Margaret’s Persuasion Coach Blog
Think, “Nothing I Can Do About…”? Think again!
In one of my favorite scenes from The Lord of the Rings, elf queen Galadriel tells Frodo, a 3'6" hobbit, "Even the smallest person can change the course of the future." Frodo goes on to save the civilized world, completing a Herculean task that would have daunted the...
Compensating for Social Distance
“Face Value” by Sara Eckels [1] confirms my teaching that no other form of communication can compete with face-to-face conversation. Video conferencing, as real as it seems, lacks many subtle aspects of in-person talk…We can help ourselves right now.
New Service, New Setting
I'm getting more and more excited about my new Distance Learning for Individuals. As I embellish my training materials, I am also preparing a new look and feel for how my backdrop and I will appear during video training sessions--a new setting for my new kind of...
New: Distance Learning for Individuals
Great news! My recent success participating in a virtual panel discussion inspired me to off distance learning for individuals. Read about the many advantages of this type of training.
A Corona Coping Booster Shot
With my last post, I said the next would be about “There’s Science and Then There’s…” However, I was moved by a phone call from a client who said she felt we should be able to look to our leaders for hope, something like what Churchill did for the British during WWII. But she isn’t getting what she’s looking for.
Recognize Corona Misinformation: Don’t Drink Poison Social Media Kool-Aid
A few weeks ago, I heard that the government was putting National Guard troops in place to quell riots and looting in connection with COVID19…Later that day, the Mayor of Houston, along with the Chief of Police, held a news conference exposing this story as a hoax started via social media.
Coping with Corona–Hope and Tips
At this exceptional time, I deviate from my general policy of keeping this blog mostly devoted to persuasion, consensus building and related communication skills. I want to help others cope with COVID-19 and all it’s offshoot issues. I hope you find these hopes and tips helpful.
Turning Straw into Gold–or Bad Ideas into Good
Don’t censor the bad ideas. They can inspire good ones. If we temporarily ignore the problems with a bad idea and look for what’s good about it, we can often modify the idea so it retains the good part without the problem. But if you leave the bad idea out of your notes, you might lose sight of it forever.
Broken Pipes and People Skills 2: Resistance to Being Wrong
During my “broken pipe event,” I both witnessed and experienced a dramatic two-part demonstration of how casting someone as wrong can work against you…[I]irresistible instinct or not, wrong-making on steroids lost this mother pretty much any empathy the restaurant staff or the other diners might have had for her.
Broken Pipes and People Skills I: Noticing the Positive
I had a leaky pipe event (more of a gusher, actually), and believe it or not, the people skills I teach–persuasion, consensus and communication–helped me handle it… I was awakened before 7:00 AM by the smoke detectors, yet I didn’t see or smell any smoke, but rather, water…