“Communication is a skill that you can learn. It’s like riding a bicycle or typing. If you’re willing to work at it, you can rapidly improve the quality of every part of your life.” ~ Brian Tracy In almost every conversation I have with clients when I ask them the biggest challenge facing their…
“The disconnection between corporate and those in the field, is and has been one of the major causes of self-inflicted problems in the business world today!” ~ Joe Contrera Over the years I have had the opportunity to work for organizations who have multiple locations all over the world and a centrally located corporate…
“One of the most sincere forms of respect is actually listening to what another has to say.” ~ Bryant H. McGill The most important skill you can build on in your life is your listening skills. And yet…the single biggest issue negatively impacting most work environments and relationships is poor listening skills. Which begs…
“If you are in a leadership position, any you avoid conflict, speaking the truth (facts), or giving feedback, you might want to consider a different position!” ~Joe Contrera For more than two decades I have had the privilege of helping leaders develop their leadership and coaching skills. And yet…I am still amazed at the…
“It is impossible to live without failing at something unless you live so cautiously that you might as well not have lived at all, in which case you have failed by default.” ~J.K. Rowling One way to more powerfully influence others is to leverage your failures. People don’t realize the power of failure and…
So what’s all this mumbo jumbo you keep hearing about Emotional Intelligence? Emotional Intelligence can be defined as a person’s ability to effectively negotiate social relationships and environments. Emotional Intelligence is a relatively new science and is becoming an important factor in determining a persons success in business and in life. A recent survey of…
The Art of Listening vs. The Ignorance of Interrupting 72 Interruptions … Yes, count them! Vice Presidential Candidate Tim Kaine interrupted his opponent or the debate moderator 72 times in a 90 minute period. That’s once every 75 seconds! He wasn’t interested in debating, he had an agenda and he was driving it home. He…
Creating a Culture of Communication … Sow What? Poor Communication continues to be the single biggest factor that negatively impacts organizations. The sad thing is that it has been this way … for 100’s of years. Poor listening skills, failure to communicate important issues, misunderstandings, and improperly trained leaders, are just a few of the…
Listen, Do you want to know a secret? Do you promise not to tell, whoa oh, oh? The Beatles. Recently I had an online chat with a rep at Ally Bank. Here’s the transcript: Welcome to Ally’s Live Chat. Thanks for joining us! A Customer Care Associate will be with you in a moment. You are number 1 in the queue. Thank you for waiting.
Non-verbal communication can be more powerful than a thousand words. Have you ever received “the look,” from a spouse, parent, teacher, colleague, or boss? Did you notice the feeling in the pit of your stomach or the clenching of your fists in response to that look or something they did?