#activelistening

A Rooster sparks reflection about interrupting others in conversations.
communications

Are you an “Interrupter?”

The neighborhood rooster didn’t get the memo about Daylight Savings Time last week. It’s bad enough that he usually commences

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Dan Lyons Time Magazine Cover Interview
being authentic

Listen More. Talk Less

Why is it so challenging to stay quiet? What is the result of over talking or talking exactly at the moment when it would be so much more beneficial to stay silent?

We recently released an episode of Narativ Inc’s LEADERSHIP STORY TALKS podcast that was all about the power of keeping your mouth shut, with the author Dan Lyons and we got so many great insights from the conversation that we decided to write an article about these.

Dan’s book STFU: The Power of Keeping Your Mouth Shut in an Endlessly Noisy World is filled with strategies that are linked in research and in observations of today’s most effective leaders.

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communications

Reenergize Your Communications By Taking A Pause

When we start to get “verklempt” (very emotional in Queens dialect and Yiddish), my guidance to us is simple: engage in “The power of doing just one thing to reenergize and connect.” The exercise is as simple as it sounds: Pause, regroup, find a positive action, and reach out.

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Louisville Students Reinterpret Jon Baptiste's Music
Appreciative Inquiry

Appreciate Inquiry – The Art of Acknowledging and Echoing What You Heard

In a nutshell, Appreciative inquiry is the process of hearing and acknowledging another person and the facts and emotions they expressed. However theory is great but here’s a musical prompt to help us appreciate the this theory. Listen as The Louisville Leopard Percussionists model this practice into action as they play Jon Baptiste’s “I need You” at their recent concert.

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My view gave me a place to have a view and gain perspective.
business storytelling

Story Share Your Way to a Fresh Perspective and Maybe a New View.

Sometimes the hardest thing to do is to get a fresh perspective. I know this far too well because I’m short. I’ve experienced a lifetime of shortness, and as a result, I’ve spent considerable amounts of time trying to see what others could view so easily. That’s one of the reasons I enjoy teaching the art of story sharing because it allows the participants to gain a fresh perspective about themselves and others.

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How can we learn how to dialogue with others?
business storytelling

How do you create dialogue in a polarized environment?

How do you create dialogue in a polarized environment? Seems like it’s impossible to have a conversation that at some point will not devolve into a series of opinions that culminate in someone (or more people) leaving in a huff. What are your strategies for listening in such a world?
Consider Socratic Dialogue and follow Sira Abenoza’s work with the Institute for Socratic Dialogue and as a professor at Esade law and business schools in Spain.

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