Joyce Weiss

February 22, 2011 By Joyce Weiss

So…You Want to Be a GREAT Listener?

Many of my clients ask me to include ideas in my training programs on how we can become great listeners.

Effective listening skills will help improve our relationships and sales. The next time you are in a conflict make sure and use this technique because it will help you gain control and concentrate on what is really being said.

We have to ask ourselves if it is more important to be right or to resolve a conflict.

Enjoy this 2 minute video and let me know what your most pressing communication challenge is in your own life.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ly4IHGZUwE[/youtube]

The rest of this blog post contains the words included in the video.

Has anyone ever told you that you’re just not listening?
Do you ask a question and the other person tells you that you already asked the same question?

If so – not to worry. We are all so busy doing the things that we do and at times our mind is on over load!
Here are a few reasons why people aren’t great listeners:

They are thinking of what they are going to say while the other person is talking
They tune out the person’s message because they don’t like what the other person is saying
They are thinking about what’s for lunch

Here’s the bold solutions tip for today:

Really focus on the person who is talking
Slow down your pace and concentrate only on what you are being told
Turn off all internal dialogue
Repeat what the other person just told you (parroting technique)

This one simple technique can help you become a GREAT listener. You will see how others appreciate your concentration. You will also see how others will listen better to you. It may take a while to change your listening habits, but it will be worth the work since you will see how your relationships and sales will improve.

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For more information on Joyce’s accountability coaching and speaking please visit: https://www.JoyceWeiss.com

February 10, 2011 By Joyce Weiss

Creating Meetings That Rock!

I recently had the privilege of working with the greatest group of women during a conference when I was the keynote speaker. The International Association of Administrative Professionals (IAAP) in the Bay City MI area planned a most successful meeting. They brought in experts who spoke on topics pertaining to the needs of their members. The door prizes were perfect for the group. Their enthusiasm showed when they won a prize. The agenda was followed 100% and the meeting even ended a little early.

They asked me to speak on Take the Ride of Your Life: Shift Gears for More Balance, Growth and Joy. The audience couldn’t have been any more receptive to the ideas and their solutions on how to become more balanced is book material.

The following is a list of some tips that we discussed in the program:

Making time for yourself is not a luxury – it is a necessity
Make sure you are part of the balance equation
Balance is important for all 5 generations in the workforce today
(I will be covering this topic in a future blog)
Setting boundaries at home and work for YOU is extremely important
Train your brain to find humorous things in life
You get what you tolerate

Below is a photo of the conference committee.

Kelly Vanzale is the person who originally contacted me to be the keynote speaker. She is a professional who understands how to make speakers feel welcome and was instrumental in helping make the conference successful.

Below is a short video testimonial from Kelly.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D18SAHLW8ow[/youtube]

Please send me the most pressing work/life balance challenge that you are experiencing in the comment box below. I will reply to you and answer any questions that you may have for me.

Was this helpful? Let us hear your thoughts in the comment box below.

Feel free to share these tips with your team. Just be sure to give Joyce credit when you share or publish.

Until next time – Remember – YOU GET WHAT YOU TOLERATE!

Joyce 🙂

February 6, 2011 By Joyce Weiss

Do You Have a Super Bowl Team?

Today is the Super Bowl and I am getting ready to go to a party to watch the best team win. How can you tell if you have a winning team?

I just returned from a training in Wynne Arkansas and worked with the winning East Central Arkansas Regional Library System Team. I am extremely impressed at how hard all the team members worked together to develop into an even stronger team.

I asked the group to define what team building meant to them. They came up the following characteristics:

Support
Building relationships
Keeping up the slack when team members are not at work
Building Trust

We discussed all of these characteristics during the training. Building Trust was the one that we all agreed to concentrate on during the training. We discussed that silence in meetings is probably a good indication that lack of trust exists. We came up with a solution for everyone on the team to be fully engaged at meetings. Silence does not hold you accountable. If you agree with your team, tell them. If you don’t agree, tell them why. It is a risk to open up our mouth when we don’t agree with the team. If trust exists, then it is easier to do.

I encouraged the Wynne AR team to talk to team members when an issue comes up in the future. It is dangerous to let it go or gossip with each other. We went around the room and discussed what each team member needed to build trust with each other. We came up with some great suggestions on how to build trust even during challenging times.

Decide how you can build trust with your team when things get stressful. Hope these ideas will help you build your own team synergy.

Please let me know your biggest challenge with your team.
Write your challenge in the comment box of this blog and I will answer.
I am committed to stay in touch with my loyal readers – so please keep in touch!

Please watch Holly Mercer’s (Director of East Central Arkansas Regional Library System) video testimonial that she made right after the team building training:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h-MBczeLtwg[/youtube]

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Feel free to share these tips with your team – Just give Joyce credit when you share or publish.

For more information, articles, and podcasts, visit https://www.JoyceWeiss.com

January 29, 2011 By Joyce Weiss

Developing Respect in the Workplace by Building Trust

I just worked with the MI TWP Association in Grand Rapids MI on a “Building Trust in Your Community Workshop.” The group was open to the ideas and participated in numerous group exercises.

Below is an exercise that I asked the audience to complete.

On the left side of a piece of paper write down the name of a person who you don’t get along with. Write down a few characteristics that describe this person. On the right side of the paper write down the name of a person who you get along with really well and write a few characteristics that describe this person

OK…now for the fun! Most of the time people tell me that the description of the person that they don’t get along with is NOT like the person doing the exercise. It is interesting because participants tell me that the description of the person who they get along with describes the person doing the exercise.

Here is the challenge: Personal bias gets in the way. We get along with people who are like us and many times have conflict with people who are NOT like us. Hopefully this will help the next time you have conflict with someone. Ask yourself if the differences between you and the other person is really the issue.

The definition of conflict is the following: “An open clash between groups or individuals.” It can be due to different ideas, behaviors communication styles or cultures. We all deal with conflict in different ways!

I hope that this tip will help you resolve your next conflict. Please look for a video tip on this subject in one of my next blogs.

Was this helpful?

Let us hear your thoughts in the comment section below.

Feel free to share this tip with your team-just be sure to give Joyce credit when you share or publish.

For more information, articles and podcasts, visit https://www.JoyceWeiss.com

Until next time!

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