September 13, 2011 by Linda.

If you select the right organization AND the right committee to join and get actively involved in, this can actually help you develop your interpersonal skills.  To get the most from committee membership, go to as many of the social hour portion of the meetings as you can and walk from group to group to introduce yourself.  Find two of three people you enjoy being with and ask what committee they’re on….join and get involved with that committee.  It’s likely to be work you enjoy and promote your interpersonal abilities at the same time.

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September 13, 2011 by Linda.

I’ve heard lots of complaints from forty-somethings about not having as good a memory as in the past.  There are ways to improve one’s memory!  Let me just share a couple of them:

 When we meet someone for the first time, we can say their name out loud and form a mental image of the name associated with something that sticks with us.  For example, if you meet someone named Harry Bush, say his name and plant a mental image in your mind of a hairy bush.  If you’re reading about a new idea or subject on your computer, make it harder - yes harder - to read by changing the font style to a smaller style or something like Andy that isn’t as familiar.  This will actually help you remember the topic!  One more suggestion, and it seems unrelated to memory:  walk more.  My research indicates that physical activity stimulates and helps build brain muscle, which in turn helps strengthen memory!

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May 9, 2011 by Linda.

I’ve heard so many of my friends say that they’re just not creative.  I thought that about myself until I took photography lessons several years ago.  I now have a heightened sense of proportion and color, as well as the best way to place items in the lens in relationship to one another to get the maximum effect.  Besides just being fun, I definitely have improved my artistic sensibilities!

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April 20, 2011 by Linda.

A career coach can help you understand your true wants and desires; specifically, in terms of the direction you want to take in your career.  A coach can ask you the tough questions that require reflection, such as, “What do I really want out of life?” and “What makes me happy?”  The coach won’t answer these questions for you, yet will guide you towards finding the answers and being truthful with yourself first and foremost.

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April 13, 2011 by Linda.

If you haven’t had an opportunity to take a personality profile such as the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) or DISC, this could provide insights into your personality and help you be more reflective about why you react the way you do to people or situations.  These profiles are not “tests” - they can’t be failed.  Through a series of event-centered or people-centered questions, the profiles assess the way you  take in information, process that information, and respond to the world around you.  When I first took the MBTI years ago, I had that “aha” moment that comes to those who aren’t always sure why some people just push our buttons.  Now I know - and I can prepare better to handle potentially uncomfortable situations or difficult people.

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April 5, 2011 by Linda.

More men than women have confessed to me that this is a weak area for them because they weren’t encouraged as children to be introspective and reflective.  Yet, one of the best ways to minimize making the same mistake in life is to reflect on lessons learned from past errors in judgment.  In my next few blogs, I’ll make some suggestions that are designed to help build your understanding of why you do the things you do.

My recommendation today is for you to start a journal and keep it up on a daily basis.  You may be thinking, “what do I write about?”  Write about what you did that day, your dreams for the future and what you did that day to move forward to achieving those dreams, and the people you interacted with and how they affected you.  People I know who keep a journal have shared with me that this is very cathartic because they can vent without actually saying something out loud that they’ll regret later.  Going over what you’ve written in the past can provide insights to how certain people, events and situations affect and influence your behaviors.

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February 21, 2011 by Linda.

If you have a car and a CD/DVD player in said car, you have an opportunity to develop your verbal ability!  Instead of listening to the same music over and over, I occasionally listen to books on tape.  This keeps me entertained and I often hear words that are new to me….or words that I know that are used in different ways.  As soon as I can, I introduce new words learned into my conversations.

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January 4, 2011 by Linda.

One of the best ways I’ve found to enhance your verbal abilities, especially presentation skills, is to attend a program such as the Dale Carnegie Course or Toastmasters.  This, and other presentation skills workshops, can provide an excellent venue to practice and to get past shyness or a sense of inadequacy in giving presentations.  Courses such as this provide a foundation of platform techniques first, followed by the opportunity to plan, present and receive feedback for mini-presentations.  The key to enhancing verbal abilities is practice, practice, practice.

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August 28, 2010 by Linda.

It’s true!  One way to enhance a key dimension of EQ, Intrapersonal Ability, is to engage in daily journaling.  It’s cathartic, and a wonderful way to capture thoughts, impressions and reactions to your everyday existence.  If you haven’t ever kept a journal, consider starting one.  It’s a private way of becomming accustomed to using the written word as a means of personal expression.  Stationery stores offer a wide selection of journals, from the basic notes pages style to hardbound, fancier styles.

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August 21, 2010 by Linda.

Do you ever find yourself searching for just the right word, either when writing an email or explaining verbally how you feel about an issue?  If so, you can enhance your verbal competency by expanding your vocabulary.  The Thesaurus can be your new best friend in this quest.  In many word processing programs, a Thesaurus is included in the Tools section of the menu.  Take a minute when you’re composing to look up words that are the best fit for your intended meaning.  If you’re about to make a presentation, whether it’s for a conference or an internal staff meeting, pull out a hard copy of a Thesaurus and check for similar words to those you’re considering that aren’t “just right”.

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