Eliminating the word "but" is like throwing a party for your brain. Word Count: 465 Reading Time: About 90 seconds As I sit down to write this, we’ve just come through another election season in the United States. The level of vitriol was … [Continue reading]
Being a Communication Superhero: The Sequel
Posted on November 8, 2012 Written by Leave a Comment
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‘Cuz asking for help is hard to do
Posted on November 2, 2012 Written by Leave a Comment
If you think it’s easy to ask for help, think back to your last home remodel Word Count: 580 Reading Time: under 2 minutes You know what I’m talking about: You think 2 weeks is a reasonable time to redo your kitchen cabinets, appliances and … [Continue reading]
Clap-pass icebreaker
Posted on October 29, 2012 Written by 1 Comment
You can make this icebreaker as long or short, and as deep or superficial as you'd like. You can use it to illustrate the depth of the group's synchronicity with each other when you're teaching listening skills or intervening to improve a team's … [Continue reading]
To be a communication superhero, s-h-h-h-h!
Posted on October 24, 2012 Written by 2 Comments
If you want to be a communication superhero, s-h-h-h-h! _________________ Word Count: 520 Reading Time: Under 2 minutes _________________ “Speech is silver, Silence is golden.” (Swiss proverb) If you’ve been to even one communication … [Continue reading]
Fast, peppy introduction icebreaker
Posted on October 23, 2012 Written by Leave a Comment
You know how introductions can drag on and on, the precious minutes evaporating like water droplets on an Arizona sidewalk as people grow more and more loquacious? And, there is the special problem of how to get a room of 100 or more introduced to … [Continue reading]
Shake your booty icebreaker
Posted on October 23, 2012 Written by Leave a Comment
This icebreaker is good for getting everyone up and moving around, and cracking each other up. There is no actual dancing, which I know is a disappointment to some. ;-) Thanks to Roger James for this one. Circle up with one person in the … [Continue reading]
Authenticity, or Too Much Information?
Posted on October 19, 2012 Written by Leave a Comment
If you think being authentic is saying whatever comes into your head, you might be giving people too much information. __________________________________________________________________________________ Do any of these sound like you? “You … [Continue reading]
My master list of icebreaker questions
Posted on October 15, 2012 Written by 11 Comments
One of my favorite icebreakers is to go around the room and ask people to respond to 1-3 fairly innocuous questions. I wrote about this kind of icebreaker in an earlier post that turned out to be quite popular. So I thought I'd devote a post to … [Continue reading]
Bingo Icebreaker
Posted on October 13, 2012 Written by Leave a Comment
Let's say you've got a group of 100 in a room for 3 days and the agenda is full. Your client wants to start his offsite with some high-energy fun, and he wants everyone to meet everyone else. He's willing to give you between 10 and 20 … [Continue reading]
Just say it
Posted on October 12, 2012 Written by Leave a Comment
"I'm not sure about what happened in that meeting. I asked if they were OK with what we agreed to and they each said yes. But I'm not convinced." Does this ever happen to you? I have this conversation with a coaching once a week, on average. My … [Continue reading]
