Archive for January, 2010
Bill McGrane speaks at Rotary Club
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Bill McGrane presentation
The Way You Ask a Question Affects the Response!
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re your communication skills getting you the results you want? Would you like to find ways to empower your ability to persuade? If you could improve one aspect of your communications skills, what would it be? Could asking questions and listening more skillfully make a difference for you?
Picture this: You walk into a department store, and while you’re making your way through the specialty kitchen section of the appliance area, you hear an older woman yelling. As you turn toward the customer service counter, where people can pay their local utility bills, you hear the women shouting, “How could my electric bill be so high? You’ve got to be kidding!” From the tone of her voice, you know immediately that an explosion is about to occur.
Across the aisle, you sit down in a lounge chair and act like a quiet little mouse. You’re curious to listen and see how this situation unfolds. You notice that the employees seem to suddenly become very busy with all kinds of activities except, that is, assisting this woman. They’ve obviously decided to ignore her and act as if nothing is happening. Meanwhile, the older woman, who’s getting more agitated by the minute, is quickly walking around and around a nearby table, shouting in disbelief about her utility bill. Everyone is well aware of what’s going on, but no one’s doing anything to help. Then a magic moment occurs—someone with the skill to resolve the issue is about to step in.
If you were faced with this situation, what would you do? What would be the first thing you’d say? Might it be appropriate to ask a question?
More tommorow on the rest of the story
How present to the moment are you?
Posted by: | CommentsAre you present to the moment and each person in the moment?
A great way to check how present you are is to begin by noticing how present you are to yourself. You can only be present to others to the degree you are present to yourself. Start with your body. Many people are disconnected from their bodies. This often shows up in denial and suppression of thoughts and feelings which over time numbs the body which can lead to depression and self sabotaging behavior.
Great news! You can change all that and move into your greatness by paying attention to all your 6 senses. Throughout today pay more attention to what you taste, touch, hear, smell, see and feel. Observe if you try to shut off or minimize anything.
An example of this is if you are having challenges you may think that cutting off to those issues makes you stronger. It is better to experience what is going on instead of shutting off. One way to notice this in your body is how tight and stiff is your body. Find someone you can ask to hug you and ask them to observe how tight your body and back may be. You can also notice their body and how tight their is as well.
Take breathes in through your nose and out through your mouth loosening up your body. During the day you can reduce the tension by shaking your hands and releasing any pressure you may be feeling.
Breath and lighten up!
Tomorrow we will talk about how you can be more present to others.
Are you seasoned?
Posted by: | CommentsI was watching an interview of the Indiana Jones Actor Harrison Ford the other day. He was asked the question, are you a great Actor? His answer was “when I first did the Star Wars movies I was not. I was not seasoned”.
The interviewer did not know what he meant by that and asked the follow up question, what is being seasoned? Harrison said, “it takes many years to become experienced in your craft and after many years of seasoning and working through all the troubling circumstances life and acting can throw at you, you finally end of becoming seasoned”.
How are you seasoned? Have you become repined in your life and career? Do you qualify as a mature person?
All of us have to reinvent ourselves and move to our next level. Have you noticed the more you know the more you know you don’t know?
Even with the election last night in Massachusetts of Scott Brown it shows that even when you think you have everything covered life brings you a new twist.
Ask yourself, what you want to be seasoned in? Many times without knowing it we making choices that cause us to collect seasoning that after review we wish we did not have. The great news is, choice by choice you can change your seasoning.
Start today to choose the seasoning you want in your life so you end up being seasoned the way you want to be. And when life brings you things you wish you did not have, find the gift in the pain and make it your friend.
More tomorrow on what you can do to bring into your life what you really want.
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