Communication

There is a disconnect that I witness every day. The disconnect is between our own perception of what is “clear” and what others think about that clarity. When we have an idea or a strategy or something in our head, and we have thought it through and worked it out, in our own minds it […]

The other day I was on a conference call with two good friends. One, Bill, is the CEO of US-based marine industry company. The other, Ron, is an independent marketing consultant. We were catching up on some business issues, and Bill made a comment that stuck with me. His company has had some communication challenges […]

We’ve all been to THIS conference call… too many times in fact. While Tripp and Tyler absolutely nail the inherent comedy in the ways we conduct conference calls, let’s take the conversation to the next level. How do we run better conference calls? Here are a few simple ideas: 1. Set context and get the […]

If we look at our communication as if it were a meal that our audience will consume, we’ll of course want to prepare a communication “meal” they will enjoy. And in order to do that, there are 5 ingredients that must be included in our recipe: Clarity, Brevity, Context, Impact, and Value. But how much […]

  I spent the entire day yesterday with my four-year old son. We had quite a nice little Saturday. We woke up early, had breakfast together, and then went out for some man-style shopping. Home Depot was the highlight, for some tools. We then came home and spent several hours in the yard together. We […]

“Be sincere. Be brief. Be seated.”  ~Franklin D. Roosevelt We all complain about it, but we’re all guilty of it at times, as well. And in all our coaching, it’s one of the most common topics we run into with our clients. It’s the growing frustration with people’s inability to get to the point quickly […]

(I recently had some people talk to me about the subject of how to give a great wedding toast, and with June being “Wedding Season,” I thought it would be appropriate to revisit this blog post and podcast from November of 2013. Enjoy! ~Dean) Have you ever been to a wedding or engagement party or […]

We’re pleased to contribute once again to Switch and Shift, a business blog focused on “the human side of business.” Our most recent contribution is called “5 Communication Behaviors We All Must Adopt.” In the rapidly-changing business world of the 21st century, there’s an overwhelming need for clearer, more succinct business communication. If we can […]

We get inquiries all the time from managers, directors and organizational leaders about a need for communication training for their teams. And in nearly every conversation, the leader is very clear about the needs and weaknesses of his or her team. Then, when we actually conduct the training, and once the participants get comfortable enough […]

Earlier this week, someone told me that “they are more efficient when they multitask.” Yeah… right. This will be a short post today, because the efficiency of multi-tasking is a complete myth. And there is tons of detail to prove it, including this recent spot on NPR. In last week’s post, I pleaded with you […]