Educated Culprits

We’ve all had a conversation with someone who, though they didn’t move an eyelash or a single facial muscle, somehow clearly communicated the message: “The sooner I get away from you, the happier I will be.” On the other hand, a wide smile, direct gaze, and hearty handshake don’t always convey ad...

The definition of diversity includes factors like the way you talk, how long you’ve been with the company, how you dress, wear your hair, and even whether you have a tattoo, none of which help define the quality of what you bring to the organization. However, they do, in many cases, alter how wel...

Observe how colleagues acknowledge one another and establish visual contact, how close they stand, and listened to the inflection of their words. At first glance, such greetings might appear to be repetitive, but when you take a closer look at the gestures, tone, inflection, and gazes, you can ca...

People see us and promptly put us through a series of mental filters or checklists. The body we arrive in is what people most readily see: our race, gender, age, attractiveness, and other items that define our visible profile.

Let the checklist operate as information only. Remove it from yo...

When you step into a new job, you need to learn how the regional and corporate cultures manifest themselves in that environment.

Businesses spawn jargon, style, behaviour, and other cultural norms, which individuals joining the organization need to learn and decide whether to conform to. A ...

Micromessages can inspire confidence and enable an individual to stretch for higher goals, or they can undermine a worker’s self-confidence and cause him or her to second guess every decision. They have the power to do this with barely a spoken word.

It’s not so much what we say that matter...

Almost imperceptible subtleties of sending and receiving messages define micromessaging and its power of influence. These micro messages tell us how much we are valued and respected by those who control our destiny in the workplace. Micromessages tell us exactly where we stand and how far we are ...

Micromessages influence relationships both up and down the corporate ladder; they are not the sole property of managers and leaders.

Just as you instinctively know how your boss feels about you, she also senses how you feel about her. Though neither of you may be aware of the messages being...

Understanding the behaviours that underlie micromessages will dramatically increase your ability to control them, but total fluency will probably always be just beyond your grasp, as it is for all of us. Millions of years of mammalian behaviour drive us to react by envy, fear, jealousy, anger, gr...

One leadership blind spot is the manner in which questions are asked. Questions often reveal what we want or expect the answer to be.

Typically, the structure of a question falls into one of three forms: the assumptive no, the assumptive yes, and the neutral.

You ask ...

Each of us has attended meeting after meeting with team members we like and admire.

Without ever saying a word, she gets the message you unconsciously but repeatedly send: “Pat, you are so smart. You always cut through all the garbage and get right to the heart of the issue every time. ...

All our lives, we have been told that words are very important. The size of one’s vocabulary is often a sign of intelligence and education. A solid grasp of grammar and word usage is essential for acceptance in most business communities. Industries make millions selling courses designed to improv...

Each business operation is coloured by the cultural context in which it operates. The same pressure from the top that might improve individual worker performance in Singapore might have the opposite effect in Ireland.

Holding your body erect and puffing out the chest might be necessary for ...

Each of us carries patterns of behaviour and interpretation that take decades to learn. It is our cultural template. Everyone intellectually knows that behaviours vary across geographic regions, but when we actually find ourselves thrown into a culture vastly different from our own, intellect mee...

The real power of diversity is the skill of identifying what is unique about each member of the team and applying specific developmental and motivational strategies that amplify each performance. Until you are able to identify the unique characteristics that motivate people differently and apply ...

In the workplace, we have a responsibility to ensure that all are given the messages, conditions, and environment to perform to the fullest of their potential—and to unlock talent that runs the risk of being underutilized. The practical application of the power of micromessages is not about being...

If you really want to see microinequities in action, you need to go no further than everyday business meetings. You make a suggestion and it is met with a very bland, ho-hum response. Then, fifteen minutes later, someone else offers the same half-dozen as “six” and suddenly it shows profound insi...

Micromessages are the central thread in every form of communication, including electronic communications. Our e-mails, voice mails, instant messages, phone conversations, and virtual meetings are all fully loaded. Everyone has had the experience of receiving an e-mail that made you furious, only ...

The following microadvantages top-ten list can be a pivotal catalyst for turning around problem relationships.

Use these ten steps to improve your use of micromessages for a positive impact:

1. Actively solicit opinions

2. Connect on a personal level

3. Constantly ask ...