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Notre Dame University is in on the front page of the Chicago Tribune again. This time it’s due to television cameras caught the football coach, Brian Kelly, screaming and cursing at his players. Apparently when asked about his fits of rage during his regular weekly press conference – he responded: “Did I hit somebody, did I strike somebody? Is that what you’re referring to?” One can only assume (more…)
Archive for the ‘Communication Tips’ Category
Addressing the Larger Issue Behind the Conflict
Thursday, August 11th, 2011
Conflict arises between people naturally for a variety of reasons, even in the workplace. People disagree about basic beliefs, facts, goals, habits, needs, values, preferences and much more. Other times a conflict arises that seems to be over something small – seemingly incidental issues. Things as little as a look, a tone of voice, or some other minor point can cause a huge conflict to break out. Usually, these minor conflicts are truly indicative (more…)
Stress and Divorce Court
Thursday, August 11th, 2011
If you don’t experience even a little stress when you walk into a courtroom, you are either the lawyer who has loves to litigate, or you have just said, “All rise,” for the fourteenth time that day. For the rest of us stress is almost an automatic reaction when thinking about appearing in front of the judge, even when it is not the first time. The uncertainty, the formality of the court room, how can divorce court be anything but stressful? (more…)
Personal Problems At Work
Monday, August 8th, 2011
A popular t-shirt in the 1980s espoused simply that, “Life Happens.” And happen it does, as daily people face the ups and downs of birth and marriage, death and divorce, financial ups and downs, and injury and disease. Every day each one of us faces a variety of personal problems and issues, of all weights and complexities, bombarding our emotions and vying for our attention. It is obvious to say that often these personal stresses (more…)
Did You Just Say What I Think You Said?
Friday, August 5th, 2011
Effective workplace communication requires that whenever you are talking or writing with someone each of you correctly interprets what the other is saying. Too often people come into a conversation with their own preconceived ideas and perhaps their own thoughts about what the other person is going to say. Also, too often we spend more time considering what we are going to say next than we spend actually paying attention to (more…)
Good Communications: Important Workplace Tool
Wednesday, August 3rd, 2011
No matter what level of position you hold in your workplace, at some point you will be called upon to communicate with a wide variety of people within your organization. Some of these people will be at levels higher than you (supervisors or others in supervisory positions, even if not directly over you), others on a similar level to you (peers and colleagues in your own department and other areas of the company), and some of those (more…)
Communication: Tone and NonVerbal Behavior Impact
Tuesday, June 14th, 2011
An important aspect of communication is how the words are spoken, not just what is said.
Often the words alone carry the bulk of the message and are the most important part of the communication. However, in communications that are emotional in nature, such as those involving conflict, the words used are only a part of what is being communicated. The total communication (more…)
Management Communication: Managers Accused Of Yelling – Are They?
Sunday, May 29th, 2011
From an employee perspective, interactions with managers who yell are stressful and can negatively impact morale and productivity. Employers place expectations on managers to accomplish specific tasks and meet certain benchmarks, but often leave the means of motivating staff and meeting expectations up to managers and supervisors.
An issue is how the managers motivate their employees to meet the expectations of the employer: in other words: management communication. (more…)
Conflict Resolution Strategies: Take A Break
Monday, April 18th, 2011Quick reactions are common in conflict. Someone says or does something that hurts. The hurt feels like an injury that must be immediately tended to.
When the incident occurs in the midst of a sudden or ongoing conflict, there is a tendency to engage in an immediate response. These responses are almost always emotion charged reactions. Although these reactions are meant to defend and protect – to stop the assault – the immediate reaction tends to feed the conflict. (more…)
Often: Pride = Increased Conflict
Saturday, April 2nd, 2011
There are many potential contributing factors to interpersonal conflict. One that is often overlooked is PRIDE.
Pride can be defined as a sense of one’s own proper dignity or value. It is not intrinsically problematic. In fact, thinking well of ones self is something to be actively pursued. For example, we want children to develop a sense of pride in themselves. Feeling proud of our accomplishments is also a positive thing. (more…)
