July 7th, 2010
“Friendship is the inexpressible comfort of feeling safe with a person having neither to weigh thoughts or measure words.” ~ George Eliot
“A friend laughs at your jokes when they’re not so good, and sympathizes with your problems when they’re not so bad.” ~ Arnold H. Glasgow
“One can never speak enough of the virtues, the dangers, the power of shared laughter.” ~ Francoise Sagan
“The most I can do for my friend is simply to be his friend. I have no wealth to bestow on him. If he knows that I am happy in loving him, he will want no other reward. Is not friendship divine in this?” ~ Henry David Thoreau
Tags: conversation, friendship, friendship quotes
Posted in Conversations, Quotes, communication, friends, friendship, friendship quotes
June 20th, 2010
I’ve been keeping a little journal of quotes. Whenever one of our kids (one girl and two boys) gives us their version of the English language, I write it down so we can remember it. Here are some of my favorites:
“No comments from the popcorn gallery, please.” ~ 10-year old daughter
“You wanna piece of me?” ~ five-year old son as he’s playing a video game
“”I was really starving for my blanket last night.” ~ five-year old son
When our five-year old son was complimented for reading a hard word he said “Oh, I just rememberized it.”
“I’m just like a dinosaur oncologist! I have five books on dinosaurs!” ~ six-year old son
“What’s a time frame? I’ve never seen one before.” (thinking it’s like a picture frame…) ~ six-year old son
When asked how God made a woman, our six-year old son said “He pulled a ribbon out of his pocket.”
“I want to play ‘Corn in the Cobs’” (instead of Corn Hole) ~ six-year old son
“I’m full. Can I have some ice cream?” ~ six-year old son
“We only learn stuff so teachers have somethin’ to do.” ~10-year old daughter
Out to lunch with Papa, Mommy asked her sons to share their sundaes. The older brother replied, “You can have one bite of mine, but you can have as many as you want from my brother!”
Tags: communication, conversation, family, kids, parenting
Posted in Uncategorized, children, communication, family, family relationships, favorites, kids, parenting
June 15th, 2010
I was recently included in a blog post for Entrepreneurs: The Passions and Possibilities Project. They’re discussing how to create a support network and I contributed a few ideas:
- “To make my dream a reality, one of my best first steps was to make an appointment with S.C.O.R.E advisors. They helped me create my business plan, gave me invaluable critical feedback, and helped me think of my product as a business, not a hobby.
- I have partnered with other women entrepreneurs who manufacture products sold to the gift wholesale and retail market. Developing relationships with people who can relate to your problems, concerns, frustrations, and accomplishments adds another dimension to the rewards of owning your own business.
- Next month, I will be joining a group of women entrepreneurs who meet once a month for three hours and discuss the challenges they face. These women will become my Board of Advisors. I have been looking for a support group like this and am very excited to have found one locally (Akron , Ohio ).
Check out what the other folks had to say: http://www.passionsandpossibilities.com/category/blog
Tags: entrepreneur, Penny Stones
Posted in entrepreneur
June 11th, 2010
When starting a new conversation, which is the best question to ask?
- What do you do for a living?
- What’s new?
- Are you a Browns fan?
- None of the above
The answer is 4 – none of these questions are great openers.
“What do you do for a living?”: Unless you’re at a work function or event like this, try to avoid career talk. Consider the possible outcomes: their occupation may be of no interest to you, or in this economy, they could be out of work. Ultimately, it’s better to try to talk about something that you are truly interested in.
“What’s new?” or “How are you?”: Too open-ended, you’ll get equally boring answers like “Nothing” or “fine”
“Are you a Browns fan?”: A yes or no answer is not a great opener, and only a die-hard fan would admit to being a Browns fan these days.
The best kinds of questions to ask are open-ended: start your question with Why, How or In what way…
Closed-ended questions ask for one- or two-word answers. Try to avoid: Are, Do, Who, When, Where, Which, Have you… ?
Here are some stock questions to keep on hand:
“What person would you most like to meet?” (pause) “Why?”
You can also introduce a topic with “My friends and I were just talking about…” and add what you’d like to talk about:
* Favorite place to visit
* What you’d love to try
* Your dream job
* Favorite childhood show, game or gift
* Favorite summer memory
Stock questions above are from Penny Stones - great ice breakers on glass stones.
Tags: communication, communication skills, conversation starters, ice breakers, Penny Stones
Posted in Conversations, Penny Stones, Small Talk, communication skills, conversation starters, ice breakers, icebreakers
June 4th, 2010
My daughter came home with this great little sheet on communication skills: Seven Blocks to Communication
Here are seven things NOT to do when you want to communicate well. They block communication in a number of ways. They prove that you are not listening.
- Fidget. Play with your hair and clothes, twiddle your fingers, swing your leg or tap your foot.
- Don’t look at your partner. Look around the room, at the clock, or anywhere else. Don’t have eye contact with your partner.
- Interrupt. Ever time your partner starts talking, break in with a question or statement.
- Ask questions. Lots of them. Every time your partner starts talking, ask a questions, such as, “Why did you do that?” or “Why do you feel that way?”
- Criticize. Tell your partner all the tings that are wrong with his or her ideas, clothes, hairs, friends.
- Disagree. Every time your partner says something, disagree. Tell your partner that he or she is wrong.
- Give advice. Every time your partner starts talking, make a suggestion. Pretend to know a lot more than your partner does.
Tags: children, communication, communication skills, conversation, first impressions, good listener, interpersonal skills, listening skills
Posted in Conversations, communication skills, interpersonal skills, listening
June 1st, 2010
We sent Kristin of Coupon Scribbles a set of Penny Stones to review and she and her family loved them. You can check out her review at:
Penny Stones make a great Father’s Day and graduation gift!
Tags: communication skills, conversation, conversation starters, Gifts, ice breakers, icebreakers, Penny Stones
Posted in Gifts, Penny Stones, conversation starters, ice breakers, icebreakers
May 21st, 2010
Here are some rules to go by when mingling:
- Most conversations = a few minutes
- Use information you’ve heard to change topics
- Optimum mingle time = 10 minutes
- Keep eye contact while the other person is talking. You can look around the room while you have the floor.
Tags: communication, communication skills, conversation, conversation starters, first impressions, interpersonal skills, parties, tips
Posted in Conversations, Small Talk, communication, communication skills, conversation starters, ice breakers, icebreakers, interpersonal skills
May 20th, 2010
Nonverbal communication makes up over 50% of a person’s message, so it’s good to be aware of what your face is saying (even if it’s not what you mean):
Open face (makes positive impression) – makes eye contact, gives feedback, shows curiosity and raises eyebrows to show interest
Closed face (makes negative impression) – frowns, purses the lips, avoids eye contact
Coughing or sticking the tip of your tongue out through closed lips or both mean you disagree or don’t like what you’re hearing. If someone is doing these while your’e talking, you may want to change the subject.
Tags: communication, communication skills, conversation, first impressions, interpersonal skills, nonverbal communication, talk
Posted in Conversations, communication, communication skills, interpersonal skills, listening
May 19th, 2010
If you’re like most people, the thought of entering a room full of people you don’t know and mingling with them is not comforting. Most people get a least a little nervous when they meet someone new. Here are three things to keep in mind the next time you’re meeting new people:
- Nervousness = excitement
The feelings of being nervous and being excited are virtually identical physically. When you start to feel nervous, tell yourself you’re excited. In a little while, you will be.
- Most people are as eager as you to establish rapport.
Everyone is a little uneasy with introductions. So you can count on grace being given if you mess up or forget someone’s name.
- 90% of all people are afraid to walk into a room of people they don’t know and mingle.
It’s always nice to know you’re not alone. In fact, you’re just like everyone else!
Tags: communication, communication skills, conversation, first impressions, ice breakers, interpersonal skills
Posted in Conversations, communication, communication skills, interpersonal skills
May 12th, 2010
- Most people wait for others to make eye contact first, to smile first, to talk first, and to issue invitations first.
- Socially successful people actively work to bring others into their lives. They start conversations and they issue invitations.
When you take this information and keep in mind that it’s not what you say, but the fact that you say something (blog: Starting a Conversation: Just Say Something), there’s no reason not to strike up your next conversation.
Tags: communication, communication skills, conversation, conversation starters, interpersonal skills
Posted in Conversations, Uncategorized, communication, communication skills, conversation starters, interpersonal skills
