| December/January 2007
Here we are in the holiday season,
punctuated by everything decorated in lights and gifts wrapped in pretty
paper and ribbons. We attend festive gatherings of friends and family
and eat bountiful sweet treats. As wonderful as we expect the season to
be, it is also a season of extra stress. Pressure from added
activities, shopping, spending, traffic and deadlines tend to shorten
everyone's patience and increase misunderstandings. These are the times
when your good communicating skills will serve you well.
Consider these situations
and ideas:
 | |  | Listen to yourself Take a brief moment to assess your current state of mind. Are
you hungry? Tired? Worried? Physically uncomfortable? In a hurry? If the
answer to any of these is "yes," consider how you will accommodate for
the less-than-ideal conditions.
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 | Listen to others Tune into your customers, work mates, friends and family
members. Perhaps they are feeling some holiday stress as well and may
express their concerns with more frequency or intensity. Use active
listening to reduce possible conflict. - Simple Signals: "Tell me
more."
- Mirroring: "You seem anxious."
- Paraphrasing:
"So you're saying..."
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| | | | |  | Verbal self-defense When you feel annoyed by someone's words, such as "You're
having another piece of pie?" Or "You people who drive those gas
guzzling SUVs think you own the road," you don't have to get defensive.
Try deflecting the comment by calmly repeating the offending word as a
question or ask a deflecting question. - "Piece of pie? What do
you mean?"
- "Own the road? What makes you say that?"
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Experience is a hard teacher because she gives the test first, the
lesson afterwards.
Vernon Sanders Law |
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When you find yourself in trouble, actively listen on the
double.
Dan Farley &
Cindy Donaldson |
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With every experience, you alone are painting your own canvas,
thought by thought, choice by choice.
Oprah Winfrey |
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To inquire about
classes at your workplace,
contact us:
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Janie Trainor:
jtrainor@novaworks.org
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Marsha Austin:
maustin@novaworks.org
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www.pepskills.org
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