Dianna Booher's Blog, page 33

10 Communication Productivity Tips for the New Year

Communication shouldn’t be that difficult. After all, you do it almost every waking hour. If you’re not on social media, you’re on the phone. If you’re not on the phone, you’re texting. If you’re not texting, you’re emailing . If you’re not emailing, you’re writing a proposal.

But something that we do so frequently can become complex without intentional effort to make it productive. So here are 10 hacks to help you communicate easily and quickly in 2017.

Informative File Titles

A friend...

20 Communication Habits That Will Either Build or Kill Your Marriage

The holiday season is the time of year that things turn romantic. If that’s not happening in your relationship, consider these habits that either kill or build your marriage. Then begin to contemplate how you might change things as you move into the new year.

How to Kill Your Marriage

Don’t talk about things that you think will create argument or conflict. Unresolved issues will simply grow to be insurmountable. Lie or just “withhold information” if necessary to avoid revealing informatio...

4 Signs You Need to Power Down for a Tech Detox

According to a PEW poll, 90 percent of the world’s smartphone users say their phone is their “constant companion.” And 96 percent say they “rarely” or “never” power down. Social media experts insist that you have to post every single day to be considered “active” on your chosen platform. Yet for all this connection, real relationships often grow more distant.

Add to that, this news: Worker productivity is experiencing its sharpest decline since l979. According to the U.S. Labor Department,...

How to Manage a Motor-Mouth at Your Meeting or Party

Whether you meet them at an upcoming holiday party or have them dominating your meetings, incessant talkers present a challenge. While you do want them to have opportunity to tell their story or present their ideas, these people need to add their “two cents” to everyone’s comments and to top everyone’s story.

They rarely offer their ideas briefly. Instead, they ramble, repeat themselves, and regurgitate what others have already said.

Other than saying what you feel (“Enough already!” “Cut...

7 Tips for Building a Resilient Work Team

If you’ve been in the workplace long, you can quickly detect the difference between team members that pull together when the going gets rough and one whose members kick against each other, adding the proverbial insult to injury.

Groups of “happy campers” stand out. Cultures that foster malcontent spin off these symptoms that simmer just below the surface: dour body language, angry voice tones, rumors, rising complaints in HR, increased absenteeism, high turnover.

So if you’re the leader, h...

5 Ways to Check References to Avoid Toxic Employees

Have you ever attempted to check references before hiring, and run into a brick wall with the former employer giving you only name, title, and date of employment? If so, that’s understandable because they fear lawsuits. On the other hand, the former employer may give a glowing reference. And only later you find out that the accolades don’t ring true.

You discover that your newly hired employee is toxic to coworkers. His or her social skills are non-existent; being a “team player” is a fore...

Gratitude for Great Parenting

I never had a curfew. My mom considered curfews permissive. She preferred accountability. When I left the house with a new boy for a new activity, the conversation always began, “What time will you be home?”

“I don’t know,” I’d respond.

“Well, let’s figure it out,” she’d say. “What time does the movie start?”

I’d give her the time.

Then, “How long will it take you to drive to Jamie’s party?” and so on we’d reason until we came to the same reasonable conclusion, given the night’s agenda.

Wh...

5 Techniques for Giving Usable Feedback

It’s not human nature to welcome negative feedback. At best, people accept the comments, make changes for the better, but feel disappointed that they didn’t perform better the first time around. At worst, they disregard the feedback, become disengaged, and dislike the person who took the time to comment.

So it’s no wonder that leaders and coworkers hesitate to offer feedback on less than critical matters—especially when they think such feedback might jeopardize their relationship with the...

5 Leadership Rules That Always Win

During an election season or a corporate crisis, the word “leadership” is used probably more than any other—as a prescription for better government, long-lasting prosperity, or higher profits. So if you’re a manager or executive leading the charge, what are the unwritten rules to achieving these best outcomes every single time in the worst of times?

Follow the Money

When investigating why equipment failed, how mistakes happened in routine procedures, who received what assignments, why ce...

Have You Lost Your Writer’s Voice?

My blind friend Armand recognizes me and others in our circle by voice. He has no problem knowing who has joined the conversation once they speak because all our voices sound distinct.

Unfortunately, the same can’t be said of many of those white papers, website pages, and ebooks that you download for free. Many sound like they came from the same keyboard. They’re cluttered with the same clichés, jargon, and platitudes.

Frankly, that makes them boring. But tell writers they lack voice and t...