The non verbal communication of your actions

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by  John Ryan

Have you noticed that despite its powerful effect on culture the news media is not always the best source of information.  In fact, the same news program can demonstrate the definition of contradiction, sometimes even in the same breath. Recently, I saw a promo clip from one of my local television news stations about a segment they were doing at 11pm on the dangers of internet-based slot machines.  Apparently, instead of putting coins in the slots, there are computer terminals that have credit card readers attached, along with the pull-down lever on the side to simulate the feeling of the ...

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Giving Feedback Without Sounding Judgmental

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by  John Ryan

We’ve all heard the phrase, “If you want something done right, do it yourself.” There certainly are a few problems with that statement, one of which is that you have to do all the work! Who has the time for that? Instead, time constraints require us to work with other people. And let’s face it, this is the key to getting a lot more work done, even if it is not done exactly the way you want it. If it is an important issue, we find ourselves needing to give the other person constructive feedback. Let’s face it, getting feedback can be tough ...

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Easy Ways to Build Good Communication Skills in Business

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by  John Ryan

A father is with his young son and his son goes around the corner where the father can’t see him. The father goes to the get the boy, brings him back to where they were standing before and tells the boy, “Don’t go around the corner.” The boy smiles and says “Okay.” Much to the father’s dismay, the young boy keeps going around the corner and the father becomes angry and frustrated until he finally yells at his son “I told you not to go around the corner!” Crying the boy looks up at his father and asks, “What’s a corner?” Understanding ...

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Excellent Communication Skills Start Inside Your Head

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by  John Ryan

Some of you know that several years ago I fulfilled a life-long dream of going skydiving.  It was a thrill, at least for me. A funny thing happens when you’re amongst a group that is about to jump out of a perfectly good airplane.  Quiet, rationale people will start to share their coping, or lack of coping skills out-loud.  It’s as if all personal filters have been removed when facing that level of fear. And so I had the opportunity to listen to people’s self-talk live and in person as they prepared to face a fear or fulfill a dream. And ...

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The Profit in “Me, You and Them” Thinking

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by  John Ryan

Logic indicates that a company can’t exist (for long) without customers.  So clearly customers should be top priority for any organization. But what about you and your employees?   Where do they come into the equation? I agree that customers are a top priority but the ability of your employees to take care of customers is dependent upon your ability to take care of your employees, who are your customers. After all, they buy-into your leadership. So we shouldn’t put the cart before the horse. And remember, since you’re the one leading the horse…you have to take care of ‘you’ ...

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