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Archive for the ‘Communication Skills’ Category

The amazing power of conversations

Posted by Susie Heale

Conversations are the foundation of so many things. Understanding, decisions, relationships, progression, clarity, direction… and when conversations are done badly over time the very same things erode.

We have been thinking about conversations this week and decided to look for some inspiration on TED. This talk by Celeste Headlee is so simple (and fun!) and we feel really aligned to it here at Aspire.

Some of our favourite parts are around listening which is an extremely powerful connecting skill.

 

 

So often we think the speaker has all the power, but this isn’t the case. Listening is active, not passive. And the good news is we can improve our listening skills and gain so much more from every conversation.

Besides, as Celeste reminds us, ‘no man ever listened his way out of a job!’.

So, this week at Aspire we are enjoying considering these 10 amazing tips and listening to each other. Why don’t you join us and let us know how it goes?

Or if you’d like to learn a bit more about the power of listening and conversations why not have a look at our courses in networking and influencing and communication skills?

 

 

good relationships sharing glasses of wine

Making New Year’s resolutions about relationships and people, not things

Posted by Jessica Sedler

This year I want to focus my New Year’s resolutions on relationships and people, not things.

Yes – January is in full swing. How are the new year’s resolutions going? Did you make any?

I did. I vowed to attempt less screen time, especially before bed. I now keep my phone downstairs and read my Christmas present novel under the duvet, with a smug smile on my face. Fairly easy to tick off. And it’s this sort of stuff we decide to set goals for ourselves about isn’t it?

 

I want to lose a stone
I want to start running
I want to drink more water
I want to drink less wine…

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Face the facts: How we read facial expression as communicating social animals

Face the facts: How we read facial expression communicating as social animals

Posted by James Auden

Our brains also devote a lot more attention to faces than many other visual stimuli because faces are so important to our lives when we are communicating as social animals, and it’s as social animals that we’ve succeeded as a species.

The human face has evolved to be the most expressive on the planet, containing around 52 muscles so the possibilities for communicating our feelings are infinite.

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