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Archive for the ‘Communication Skills’ Category

child reading story to teddy

Stories – what’s the point?

Posted by Carolyn Defrin

At Aspire, we integrate personal stories into our training rooms as a way to lift theories off the page and offer an additional lens through which to understand ourselves and our colleagues in the workplace and the first question we ask is:

What’s the point?

The smell of a freshly sharpened pencil

The taste of a New York slice of cheese pizza

The sight of a giant oak tree standing tall without its leaves against winter’s dimming light

Our senses stir up powerful images, offering us a portal into numerous stories from our own lives. Read more

Feedback Conversations Online

Posted by Matteo Trevisan

Let’s talk about feedback conversations online. It’s challenging in person, even more so online.

But let me ask you first, Would you feel safer knowing people were honest with their feedback, or if they withheld opinion or obscured their truth? The answer seems pretty obvious yet our reactions don’t always match our intentions. It would be great if everyone took the attitude that Marcus Aurelius took, one of the great emperors of the Roman empire and Stoic Philosopher:

If anyone can refute me‚ show me I’m making a mistake or looking at things from the wrong perspective‚ I’ll gladly change.

It’s the truth I’m after.

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shaking virtual hands for online training

Supporting wellbeing while working remotely

Posted by Annemarie Estess

With so many of us working remotely and generally spending time apart, how can we take care of our mental, emotional and social wellbeing?

Working from home…

This used to be a statement of freedom and flexibility. In the era of COVID-19 it’s becoming a phrase that brings up mixed emotions and logistical complexity.

Here in the UK we don’t yet know a timeline, but likely in the coming weeks and months many people will be working remotely either by requirement or by preference. 

Reframe the phrase 

It may seem minor but the language we use can influence our experience of this situation. Terms like “isolating”, “lockdown” and “social distancing” sound like fast tracks to anxiety and loneliness. 

For the sake of our sanity it’s important that we get clear about what we are really doing and for what purpose: physically distancing ourselves to help minimise transmission risk. We can choose to talk about it as being physically distant and socially connected. 

Read more