Barry Winbolt's Blog
Most of our conversations work well, and a few don’t, and these are the ones we tend to remember. We could learn more by reflecting on the exchanges that work, and using these four suggestions as a guide to having more healthy conversations.
Most of us are careful about how we tackle sensitive issues with colleagues and family members. I have provided some pointers on how to go about raising a subject you have been avoiding, to help tackle delicate matters in a productive, fair and balanced way, and to be sure of getting the results you need. Getting the other person’s attention, striking the right note and ensuring that something changes is the challenge.
Have you ever wondered why, despite so many best intentions, we still fly off the handle over something trivial? Or perhaps when some well-intentioned soul tries to engage you on an important matter you just keep changing the subject? Why does this happen, and what can we do about it?
Learning to be a bit more comfortable with uncertainty is probably something that would benefit us all. Learning greater tolerance for uncertainty is not difficult, but developing anything new in ourselves it needs commitment and regular practice.
Swearing is in the news again but if anyone thinks this is permission to let bad language turn the air blue at work, think again. Tolerating more swearing doesn’t mean that we think it is acceptable.
Twenty people attended my workshop entitled Creating Dialogue; Turning the Words we use into Action in Hastings and District Interfaith Forum on Saturday 13th March. There was a great buzz and a lot of interest, and another event on a different topic is planned for June or July. To get a flavour of what was covered in this workshop go to the Downloads pages of this site free handouts on Dialogue and Listening.
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Nobody wins when accusations of bullying are based on a misunderstanding of what the term means.
Knee-jerk reactions based on misuse of the term do harm and conceal genuine cases of bullying.
We can all think of festering grudges that have tarnished or completely destroyed relationships, and most of us can probably think of a time when we could have said sorry but didn’t.
Thinking about using the opportunity of Valentine’s Day to plunge into a new realationship at work?
Tut-tut! Not finger-wagging, just a suggestion to look before you leap. Sound advice, even if you don’t take it.
Welcome to my new website, it went live on 5th February. I have added more information and functionality. What do you think? I’d like your opinion. Does the site work? Is anything missing? Please leave a comment.