expressions. As I begin a training for 15 company managers, Jerri’s expression says, “I don’t want to be here and I’m pissed that I am.” You’ve seen them, attending your meeting, speech or participating in your training: yawning, looking at their watch, checking text messages or slumped …

How Saying Nothing Says “Confidence”

In the movie, The Big Short, Ryan Gosling’s character, Jared Vennett is standing at a table in front of 3 colleagues. Piece by piece, he slowly builds a Jenga wooden structure. At its highest point, he swings his hand, knocks it over and the wooden pieces scatter across the table. “What is that?” asks one of the men sitting at the table. Jared Vennett pauses, stares at the man asking, …