Last month, nearly 1,000 miles from home, I met a South Korean girl touring the same city as me. She asked me, in her limited English, if I knew whether a nearby café was open. In my non-existent Korean, somehow I managed to convey that I didn’t know, and we had a conversation about… Read More Little things that mean a lot . . .
A family member tells us the lengthiest of stories. Their best involved a vivid description of the furniture in their bedroom, to explain where they kept their Will. We learnt the colour of the carpet, the age of the bed (why?), the difference between the wardrobes in their room – subsequently identified as Wardrobe No.… Read More Wardrobe No. 2 . . .
How do you differentiate between idle chatter and an important business, work-related conversation? I think it’s simple. And I’m guessing you know the answer too. Well, I’ve been encouraging people to talk to each other . . . to hold some quality conversations . . . to talk to each other about leadership . .… Read More Getting conversations about leadership started . . .
I’ve had an epiphany. One I thought worth sharing. It’s about listening. Really listening. It happened a few weeks ago, and since then I’ve been testing the waters just to see if what I’d noticed could really be true. Let me be clear. I’m a trained and qualified coach (with every day still a school… Read More Give in to it
What are communication skills? Why do I find that term so hard to define? I think it might be because I feel that communication requires such a vast skillset to make it work: rapport empathy articulation/clarity – both written word and oral honesty language tone volume I love Kotter’s description which for me… Read More What is communication?
As a coach I’ve learnt the power of offering and instead of but in a conversation, and using and to begin a sentence for playback . . . and if you did that, what might happen? One word, three letters – it’s a powerful option.
A common theme of 360 feedback is lack of visibility of leaders. In a leader’s defence, multi-site working can create lengthy travelling times between locations, and time spent travelling is largely non-productive. But, there’s a reason why people are feeding back to you that they still want to see you. So maybe it’s time for… Read More Being seen
How many people do you know who can only “talk?” Ever feel like a ‘listening freak’ in an increasingly ‘it’s all about me’ world? Maybe one day others might pause. A conversation might even take place. One-way listening is so exhausting.
http://www.girlfriendcircles.com/blog/index.php/2014/05/the-problem-my-friend-doesnt-ask-me-about-my-life/ READ BEYOND THIS ARTICLE’S TITLE to explore the notion that, “we can offer up our lives. It makes it no less sincere …”. Hmm, a surprise find that prompted deeper thinking and feelings about active listening and insightful questioning skills … and beyond that, that relationships are key. http://www.girlfriendcircles.com/blog/index.php/2014/05/the-problem-my-friend-doesnt-ask-me-about-my-life/
ChristineWilkinsonCoaching 