The start of a new series on what I’ve learned in nearly 20 years of being self-employed. Today: It never hurts to ask.
suzanne whitby: archives
human-to-human communication
Aligning values with your recruitment process
“We care about our people.” Really? So why do so many companies fail to simply acknowledge receipt of job applications, and send out an automated response when the position is filled?
What if public transportation was free & effective?
Michelle Wu, Boston’s new mayor, and her focus on free public transportation prompt some “what if” and “why not” thinking.
What if?
I am privileged to be able to spend my days working with scientists who want to learn how to turn their academic findings into information that the “general public” can understand and hopefully act upon. Many of the people I coach and train are natural scientists who have an up-close-and-personal view of human-caused climate change and global heating. Not only are they witness to what is happening now, but thanks to modelling, they have insights into what is likely to happen in the future. And frankly, for many of them, the future is at best worrying and at worst terrifying. They are continually perplexed at the disinterest in the problems they are uncovering by politicians, policy makers, the media, and us, the “general public*”.
I mention this because when I watched “Don’t look up” last night, I was overjoyed that someone in Hollywood had finally created a film that captured what scientists tell me that they experience. Sure, it’s a satire, but the basic storyline is one that I’ve heard time and again in my workshops and talks.
tiny mindful: In your hands
A tiny mindful tale about how the choices that we can make if we so wish.
Look UP! That’s what I am taking from “Don’t look up”.
Some thoughts about the film, “Don’t look up”.
Make accordion closed by default
To do this, copy the script below and paste it in the <head>...
Re-naming and re-framing
A quick morning ponder on how arrogant humans are in their judgements of fish, and how quickly we change our minds when the communication changes.
A thought about small talk
Is cutting out the small talk a problem?
Do you inadvertently turn your statements into questions?
Raising your pitch at the end of a statement makes that statement sound like a question. Whether you’re communicating in person, online, or over the phone, this speech pattern can make you sound less confident, less credible, and uncertain about your content. This article talks about why we do it, and how to stop.
What’s in a name? Why getting people’s names right is part of effective communication.
Remembering someone’s name and pronouncing it correctly is a key part of making a positive impression. It’s also part of being a good communicator. Not bothering to remember someone’s name or continually pronouncing it incorrectly, or worse, using a name that they dislike (nicknames they didn’t choose, for example) tells people that you don’t value or respect them. Here are 9 things that you can do to remember people’s names, along with some information about why names matter, why we mess them up, and why, in a socially-distanced world, remembering names is more important than ever,
In Defence of Open-Mindedness
A few thoughts on the closed minds of some people in rural, mostly white, mostly Catholic and mostly relatively well-off in a beautiful part of Austria.
How to host a clothing swap party
A couple of months after moving back to Innsbruck, I decided to organise...