How we deal with misfortune can make the difference between defeat and victory in our lives.
We’ve all heard stories about Thomas Edison.  He went through thousands of unsuccessful attempts before coming up with the filament light bulb.  When his factory was virtually destroyed by fire, he simply remarked that the disaster provided him with new opportunities to start again, and weeks later he invented the phonograph.
How many of us, when faced with misfortune, have that same outlook as Edison?  We view these misfortunes as failures.  We must learn, however, that these failures, properly handled, lead to great personal growth and professional success.
Here …read more

Do you frequently find yourself involved in verbal battles with other people?  If so, defensive communication may be part of the problem.
Defensive communication occurs when one party to a conversation feels threatened, attacked, or is trying to protect their self-image.
Oh sure, we all react defensively on occasion, and it is, in fact, a legitimate defense mechanism.  But when all our communication carries the taint of defensiveness, it can ruin both personal and professional relationships. 
If you have a goal of eliminating defensiveness in your own communications, as well as not provoking it in others, consider these ideas.

Keep a communication log with details about …read more

Body language is a vital part of your communications.  They send out a powerful message, and should be working to support your verbal message, rather than work against it. 
If you feel like you are always being misunderstood, perhaps your body language is contradicting your verbal message.
Do you find that your typical communication stance is with your arms crossed across your chest, shoulders hunched, and a sort of distracted look on your face?  If so, it’s no wonder that your message isn’t hitting the mark.
Take a look at some other nonverbal signals and see if these describe you:

Shrugging shoulders
Rolling eyes
The “look” …read more

Have you ever obsessed about something to the point where it took on a life of its own?  Where a small irritant became bigger than life?  When that one irritant consumed a disproportionate amount of your time?
When this happens within a team environment, it can destroy your individual productivity and motivation, as well as poison the relationships within the team.  Ultimately, the whole team will suffer.
Since it is inevitable that irritants will arise when working closely with others, how can you guard against the “mountain out of a molehill” scenario?
The first thing to do is identify the source of irritation or …read more

Never underestimate the value of a compliment.
A compliment, given sincerely and publicly, shows regard and esteem for the recipient.  It builds goodwill, appreciation, and frequently a willingness to go the extra mile.  You will be seen as someone who cares about other people and their accomplishments, and not just your own.  Humor can be helpful in delivering a compliment, but should never be used at the risk of lessening sincerity.
A compliment given in a backhanded manner, or followed up with criticism, will be treated for what it is – a blatant attempt at manipulation, a simple put down, or the …read more

No matter how hard we may try to avoid a volatile situation, there will come a time when you have to deal with an angry person.  Whether it’s a boss, co-worker, team member, associate, employee, customer, or even a friend, at some point you will have to handle both the anger and the underlying issues.
Arguments and healthy debates are a vital part of life, and learning to handle anger at a low level stage, can generally keep it from escalating to a problem.
While it’s easy to think that anger is the other person’s problem (and it may well be), anger …read more

If you are leading a team, it will be important for you to recognize the learning style of your team members.
When you know how people best process information, you will then know how to best communicate with them when giving assignments, providing feedback, and motivating them to achieve higher levels of success.
Let’s walk through a couple of scenarios on how you can turn this theory into actionable knowledge.
The Visual Learner:  Will respond favorably to an instruction manual, written strategic plan, visual timeline and progress charts.  They will likely be motivated by the group’s charting progress to goals, a check off …read more

Now that you are aware of the different learning styles, what can you do with that information?
If you’re a teacher or trainer, your natural tendency will be to play to your own learning style.  For example:  If you are a kinesthetic learner, the chance are you will plan lots of hands on exercises, throw in a little role play, and end the day with group presentations.  Sounds good – for those who are also kinesthetic learners.  But if you’re a visual learner, this experience will make you feel like a fish out of water.
Learning should be an inclusive process, so …read more

We’ve already discussed the Visual and Verbal learner, and if those styles just didn’t seem quite right, you are probably a Kinesthetic learner.
In its most simple explanation, a kinesthetic learner learns by doing.
What does this mean?  A kinesthetic learner is a hands-on kind of person.  They need an interactive experience to maximize the learning process, and frequently grow bored in a lecture situation.  If kinesthetic learners are stuck in a traditional classroom or educational mode, they will need to take regular breaks, stand and stretch on occasion, and may need to have chewing gum or a snack handy to provide a …read more

There are three primary learning styles:  visual, auditory (verbal) and kinesthetic (tactile).  These learning styles impact how you process information, how you communicate information to others, and how you respond and interact within groups.  We all have a primary and secondary learning style. 
The development of this information came about from a variety of psychological and sociological studies, which I don’t intend to go into here.  There are lots of scholarly articles written on this subject, which will go over the research and explain some of the nuances of each learning style.
What I hope to do, however, is to simplistically point …read more