What’s New

Don’t Be That Guy

“I’VE BEEN HIJACKED!”

Friend: “I just got back from my vacation in Denmark. I had a great time.”

You: “Oh, that’s so cool. I went to Denmark last summer and had the best time too. We went on a lovely two-hour boat ride around the city to see all the sites. Look at these photos I took from the boat.” You take out your phone and start scrolling.

What just happened in this conversation? You hijacked the conversation! Your friend wanted to talk about her vacation in Denmark, but you turned the conversation around to talk about your vacation. Chances are you didn’t even realize you were doing it.

Think for a moment when you’ve been that hijacker – the person who looks like they’re listening (nodding head of course), but who’s just waiting for their turn to talk.

Active listening is all about being part of a conversation even when you’re not talking. It’s about developing some skills and building muscle that will help you really hear what your conversation partner is saying. Active listening shows respect, builds trust, and keeps participants engaged.

Exact Communication workshops include tools that help you improve your active listening skills.

If you’ve been a conversation hijacker in your professional or personal life, Exact Communication can help you!

Download our free pdf.  It’s a five-minute read that will improve your listening skills!

“Five Communication Mistakes Everyone Makes and How to Avoid Them”

  www.exactcommunication.org

Be heard. Have an impact. Make a difference.

Double, double toil and trouble; Fire burn, and cauldron bubble.

Why are we dressing up as climate change for Halloween?
Because it’s scary.
It’s flooding and drought. It’s heat waves and polar vortexes. It’s global and local. It’s our food and housing. It’s complicated. And it affects us all..

And talking about it … we worry we’ll say something wrong, start a fight, alienate friends or family. So instead we don’t talk about climate change to others, and they don’t talk about it to us. This leads everyone to believe that we can’t talk about it.

But you want to talk about it.

Perhaps you are measuring carbon capture and storage in grasslands. Maybe you want to help suffering communities after disasters hit. Or maybe you are trying to save your favorite fish from disappearing in warming waters.

Climate change is scary, but talking about it doesn’t have to be.

Exact’s Climate Communication workshop helps you understand what people need to hear to include them in the conversation. We give you a place to learn and practice. Because the more people participating in the conversation, the better!

In the coming weeks, there will be a lot of news about the next global climate conference (COP27). When you hear something that connects to your work or interests – however remotely – take note. Talk with a friend about it. Keep in mind why they might be concerned or interested, too. See how it goes.

When all of us can talk about climate change and work together towards solutions, it might be a bit less scary.
Happy Halloween!

Temis, Carolyn, Marcy, Terry, & Carol

Be Heard. Have an Impact. Make a Difference.
https://www.exactcommunication.org

*title credit: William Shakespeare
*photo credit: Janos Szabo / Upsplash

Don’t Invent. Discover

“Don’t invent. Discover” is a quote from Del Close. Del Close was the director of Second City in Chicago in the 70’s and an improv guru.  His words address an issue that many of us have – we overthink. What happens when we overthink? We invent stories about what might be happening instead of seeing what is right in front of us. This can make us anxious, fearful, or stressed out. And that’s not a good place to communicate from. Which one of us has not been there?

To put it simply, we forget to be in the present. In this state, we can’t discover the dynamic of the present moment where connections happen.

Improvisation helps us learn to be in the present moment. It not only helps us with overthinking, it also helps to build confidence to trust the moment, our expertise, and our conversation skills. It’s one of the many reasons why Exact Communication’s workshops all include improvisational exercises.

And did we mention it’s great fun?

These are just some of improv’s gifts. Stay tuned for more. Better still, sign up for one of our workshops and discover what the present moment holds for you.

Be heard. Have an impact. Make a difference.

exactcommunication.org

New Look, New Digs, New Adventures

Thanks for stopping by Exact Communication. As you can see, we are starting a blog to share thoughts, musings, ideas, and new news. We hope that you’ll come here every so often to find out what we’re thinking about and to let us know your thoughts as well. In other words…let’s talk!

To start with we have big New News! After the isolation of being quarantined and kept apart; after two years of trying to connect through little screen boxes, we are finally able to connect with each other live and in person. And doesn’t it feel good? To celebrate our re-surfacing Exact Communication is sporting a new “look”, a new brand, and a new website to show it off. Take some time to explore it. We thrive on feedback.

The Exact team – Carol, Carolyn, Marcy, Temis, and Terry – has not been idle during these pandemic years. Communicating online presented its own set of challenges and we discovered ways of adapting our tools and training to address them. That brings us to the second piece of New News. We now have a complete online workshop curriculum to go along with our in-person training. Of course, we prefer to be in the same room with people. But this gives us the flexibility to reach you wherever you are. We can all learn to effectively communicate on-line with clarity and compassion.

Now that you’ve been here once, consider yourself part of the family. Let us know what your particular communication issues are and if we can help. You know where to find us.

THE EXACT TEAM (Carol, Carolyn, Marcy, Temis & Terry)