How to Ask for What You Want Asking for what you want is an essential life skill that yields enormous positive benefits (e.g., the thing you want!). But like so many other life skills—budgeting, doing laundry, cooking breakfast, driving in snow—no one teaches...
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...
3 Ways to Use Your Voice Effectively When you speak, others may hear and notice what you say, but not nearly as much as how you say it. The way you use your voice can and does convey an astounding array of emotions and traits. It holds the key to getting and...
10 Ways to Communicate Confidence Nonverbally As a young child, I was outgoing, confident, and friendly. I would approach strangers without a second thought (much to my parents’ dismay), boss my friends and siblings around, easily make new friends on the...
5 Communication Traps that Make You Sound Condescending …and how to avoid them. “Some of my coworkers are so clueless,” a coaching client complained recently. “I get accused of being condescending when I explain things. How do I give them the info they need...
5 Signs You’re Making Someone Uncomfortable … and what to do about it. While waiting for a drink at a coffee shop, I noticed two women in conversation. I was mostly staring off into space, but then something caught my attention. I couldn’t hear the discussion;...
