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Five TRY THIS Posts that Have Touched Hearts and Minds

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This is the 52nd post on the TRY THIS blog. With two posts every week, this blog is now exactly 1/2 year old. Happy 1/2 Birthday! TRY THIS is Now 52 Posts Old! Since June 4, 2013, I've posted twice a week.  Every Tuesday and Friday there's been a new piece with a practical application. Over these six months, more and more people have signed up to get this blog in their email. (HINT - If you aren't signed up for that yet, you can do it at the bottom of this … [Read more...]

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Do You Think Before You Talk? Or Talk Before You Think?

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Some people think before they talk. Others talk before they think. In my experience, only some people have brains and tongues that function at exactly the same speed. Perhaps the idea that thinking and talking don't always happen together seems odd or silly. But let me assure you that knowing the relationship between someone's speech and someone's thinking is critically important. Observing the Timing Patterns of Thought and Speech Once you understand how the speed of … [Read more...]

Categories: Increasing Awareness, Uncategorized Tagged: , ,

How to Work More Effectively With Friends and Colleagues

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Knowing the behavior patterns that you repeat again and again helps you not be at their mercy. Recognizing your own patterns is a valuable tool.  But being able to recognize the patterns in other people is just as important. Kihlstedt's First Rule:  People are Consistent Anyone who has ever worked with me knows about Kihlstedt's First Rule. Just in the way that you have standard behavior patterns, so do the people you live and work with. If you're able to recognize … [Read more...]

Categories: Increasing Awareness, Uncategorized Tagged: ,

How to Make Your Meeting Great Before it Even Starts

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How many boring meetings have you gone to? Lots, I’ll bet. I’ve been to more meetings than I care to remember that had no impact on me at all. And they probably didn’t make much of an impact on anyone else either. What Does a Blah Meeting Look Like? Someone calls the meeting to order and passes out the agenda. People report on stuff. The chair asks for questions. Discussion is lackluster. Meeting adjourns. Blah. Everyone slumps out with their thoughts tucked safely … [Read more...]

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Getting What You Want With Super-Persistence and Friendly Stalking

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The word “stalking” has gotten a bad rap. In recent years, we’ve become more aware of sexual predators and have used that word to describe their behavior. But when my friend and colleague Alison Kear says she’s going to stalk someone, she says it with a wry grin and good humor. And you know she’s up to good rather than no-good. Over the Top "Super" Persistence What Alison means by “stalking” is extreme persistence. She’s going to put herself right under someone's … [Read more...]

Categories: Getting What You Want, Uncategorized Tagged: , ,

How to Get Your Husband to Take You Out to Dinner

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Tired? Don’t want to cook tonight? Try this simple approach for getting your husband to take you out to dinner. (I've written this post with my husband in mind, but these steps work equally well for partners of any gender.) 6 Steps: Your Ticket to a Dinner Out You’ve walked in the door of your home at 5:45 after a long day at work. You don't feel like cooking and you'd love to have your partner take you out to dinner. Follow each of these six steps and you’re … [Read more...]

Categories: Getting What You Want, Uncategorized

9 Power Principles for Making a Dent in the Universe

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I subscribe to Daily Nuggets put out by For Impact and The Suddes Group, a fundraising consulting firm that has an innovative approach to their work. Every day, a Nugget arrives in my in-box. They are written for people in nonprofit fundraising, but they have much broader application to business and life. 9 Nuggets of Wisdom Today's Nugget hit home with me.  So, with thanks to the folks at For Impact, I share with you my adaptation of the For Impact 9 Guiding Principles. … [Read more...]

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Collaborating Effectively: 3 Tips for Extroverts

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The real sign that you're an extrovert is not that you are super gregarious, but rather that you get your energy from interactions with other people. Introvert or Extrovert? If you're an extrovert, rather than sitting alone and thinking until the ideas become clear, you'll prefer thinking out loud. And only after you’ve voiced your thoughts and gotten feedback from other people will you know what you really think. That’s why extroverts like to work with other people. … [Read more...]

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When Opportunity Strikes, Check Your Internal Compass

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Making decisions often begin with a YES or a NO. But that's usually just the start of a more complicated process. For many people, the big questions are decided by instinct. You find the answers not with thorough research, but rather by testing the decision against an inner emotional or intuitive response. And that's what I did with an opportunity that came my way. To try to get a sense of whether I wanted to be the "fundraising guru" for an artists' crowdfunding … [Read more...]

Categories: Making Better Decisions, Uncategorized Tagged: , ,

A Facilitator’s Tip: How to Encourage Discussion without Judgment

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If you've ever led a discussion or taken questions after a presentation, you've probably used the phrase, "That's a great question," in an effort to give positive feedback to the person who asked the question. It seems like a normal response and facilitators use it again and again. Good (or Bad) Judgment has a Chilling Effect But if someone else in your audience is thinking about asking a question, your "that's a great question" response may actually discourage them from … [Read more...]

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