Communicate with Kindness to Improve The World Kindness in language has been on my mind recently. Certain phrases and idiomatic expressions in languages are violent and horrifying. We communicate and use them and likely don’t give them a second thought. They are just things we say, but I have found them increasingly worrisome, especially in this…
How to Raise and Resolve Issues Successfully With Friends and Loved Ones This week’s podcast episode explores something many of us find anxiety-provoking. How do we raise issues with our friends and loved ones successfully? What do we need to know to do it successfully? Generally, students don’t learn how to resolve conflicts in school….
Conquer Your Fears and Improve Your Voice With These Six Tips Do you get nervous before speaking in public or recording yourself for a podcast or video? Or even just on a phone call? Or wait. The worst, of course, is a job interview. That’s when you’re not only nervous about speaking in front of…
In today’s Self-made Creative podcast episode, I talk about the dreaded pronoun and pronoun placeholders. Sometimes what’s inside our heads does not come across to the people listening to us. The pronoun often masks the meaning or deflects the meaning all together. I give some strategies on how to be more clear and how to…
A Wedding Toast: Lovely Tradition or Nervewrecker? Your best friends are getting married. They ask you to be the best man/maid of honor. Yay! You’d be thrilled. And then they say, “Would you give a toast at the wedding?” Uh oh! Now, what? What do you do? What do you say? How do you do…
I talked before about finding your voice in the written word and will explore that further in the future. Today, I want to speak about audio. Audio is ubiquitous with more and more people starting podcasts, posting live videos, and presenting live in meetings and during the course of their lives. As we develop our…
As we engage in telling our stories, we can use creative design features to communicate more authentically and effectively. The key is to find the form and function that best tells our tale. Color plays a major role in that process. Design ideas for palette, look, and feel can come from anywhere. This butterfly inspired…
Today’s Show Up! Journal power words: isn’t it funny how the great conversationalists seldom speak? I think Dale Carnegie had it right. People engage with us when we are curious about them. So, the best way to be regarded as a great conversationalist and/or communicator is to be curious about the other person, to engage…
How to balance your checkbook How to navigate IRAs, 401K’s and their importance How to listen to your friends, partners, lovers when you are in the middle of an argument How to generate invoices, contracts, and other financial transaction related pieces How to keep track of your credit card debt, determine the best credit cards…
When last we met, we talked about eye contact and I said I would address what shy or reserved people can do to facilitate interactions with others. In groups, people who are more reserved sometimes have issues. And if you have anxiety about groups, it can be even more challenging. Here are my top three…