Episodes

We cut people off more often than we may realize. Though we may feel it’s warranted, the instant impulse may hurt us in more ways than we care to admit. In this week’s podcast, I share five different impacts when we do this to others and a few practical ways we can be more self-aware to address it. The post Ep. 312 – 5 Costs of Interrupting Someone appeared first on Just Saying.

With so much competing for our attention during the day, it may be easy to blame the people, digital devices, and demands of the world on our divided minds. We also must be much more aware of how we distract ourselves and have no one else to blame. In this week’s podcast, I share five different costs when we let that happen to ourselves. The post Ep. 311 – 5 Costs of Interrupting Yourself appeared first on Just Saying.

What do you do when people habitually approach you with complaints, criticism, and unconstructive comments? Most of don’t like it, yet we play along and communicate with little hope the conversation will end up being beneficial. This week, I make a few suggestions of what you can say to stop these exchanges before they start. The post Ep. 310 – Setting Boundaries When Criticism Comes Calling appeared first on Just Saying.

Analogies can be a gift worth giving, or a dull ax on hard wood. Effective and efficient communicators know how to use them (not abuse them). In this episode, I share some thoughts about how to make them work for you so you’re rock solid, and avoiding some of the pitfalls when you venture on thin ice. The post Ep. 309 – The Pros and Cons of Analogies appeared first on Just Saying.

Many of the meetings we attend or lead simply need to be completely blown up and rebuilt entirely. Maybe the original intent has been altered, or we have fallen into a rhythm and routine and lowered the bar too low. Sometimes, we just might need to have a meeting to design all the ones that don’t work. The post Call back Episode – Ep. 263 – Meetings redesigned and redefined appeared first on Just Saying.

Thanksgiving Day is a wonderful time to gather and celebrate with family and friends. This time of year (all the time, for that matter) is a great time to quietly contemplate – and take note of – all the things in our lives that we are grateful for, from the simple to the profound. The post Call back Episode – Episode 214 Thanksgiving: notes of gratitude appeared first on Just Saying.

A recent recommendation from a colleague stopped me in my tracks. His two simple words made me not only heed his advice but also pause to think about the power of deliberate, direct counsel for professional and personal improvement. Especially in a day with non-stop noise and constant choices, “highly recommended” can help clear the clutter. In this episode, I provide some advice on how to give (and get) better suggestions. The post Ep. 308 Highly Recommended (why these two words are priceless)...

Quality collaboration counts more than ever when workers aren’t in the office every day. Whether they are hybrid or fully remote, the time they have together (in person or online) is precious. In this episode, I share ways to get ready for collaboration like it’s game time and how to have the right mindset to communicate and connect with impact (and not add to the noise). The post Ep. 307 – Collaboration chaos: making time in the office matter appeared first on Just Saying.

CEOs are delusional to think they can order employees back to the office and turn back the clock. We live in a hybrid world now and employees are resisting the call not just because of the flexibility and elimination of a commute. In this episode, we talk about the deeper reason why the RTO mandate falls flat and how leaders need to reimagine the workplace. The post Ep. 306 – Return-to-office mandates won’t work appeared first on Just Saying.

Busy people are always complaining about how little time they have. In reality, they have plenty of time yet run from it and spend bits and pieces of their day creating and consuming noise. In this week’s episode, I share a different perspective on time management that will challenge you to get off the hamster wheel. The post Call Back Episode – Ep 268 – Running from time (not out of it) appeared first on Just Saying.

Over the years, I have counseled many senior leaders on how to develop and deliver a clear and concise message. Whether it was unveiling a new product or strategy, sharing their value proposition, or explaining a complex topic, they all ask the same question: How do we communicate the same message to different people? In this episode, you will learn that even though each audience has distinct needs, you don’t have to craft countless versions for each of them. The post Ep. 305 – Speaking to Diff...

Imagine the simplicity and power of someone promising to distill all the information you need and putting it on just one page. These executive summaries, whether they be a single PowerPoint slide or a cleanly formatted document with a series of bullet points, do everyone an enormous favor. In this episode, I share some thoughts when making them, so they become a go-to gift you’ll always give. The post Ep. 304 – The Beauty of the One-pager appeared first on Just Saying.

Taking a course at The BRIEF Lab leads many professionals to breakthroughs with co-workers, clients, and bosses. Yet, our busy lives squeeze out any chance to slow down and take the needed time to develop and deliver tighter emails, updates, and recommendations. In this week’s episode, I share why we have created a program for teams that have taken our BRIEF coursework to leverage pockets of quiet time over 4-6 weeks to make silence work for concise communication. It takes time to be brief and q...

We are all glued to our smartphones and constantly connected to tools that drive collaborative teamwork. But when you add it all up, is it too much? Is it reasonable, or even desirable, to want to detox from devices and cleanse from collaboration tools like Slack and MS Teams. An article in Harvard Business Review got me thinking of a way through it, around it and away from it. The post Ep. 302 – Digital detoxes and collaboration toll cleanses appeared first on Just Saying.

During a recent trip while waiting to board my flight, I accidentally overheard a businessman’s frustrating phone call with colleagues. In this episode, I unpack why I decided to eavesdrop and not to offer my help, although he desperately needed it. The whole incident inspired me to think back to a guessing game that is fun at home, but pretty frustrating at work. The post Ep. 301 – Let’s stop playing charades appeared first on Just Saying.

There’s so much news that’s not fit to print. What seems initially newsworthy ends up being only noise. Although we all want to be well informed (who doesn’t?), we need to be prepared with concrete criteria to decipher what’s worth our time and attention vs. what is useless information. The post Ep. 299 – That’s not news it’s noise! appeared first on Just Saying.

Can you remember going to an offsite meeting that was filled with high expectations of lively discussions and important breakthroughs, only to discover the agenda was a mess? The schedule was entirely filled with tons of talking and there were no moments set aside for thinking, preparation, or resolutions? In this week’s episode, I suggest semi-silent offsite meetings as a distinctive way to provide vibrant time to converge in conversation together, as well as time to diverge in quiet alone to p...

Many professionals communicate daily without thinking very much about what they are going to say or write before they do it. Though there are many reasons why this seems acceptable, it isn’t. People proudly wear a badge of busyness, frequently communicate off–the–cuff, and create havoc along the way. In this episode, I provide three scenarios where professionals might think this will fly (there are many more, of course) and provide suggestions about how to avoid crashing and burning. The post Ep...

In this episode, I dive deep into the song “Trouble” by Coldplay to explore the connection between thinking, talking, and doing. I discuss how the song inspired me to help you avoid a web of confusion when these three elements are out of order. I share my motto and mantra of “think first, then talk, then do.” I underscore the critical relationship between clear thinking, concise communication, and confident action. The post Ep. 296 – Avoid “trouble” as a thinker, talker and doer appeared first ...

Talkative teachers turn learning into a painful chore. In this episode, I discuss the problem of instructors talking far too much and offer a few insights on how to create a more effective and engaging learning experience through trimming. The key is to see instruction more like facilitation delivered through personal conversations and practical experiences, not long lectures. I share a “SEED” method I’ve developed in our BELT courses to balance instructor and participant involvement. Join us as...

Everyone acts like they’re waiting on standby for the next emergency call. In this episode, I discuss the importance of being able to disconnect and have uninterrupted quiet time. By challenging our belief that everything is urgent and important, and nothing can wait, I revisit the Eisenhower Principle and Stephen Covey’s quadrant to help us prioritize and define what is actually urgent and important. I offer practical tips for setting boundaries and saying “no, not now” more often. The post Ep...

Welcome to this week’s podcast, where we explore the value of silence and intentional communication. As your host, I share seven sayings on the power of silence and how it can enhance our professional lives. Join me as we discuss historical and noteworthy perspectives on the challenges, benefits, and practical strategies to incorporate quiet moments into our daily routines. Don’t miss out on this insightful conversation that will inspire you to embrace the power of silence. The post Ep. 293 – S...

Join me in this episode as we explore the “fog of work” and its effects on our productivity. Leveraging some military insights from Carl von Clausewitz’s classic book “On War,” I will have some practical tips to cut through the clutter and communicate effectively in a busy workplace. Learn the power of silence and deliberate thinking and how it can help us prioritize tasks and make clear decisions. Uncover the secrets to escaping the fog and achieving clarity. The post Ep. 292 – The fog of work...

In this episode, join me as I discuss why people are so reluctant to embrace quiet, especially during the day. Drawing on my expertise as a professional, entrepreneur, and author, I explore ten reasons behind this resistance and shed some light on the importance of embracing silence. Discover how incorporating moments of quiet can enhance your impact, clarity, and focus in the workplace. The post Ep. 291 – Why people avoid quiet (really, run from it!) appeared first on Just Saying.