Category Archives: Professional development

Me Thinketh a Monologue Doth Not a Dialogue Maketh

brian smith-pld, Coaching, Entrepreneurship, Leadership Development, Management, Management Training, Mentorship, Personal Development, Professional development, Reformed Control Freak, Self-Help, Soft-Skills Training, Teacher, Uncategorized • Tags: , , , ,

Communication isn’t just something – it’s everything. I can’t think of a more valuable skill than communicating effectively. However, communication is a two-way street. It’s an exchange of thoughts and ideas amongst one or more persons. Me thinketh a monologue doth not a dialogue maketh.

I know you understand what you think I said, but I’m not sure you realize that what you heard is not what I meant. – Alan Greenspan.

It takes a great deal of effort on both the sender’s and receiver’s part to ensure the message has been sent, received, and, most importantly, understood. I haven’t even mentioned yet how each generation and gender communicate differently. Sometimes, they are not on the same wavelength. When you add that to the mix, it’s no wonder communication can break down.

A study on gender differences by Professor Deborah Frances Tannen of Georgetown University and Professor Julia Wood of the University of North Carolina noted that;

  • Women are more inclined to face each other and make eye contact when talking, while men are more likely to look away.
  • Men tend to jump from topic to topic, but women talk at length about one topic at a time.
  • Women are inclined to express agreement and support, while men are inclined to debate.
  • Women see communication as a way to connect and build relationships, while men see it as a way to accomplish an objective.
  • Women seek out and welcome relationships, while men think relationships will jeopardize their independence.

Avoid fight or flight; always talk through your differences. – Stephen Covey.

We aren’t born great communicators. It is a learned behaviour. Here are some tips to help you communicate more effectively.

  • Ask open-ended questions for clarity to promote dialogue to ensure they have received the message.
  • Listen twice as much as you talk. You won’t learn anything if you keep talking.
  • Be more intuitive to non-verbal cues to check for points of disagreement or misunderstanding. Based on the work of Dr. Ralph Nichols, we communicate 55 percent of the time using body language alone.
  • When giving instructions, be direct and to the point. Too much information tends to overwhelm the receiver.

If the essence of communication is sending and receiving the message as intended, you must remember that you are not the most important person in the conversation. Me thinketh a monologue doth not a dialogue maketh.

Copyright 2025. Brian Smith – Power Link Dynamics. Not to be reproduced without permission. Are you searching for a keynote speaker for your next event or planning an in-house training session. Contact Brian to learn what he can do for you, your team and your organization. Brian’s training programs include individual coaching at no extra cost.

The Top Ten Sins Mosr Managers Make and How To Avoid Them

brian smith-pld, Coaching, Dealing with Difficult People, Entrepreneurship, Leadership Development, Management, Management Training, Mentorship, Personal Development, Professional development, Reformed Control Freak, Self-Help, small business owner, Soft-Skills Training, Teacher, Uncategorized • Tags: , , , ,

We all start our management careers by making certain assumptions based on our perception of what a manager or leader should be, but we know our assumptions can be wrong. And I’m no exception. I’ve committed each one of these top ten sins at one time or another in my 40-plus-year career as general manager of a major retailer, an award-winning entrepreneur and a college professor. You can decide what kind of manager or leader you want to be. I hope you don’t make the same mistakes I did.

1 – There is no such thing as common sense. Don’t rely on common sense as part of your training program. If you haven’t taught someone how to complete a task the way you want it done, don’t assume they know how. Common sense is not common practice.

2 – You can’t motivate people. You can’t motivate people to do anything they don’t want to do. However, you can create an environment where they want to motivate themselves. If you know what they want and help them get theirs, more than likely, you’ll get yours.

3 – You ruin good people by promoting them. Just because someone is good at what they do, it doesn’t mean they will be good at doing something else. Not everyone has what it takes to manage or lead others. Promote someone who likes to work with and hang around with people. They must be teachers first and technically competent second.

4 – You don’t have to know everything. Admitting you don’t have all the answers is ok. What’s important is you know where to go to get them. Always be honest and upfront with your people. Don’t make shit up.

5 – You’re not the most important person in the conversation. Communication is everything. If the other person doesn’t receive the message as intended, then whatever you say will mean absolutely nothing. Ask open-ended questions to make sure they understand what you said.

6 – Park your ego at the door; it’s not about being right. We both know there are several ways to complete the task. It doesn’t have to be just your way. Solicit their import and build collaborative teams. The more you involve them in the process, the more likely they will want to come along.

7 – You can’t control everything all of the time. Your job as a manager or leader to teach someone what they need to know. You aren’t doing that if you aren’t sharing some of your responsibilities with the people around you. Resist the urge to micromanage them. If you don’t delegate, you rob them of their growth opportunities.

8 – You can’t demand respect; respect is reciprocal. You’ve got to give it to get it. Gaining someone’s respect is a three-step process. The first step is establishing rapport and then developing a relationship that will eventually lead to mutual respect. They won’t trust anyone they don’t respect first.

9 – People hear what they see, not what you say. You must lead by example. It’s not what you say that’s important. It’s how you go about doing it that matters most. If you look and act like one, people will believe you’re a pro.

10 – There aren’t any negatives; everything is positive. Your attitude and how you react to any situation are the only thing you can control 100 percent of the time. Bad things will happen. You need to learn the lesson and move forward. People want to follow winners, not whiners.

Copyright 2024. Brian Smith – Power Link Dynamics. Not to be reproduced without permission. Are you searching for a keynote speaker for your next event or planning an in-house training session. Brian works with people who want to learn how to communicate and interact more effectively, build collaborative teams or resolve conflict. To learn more about Brian and what he can do for you and your organization, visit his website. https;//briansmithpld.com.

You Can’t Suck and Blow In The Same Breath

brian smith-pld, Coaching, Customer Service, Entrepreneurship, Leadership Development, Management, Management Training, Personal Development, Professional development, Reformed Control Freak, Self-Help, small business owner, Soft-Skills Training, Teacher, Uncategorized • Tags: , , , ,

You can’t suck and blow in the same breath. You can do one thing or the other, but it’s impossible to do both at the same time. I have a soft spot for service providers, having spent a 30-year career as general manager for a major retailer and an award-winning entrepreneur. Profit and being profitable is not a dirty word. When a small business goes out of business, the whole community suffers. You have a choice to make. You can pay lower prices for the goods and services you purchase or have exceptional customer service. But you can’t have both.

Change is inevitable, and it will happen with or without you.

I remember, yes, I’m that old when my local bank installed an ATM – Automatic Teller Machine along the side of the building. You had to stand outside – sometimes in inclement weather to use it. Customers had a choice to make. You could go inside the bank, stand in the lineup, wait your turn to get served by the teller or learn to use the machine. Initially, there was a great deal of pushback from customers who refused to use the device. If you want the bank to hold the line on what they charge you for the services, something has to give. Either they must increase the price of those services to afford to hire more tellers or install ATMs because they can’t afford to do both.

Change is constant, and you can do nothing to stop it.

I know many customers are upset with retailers who have installed banks of self-serve checkouts. Some are going so far as to boycott those stores. As a former retailer, I understand the challenges they face. Their margins continue to be squeezed. The cost of doing business continues to go up. Small business owners pay more for the goods they sell, utilities they use, and the equipment they lease or buy. You have a choice to make. If you want exceptional customer service, you’ll have to be willing to pay more for the merchandise you purchase. Most small businesses can’t afford to offer you low prices and exceptional customer service.

Change or get left behind – it’s your choice.

I love the touch-screen machines at fast food outlets. You have a choice to make: You can either embrace the newest way of ordering food and paying for your purchase or stand in line and do it the old-fashioned way. Contactless service is here to stay. Handling cash is almost becoming a thing of the past. Traditional brick-and-mortar retailers are experimenting with various ways to try and keep costs down by not providing bags and having you bag your purchases, having multi drive-through lanes, ordering and paying for your purchases from your smartphone or laptop and having them delivered to your door or pick it up at curbside or a dedicated location in the store. I’ll go out on a limb here and bet if you have to choose between paying lower prices or having exceptional customer service – like me, most would pick low prices. You can’t suck and blow in the same breath.

Copyright 2024. Brian Smith – Power Link Dynamics. This article was written by Brian without AI Assistance and must not be reproduced without permission. Are you searching for a training provider for yourself or your management team. Brian specializes in soft skills training and leadership development. To learn about Brian and what he can do for you, your team and your organization, visit his website – https;//briansmithpld.com.

How To Future-Proof Your Career

brian smith-pld, Coaching, Entrepreneurship, Leadership Development, Management, Management Training, Mentorship, Personal Development, Professional development, Reformed Control Freak, Self-Help, Soft-Skills Training, Teacher, Uncategorized • Tags: , , , ,

Soft skills are people skills. They are your ability to communicate and interact more effectively with others. They are your ability to negotiate and resolve conflict, devise creative ways to solve problems and build collaborative teams. Soft skills are the new currency in today’s multi-generational and diverse workplace. Without them, you will have difficulty advancing your career, managing and leading others or getting that promotion.

Worth Remembering – Don’t underestimate likeability. Likeability is a soft skill that leads to hard results. – Mo Bunnell.

If you want to future-proof your career – start here.

Learn to be more patient. There aren’t dumb students, only dumb teachers. If the student didn’t learn, the teacher didn’t teach. Adults can learn new things, but not everyone learns the same way or at the same pace, especially if they are learning something for the first time. Be patient. Don’t hurry progress.

Be open-minded. There are several ways to achieve the same result. It doesn’t have to be just your way. Resist the urge to micro-manage. Solicit input from those on your team. A good idea becomes a great idea when others participate in the process.

Become more empathetic. Try to see things from their point of view. There may be things going on that you aren’t aware of. Ask open-ended questions and discover what’s happening behind the scenes before deciding on an action plan.

Communicate in a way that others will understand. If you don’t send and have them receive the message as intended, then whatever you say means nothing. Gen Z is the most wired generation and prefers to communicate virtually. Embrace technology and connect with them the way they choose.

Listen more than you talk. You won’t learn a thing if you keep talking; that’s why you have two ears and only one mouth. Give people your undivided attention. Ask great open-ended questions to promote dialogue, and sit back and really listen to the answers. You will be amazed at how much you will learn.

Worth Remembering: The quality of your working relationships determines your success and happiness. Stop leaving it to chance and start building the best possible relationships. – Michael Bungay Stanler.

You have the potential to work with four different generations at the same time. Each generation – Boomers, Gen X, Millennials and Gen Z, the newest generation to enter the workforce en masse – wants to be included, not excluded. If you want to future-proof your career, make them feel important. Take the initiative and develop your soft skills. Learn to be patient, open-minded, a great communicator and an even better listener.

Copyright 2024. Brian Smith—Power Link Dynamics. Brian specializes in soft skills training and leadership development. To learn more about Brian and what he can do for you or your organization, visit his website: https;//briansmithpld.com. If you have questions and want answers about your challenges when managing and leading others, contact Brian at brian@briansmithpld.com. He is here to help.

This article was written by Brian Smith without AI assistance and may not be reproduced without permission.