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Ignite your power to communicate.

We coach people to make a fundamental shift in the way they understand their own power to communicate.

We help people feel seen and heard so that they can do their best work.

Another thing to remember about eye contact

A couple of weeks ago I advised you that when you’re speaking to a video call, you need to look right into the camera to approximate eye contact. This is still true, and you can see people doing this really well on calls. The result is that you feel more connected, more seen. The other …

“I was wrong.”

This week I’m looking at the advice that writer Louise Penny puts in the mouth of her character, Chief Inspector Armand Gamache. Gamache tells his protégés that there are “four sentences that we must learn to say, and to mean.”   I don’t know. I need help. I’m sorry. I was wrong.   What all of …

“I’m sorry.”

This week I’m looking at the advice that writer Louise Penny puts in the mouth of her character, Chief Inspector Armand Gamache. Gamache tells his protégés that there are “four sentences that we must learn to say, and to mean.”   Gamache has to specifically advise young police officers about these four sentences because they are …

“I need help.”

This week I’m looking at the advice that writer Louise Penny puts in the mouth of her character, Chief Inspector Armand Gamache. Gamache tells his protégés that there are “four sentences that we must learn to say, and to mean.”   Gamache has to specifically advise young police officers about these four sentences because they are …

“I don’t know.”

This week I’m turning for inspiration to one of my favorite writers, Louise Penny. Her wonderful mystery series is set in Québec, and it features Chief Inspector Armand Gamache.   Gamache tells his protégés that there are “four sentences that we must learn to say, and to mean.” He is referring to people in his …

You are not disqualified.

In North Carolina, when the Department of Employment Services (sorry, Division of Employment Security) decides that a worker can receive unemployment benefits, here is how they say that:   Claimant is not disqualified for benefits. “Not disqualified.”   They could say “approved.” They could say “earned.” They could say “given.” They could even just say …

“Getting better.”

I love an article or a book about productivity. If there’s a hack, I’ve read about it and probably tried it out. But here’s one I’m having trouble with.   “Get 10% better.” (The idea is that you’re not trying to blow anything out of the water, you’re improving incrementally.)   But what does that …

The Virtual Pitch

We are always seeking security, assessing where we are safe, when it is all right to trust another person. Most of our communication habits and needs grow out of this search. Before we can get down to business, we have to know: Can I trust this person? Will she have my back? Is he as …

Resting.

I don’t know about you, but the internet is giving me a lot of advice about what I should be doing during the stay-at-home order.   Make the most of this time!  Develop that side hustle!  Train for an Iron Man!  Learn a new language! Bake bread! Spend time with your family! Spend time with …

Things are getting real.

One thing I have loved about this time is the dropping away of artifice.   We’re seeing our colleagues’ homes and families and pets, our friends’ gray hair and their faces in the unflattering light of Zoom.   And most of all, I feel like I am really hearing what’s going on with people, even …

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