Improve Your Listening in Six Easy Steps. However, sometimes the first step to improving your listening skills is to eliminate any bad...

Several times over the last few months I’ve been asked by those new in business whether they should bother to get business cards. “Can’t...

Let’s face it. There are some conversations that nobody really wants to have– from  confronting an employee at work to talking to a...

“Isn’t that rude?” she asked. She was obviously a nicer person than I am, since she had to ask. Of course it’s rude, disrespectful,...

With Independence Day just two days away, I’ve been thinking a lot about the things that hold us back in life and keep us from being...

How many times have you sat through meetings where discussions got off track, tempers flared, and the meeting ran longer than scheduled?...

Although they’re often a lot of work, caring for them is very rewarding, quite entertaining, and surprisingly educational. Here are some...

This week has been a very hectic week for me, and it’s only Wednesday as I write this post. I’ve had many competing priorities and...

One of my personal pet peeves is bad voicemail greetings. I can’t stand calling someone’s home and hearing a four year old giving a...

As I caught up on my favorite shows and watched a few new ones, I realized that although we often think of television as a colossal,...

Every time I teach a “Making Meetings Work” workshop, I ask the group, “How many of you enjoy going to meetings?” Can you guess how many...

Over the years, I’ve discovered that there are two types of people when it comes to the issue of accountability. The first is the...

Ah, performance appraisals. Some people hate them and the rest hate them too. As a result, many organizations are questioning the need...

The other day I was facilitating a workshop for a group of attorneys on the subject of employee motivation. We’d just finished discussing...

As January is a time for reflection on the past and planning for the future, I decided to go back through every blog post I’ve written...

This week, I’ve taught several “Business Impression” workshops. In these sessions we’ve discussed everything from dress and appearance to...

Every year, many people resolve to make the coming year their “best ever” by making resolutions for better behavior. The most common...

Last week, I targeted advice givers and provided tips for offering advice in a way that makes it more palatable to the receiver. However,...

I was at lunch with a friend recently who was lamenting that she seemed to be a magnet for these people. She related several examples;...

I’m all about building rapport, communicating, and creating great relationships with people at work, including your boss. However, there...