Do you enjoy ice breakers at workshops? I worry they’re becoming just another box to check. I wonder: What if the ice breaker was the workshop? What exactly is an ice breaker? An ice breaker is an activity, game, or event that is used to warm up the meeting or event participants, get them talking and engaging. An effective ice breaker gets every person in the room talking and is usually something non-threatening. You could equate an ice breaker in a workshop to...
Continue reading...Develop and Design
To Inspire Action – Communicate with Humanity
There’s no question that communicating your ideas is important. But have you noticed that some of your messages get across to people and others don’t? No matter the form, you can increase your chances of being heard, understood, and inspire action in your audience by adding one element to all communications – humanity. We so often use business jargon, over complicated phrasing, and lengthy explanations along with the current hashtag buzz of the day. #doneWithHashtags But are you actually getting through?...
Continue reading...From 43% Pointless to 100% Meaningful
After learning from a 2010 survey that as much as 43% of conversations were deemed pointless, I began to dig deeper into my interactions with clients, coworkers, workshop participants, and frankly anyone that would pay attention long enough in a conversation for me to discover more. What I discovered was a collection of obstacles to communicating effectively as diverse and numerous as the individuals themselves. As I took a step back and looked at all of the obstacles, three themes emerged:...
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