Erika's Blog - Northern Connections

I have been given the opportunity to teach our church women's group once a month. The interesting thing about this is I am assigned a conference talk as the topic to teach. I review the principles in the talk and then need to develop how I will teach it. It is so stimulating in that I need to research, read and ponder what would be beneficial to the women in the group. Suffice it to say, I learn so much because of the time spent gathering information, thinking of viewpoints and preparing the lesson. Today was my first lesson and was well received. Looking forward to next month already.

Labels: communication, inspiration

In my last blog I talked about building relationships, either family or work-related. I volunteered to be on a communications committee recently to see where improvements can be made in the corporate environment. It was interesting to note that there is always much to do to make communications better. Front line workers often feel undervalued when their opinions are not listened to. Management may feel that they don't have time to relay important information down the line, or don't know who really needs (or wants) to know about high level issues. We often get deluged with emails in an attempt to keep staff informed. The real communication skill is not sending out newsletters, or fyi emails. It comes down to whether someone feels they are being listened to, understood and cared for in this busy, rushed world we live in. If you can master that, your staff will become truly engaged in their work and want to go the extra mile.

Labels: business, communication

Our eldest son has just returned from being away in California for 2 years. We have not seen him during that time, just emails and phone calls. For the past 4 months that he has been home, we have noticed some changes in him, some good and some not so good. Our family dynamics seemed to be the same, but there is something that is not quite right. Developing open and honest communication has become a challenge. You really need both parties to want to participate and make it work. If one party decides to distance themselves, it becomes virtually impossible to come to an understanding and work to resolve any differences that exist. It is the same in business relationships, friendships or casual acquaintances. True and meaningful dialogue is the basis of any good relationship, but it also takes skill. You don't want to offend. Speaking with a caring voice and putting yourself in the other person's shoes will go along way to making sure there is no breakdown that will take a lot of effort to patch up when feelings are hurt.

Labels: communication, family