We’re watching what will turn out to be the costliest and most tragic risk communication failure in modern human history. I’m talking about communicating the probability and magnitude of risks that actually harm people but don’t bother them enough for them to do anything about. We’re setting new COVID-19 daily infection and death rates with… read more →
It’s common to think that for me to win, you have to lose. That may be true in sports, but not in most other areas. There’s an old axiom in the sales profession that says, “you can get what you want if you can help the other guy get what he wants.” Mutual gain is… read more →
And for those who share my short attention span, I think you’ll enjoy this list of exceptionally brief but useful tidbits to help you get your point(s) across more successfully. Read More
All of us wish we’d bought stock in Zoom a year ago and we’ve adapted to moving training, coaching and our work with clients and communities online. Fact is, it’s working quite a bit better than we originally thought it might. It’s definitely different and doing interpersonal work in this impersonal environment has limitations, but… read more →
Democracy is the genesis of public participation – power held by the people. In 1787, when the Founding Fathers had hammered out the U.S. Constitution in Independence Hall in Philadelphia, Benjamin Franklin told an inquiring woman what the gathering had produced, “A republic, madam, if you can keep it.” A republic means a representative government… read more →
Research has shown that people can make judgements about someone’s likeability, trustworthiness and competence after seeing their face for less than a tenth of a second. Nonverbal communication factors are even more important for the people doing the judging when trust is low and concern is high, which defines much of the work we do with… read more →
Is it that we just don’t want to deal with or talk with people who think differently, we don’t need to, or that we’ve forgotten how? Actually, I’ve come to realize that it’s all of the above and more; there is no one easy answer. Some people are just so embedded in their own beliefs… read more →
As a believer in simplicity (whenever possible), I’m always interested in finding better ways to explain seemingly complex concepts with the clearest, fewest and most understandable words. That means putting it into context and making it relevant – how can you beat two beers and a puppy? Read More
We’ve talked frequently here about listening skill building and we can’t let it become a tired topic. We live in an age where his opinions are as valid as her facts, everyone talks loud and long and few people actually listen. Resolving human conflict at any level requires finding common ground. Finding common ground requires… read more →
In the practical, objective, scientific method world of observation, testing and refined decision making that most of us are tied to, it is sometimes easy to dismiss the emotional elements as fluff, irrelevant, and to be avoided. But any objective reasoning, especially in the public sector, invariably requires an element of policy developed by deliberation… read more →