Distraction is something we all wrestle with – even the most motivated among us. It can strike during a conversation, leaving you adrift in thought…or when you sit down to tackle an essential task, only to find yourself lost in hours of internet scrolling. In “Stolen Focus,” Johann Hari…
Would you like to learn how to regulate your emotions? Well, it’s a skill that can be learned with practice. Inspired by Leonard Mlodinow’s book Emotional: How Feelings Shape Our Thinking, it starts with understanding how to accept, reframe, and express your feelings. Step 1: ACCEPT Accept your circumstances. Focus on…
Effective communication is essential for building solid relationships, setting expectations, and working through conflicts. Becoming a master communicator is the key to success in the workplace. Based on the book Mastering Communication at Work: How to Lead, Manage, and Influence by Ethan F. Becker and Jon Wortmann, we’ll share…
In the workplace, there’s a clear-cut difference between ‘hard’ and ‘soft’ skills. Hard skills are the technical, tangible ones: knowing a foreign language, graphic design, bookkeeping etc. Soft skills are abilities that combine interpersonal strengths, common sense, personality and people skills. Although harder to define, measure, quantify, and assess,…
‘The average human lifespan is absurdly, insultingly brief. If you live to be 80, you’ll have had about 4,000 weeks. But that’s no reason for despair.’ So says Oliver Burkeman in his phenomenal book, Four Thousand Weeks – all about time management ‘for mortals’. Burkeman explains that it’s only…
Where do your suppliers rank in your customer experience pecking order? Do they receive the same level of TLC as you shower upon those who purchase your products/services? Do you respond to their emails as promptly and politely as you would to an email sent to you by your…
We’ve now reached the end of our three-part series on communication strategies. You can view the previous two articles on communication roadblocks and active and reflective listening on our blog. Today, we’ll discuss healthy confrontation practices. And yes, you read that right – ‘healthy’ and ‘confrontation’ are two words…
Welcome back to our three-part series on communication. In our last blog post, we talked about how our poor conversational habits (e.g. judging, sending solutions and avoidance) can create communication ‘roadblocks’. This time, we’ll discuss how you can improve communication by using active and reflective listening. Let’s dive into…
Did you know that communication barriers can harm your relationships with friends, family and work colleagues? Relationship building relies heavily on communication, so you risk missing out on some significant chances to connect if you’re unaware of the dynamics at play. In fact, over 50 per cent of people…
What are the skills and characteristics of a fantastic customer service employee? What does it take to survive and thrive in the role? It’s certainly not an easy gig – dealing with an increasingly demanding public, day in, day out. But it’s a role that’s valuable and highly rewarding…