communications

Susan M Barber Coaching & Consulting, LLC > Blog > communications

Are You Tired of Being Frustrated?

Are You Tired of Being Frustrated?

Are expectations causing confusion when you want to create a culture focused on accountability? Think about the expectations that you may have of one of your team members. You may be making assumptions about the things that you are asking the person to do for you. They are making their own assumptions from the conversation and you are both heading down the path of frustration. Brene Brown talks about this concept in her book Dare to Lead. She calls it…
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What if You Chose to be Calm and Not Overreact?

Have you ever heard the phrase, “you get what you give?” In the context of communication, it means however you speak to a person, their inclination is to respond to you at the same level. If you are angry, they will come back with defensiveness and their own anger simply because that is how you spoke to them. It is a reaction that happens very quickly and without much thought. Each person continues to escalate to the next level and…
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Do People Know What You Are Doing?

Sue Barber

One of my clients had a big event planned with her team coming up soon.  She was really excited to be leading this and wanted things to be ready to go when everyone arrived.  She started getting questions from the group about what they were going to do.  It was surprising to her that they were asking all these questions because she had never held an event that wasn’t well thought through and planned. Sometimes we make assumptions in our head…
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It’s Time to Share Your Story!

Have you heard the advice that you should share your messaging as a story before?  There is a lot of research behind this that says people remember stories far longer than they remember anything else.  This is an approach that can be used not only during presentations, but also in one on one conversations. Starting out a presentation with a story immediately gets the attention of the audience because they want to hear what happens.  It is a great way to…
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Are You Presenting With Your Outcomes In Mind?

You have a big presentation to do and you need it to go well.  How can you plan to ensure that happens?  There are some key questions to answer that will help you get clear on what should be included before the big day arrives. What are 2-3 outcomes that you want people to walk away with after hearing you speak? What is the “story” you want to share with them? What style of presentation will help you get your…
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What Do You Need to Do to Handle a Difficult Conversation?

One of the most difficult conversations to have with someone is telling them that they are not doing well in their role. If they are not very self-aware and have been given different feedback prior to that it is even more challenging.  It is going to be a bit of a shock to them and they are going to be feeling very defensive.  The best thing that you can do is to be honest with them and discuss how they…
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Are You Ready to Communicate In An Intentional Way?

Communication is something that we do everyday whether in spoken words, emails, text or non-verbally.  We often don’t think about it too much until it comes to more formal situations like giving a speech or getting ready for an interview.  Then you start really focusing on the words that you are going to say and how you will say them.  What messages do you want them to hear from you?  It is important to look at it from this perspective so…
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Do You Have A Conversation That You Are Avoiding?

Why do some people avoid conflict while others seem to thrive on it? Does it have to do with their personality style and/or confidence level? Maybe it is a little of both. People who want to be liked and not cause friction with other people tend to avoid saying the thing that is bothering them the most. Trying to keep yourself safe and delaying whatever needs to be said as long as possible is about fear and holding you back…
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Who Do You Want People to See?

​One of the first quotes I read in this article Words You Leave Behind by Scott Mabry was “Your Words Are a Self Portrait.” I thought that was a great way of thinking about the words that you use when you are talking to others. The words that you use have such an impact on other people and you need to think about that before speaking. Many of the things in this article made me think about the importance of…
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Do You Know What Your Leadership Type Is?

  I was talking with someone yesterday about some of the assessments that I have been doing.  He was sharing his background and experiences with them as well.  Periodically, he would tell me whether he was a high or a low on some of the scales for that assessment.   Based on our conversation he was able to surmise where some of my scores fell on the scale as well.   We will be working together a lot and it is a…
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