A little while ago my niece told me that someone was annoyed with her and said she knew it because they had put a full stop at the end of their text message. “But I do that – it’s just grammar” I said … “yes but they’re under 30 so they know!” she replied. Apparently, …
When is a full stop not a full stop but an indication of anger? Read More »
If you had some negative feedback to impart to a colleague, we were told to dress it up with something pleasant. So, you would find a couple of positive elements and then sandwich the negative comment in between. Imagine you thought a team member’s presentation was pretty good but that the slides they had created …
You know what you’re doing and why but does everyone else? Have you ever felt you appear to be speaking another language? You tell someone what’s needed and yet when you come back it’s not even close to what you expected? Is it that everyone you’re talking to just doesn’t “get” it … or could …
Do you give good instructions? Do others know what you mean? Read More »
If someone compliments you on the way you handled a meeting, do you say “Thank you” or is your response more likely to be, “Oh it was nothing really” or “They were very easy on me” or perhaps “I don’t think I was. I could have been better at dealing with X or Y” If …
How good are you at giving and receiving compliments? Read More »
This month we are delighted to have a guest blog from our friends at Action Coach West Hertfordshire. You can count on them to ask you great questions about what you are doing and more importantly WHY you are doing it? In this article they have included lots of food for thought and questions to …
Having not stayed away from home for the past 20 months I have stayed in 4 different hotels in just the last 2 months; twice for work and twice for pleasure. Pre-Covid, I tended to stay in the same type of hotel for business (low cost, standard service, you know exactly what you’ll get and …
Don’t make a bad situation worse. My takeaways from recent hotel stays. Read More »
One of the major complaints I hear about Zoom meetings is that they can be quite confrontational. A bit like constantly attending a panel interview where you are eyeballing, and being eyeballed, by everyone in the room (including yourself)! However, the benefits of Zoom include things such as being able to see everyone at the …
Last summer a friend of mine moved her mother-in-law into the family home so that she wasn’t alone and could be looked after. Nice for her and her family. Yes; but her teenage son is struggling with his grandmother being there 24/7. She always has a suggestion for how he should be doing something or …
Why counting to 10 is a great communication skill. Read More »
A client was recently complaining that she had heard that one of her team was calling in sick when she wanted a free day’s holiday. A few years back I received a mailing that had obviously been sent by a disgruntled employee or freelancer. It told me that the person running the company was everything …
If something goes wrong, are you talking to your team enough? Read More »
And what do they mean? What behaviours do they see to make them say that and what’s the difference? I’d describe being assertive as the ability to state your case or point of view in a way that means you are heard while still being in a position to hear what the other person has …
Do others call you aggressive, unassertive or assertive? Read More »
