7 Essential Ingredients for Honest Conversations

7 Essential Ingredients for Honest Conversations

7 Essential Ingredients for Honest Conversations   Obviously, there are actually only two truly essential ingredients for an honest conversation: Have a conversation. Be honest. But being honest is a bit complicated, isn’t it? If your experience is anything like...
3 Tips for Delivering Feedback

3 Tips for Delivering Feedback

3 Tips for Delivering Feedback   Considering most people want to do good work and meet expectations, delivering constructive feedback sure can feel like picking your way through a minefield of misunderstanding, hurt feelings, defensiveness, and conflict. And with...
Stop Depersonalizing Your Communication

Stop Depersonalizing Your Communication

Stop Depersonalizing Your Communication   Recently, my friend moved away. On the day of the move, I messaged her, “I’m going to miss you!” She wrote back, “We are going to miss our friends, too, but we promise to keep in touch.”  I couldn’t help but notice how...
3 Common Communication Pitfalls

3 Common Communication Pitfalls

3 Common Communication Pitfalls (and how to avoid them)   No one is a perfect communicator. Not me. Not you. In the best of times, communication pitfalls can lead to breakdowns. In times of crisis when emotions run high, the effects of bad habits are amplified....
How to Get People to Open Up

How to Get People to Open Up

How to Get People to Open Up As a coach, I can do my job a whole lot better when my clients feel comfortable sharing themselves with me. But I’m not the only one. You need this skill, too. Whether you’re an HR manager interviewing a job candidate, an attorney...