Thoughts
Occasional notes and insights about communicating environmental, climate and sustainability themes, and tackling today’s sustainability challenges.
What if climate change is a hoax?
Thoughts & insights | communication, culture, honest communication, top down, transparency
What do you take away from the inimitable Joel Pett's cartoon? (© Joel Pett - for more of his work, see: https://www.kentucky.com/opinion/editorial-cartoons/joel-pett/.)
How can you foster a culture of communication in your organisation?
Thoughts & insights | communication, culture, honest communication, top down, transparency
Like so many things, fostering a culture of communication has to start at the top. If leaders really want to have a two-way dialogue, they need to have an open-door policy, make time to listen, be open to new ideas, and not only act on good ideas, but acknowledge where those ideas came from. This encourages conversation in all directions. Of course, the same needs to happen when communicating downwards, and it’s vital that downward communication is clear, consistent, honest and transparent....
How can you make sure that everyone contributes in a meeting?
Thoughts & insights | communication, contributing, facilitating, facilitation, gatherings, meetings, purpose
If you have a meeting, hearing the voices of all attendees could be a game-changer. Of course, it depends on the meeting: if you’re delivering a state-of-the-nation talk to the company, perhaps you’re more interest in cascading information down rather than getting input. If, however, you have selected a number of people to attend a meeting to make a decision, generate ideas, move forward with plans, or start planning something brand new, you need to make sure that everyone can and does...
How can you diffuse drama in your team?
Thoughts & insights | communication, David Emerald Womeldorff, ddt, Dr Stephen Karpman, drama, drama triangle, facilitation, teams, the empowerment dynamic
The Karpman Drama Triangle defines the roles that people take on (and can switch between) in stressful, emotional or high-conflict situations. Dr Stephen Karpman identified three main roles that emerge: the persecutor, the victim and the rescuer. We can often find ourselves drawn to a particular role. However, the reality is that we move around the three roles. Different circumstances—people, context, emotions, environment, topic—pull us towards one particular pattern of behaviour or another....
What if there was a process for soliciting honest, neutral input for your ideas?
Thoughts & insights | communication, creators, Critical Response Process, dialogue, giving feedback, Liz Lerman
You’re a creator. Perhaps you’re creating a new strategy, a product, a play, a novel, a team, or something completely different. You’re part-way through. You think you’re on the right track. And you have decided that you want to share your idea and get feedback and input that will not only help you move your ideas forward, but that will energise you and perhaps even make your creation even better than it would otherwise be. The way to do this is by asking for feedback, but asking for feedback...
What if there was a process for giving kind but honest feedback?
Thoughts & insights | Critical Response Process, dialogue, Feedback, Liz Lerman
The good news is that there are loads of interesting models, but which model you choose to use depends on what you are trying to achieve. If you want to give feedback on work-in-progress—a creation of some sort—you might want to take a look at Liz Lerman’s deceptively simple Critical Response Process or CRP. This allows you to understand get a wider perspective about an individual’s thoughts, motivations, and creation(s) so that you can offer feedback that is honest, direct, and both...
What if it was possible to have productive, conflict-free conversations?
Thoughts & insights | communication, conflict, conflict-free, conversations, how you say it, language
Conversations are life’s “grease”. Good conversations make things go smoother – work, relationships, buying something at the store, understanding a complex idea, and more. The challenge is that so many conversations become charged and filled with conflict below the surface. This is certainly true when it comes to communicating sustainability challenges or the climate crisis. Why? And how do you diffuse this? There are lots of reasons for conflict and many ways things to look out for in a...
Reframing can change hearts, minds, and souls – er, soles?
Thoughts & insights | branding, communication, naming, reframing
As a fish hugger (compare with tree hugger), I am always baffled at how people describe sea creatures as ugly. Who do we think we are that we can make value judgements about these extraordinary living neighbours of ours? Perhaps they'd rather be judged "ugly and inedible" by the folks in the UK, than re-branded as Cornish soles and now highly desirable. Fascinating what a bit of re-naming and re-framing can do. And if all it takes for people to eat "ugly fish" is some tweaked communication,...
What if climate change is a hoax?
Thoughts & insights | communication, culture, honest communication, top down, transparency
What do you take away from the inimitable Joel Pett's cartoon? (© Joel Pett - for more of his work, see: https://www.kentucky.com/opinion/editorial-cartoons/joel-pett/.)
How can you foster a culture of communication in your organisation?
Thoughts & insights | communication, culture, honest communication, top down, transparency
Like so many things, fostering a culture of communication has to start at the top. If leaders really want to have a two-way dialogue, they need to have an open-door policy, make time to listen, be open to new ideas, and not only act on good ideas, but acknowledge where those ideas came from. This encourages conversation in all directions. Of course, the same needs to happen when communicating downwards, and it’s vital that downward communication is clear, consistent, honest and transparent....
How can you make sure that everyone contributes in a meeting?
Thoughts & insights | communication, contributing, facilitating, facilitation, gatherings, meetings, purpose
If you have a meeting, hearing the voices of all attendees could be a game-changer. Of course, it depends on the meeting: if you’re delivering a state-of-the-nation talk to the company, perhaps you’re more interest in cascading information down rather than getting input. If, however, you have selected a number of people to attend a meeting to make a decision, generate ideas, move forward with plans, or start planning something brand new, you need to make sure that everyone can and does...
How can you diffuse drama in your team?
Thoughts & insights | communication, David Emerald Womeldorff, ddt, Dr Stephen Karpman, drama, drama triangle, facilitation, teams, the empowerment dynamic
The Karpman Drama Triangle defines the roles that people take on (and can switch between) in stressful, emotional or high-conflict situations. Dr Stephen Karpman identified three main roles that emerge: the persecutor, the victim and the rescuer. We can often find ourselves drawn to a particular role. However, the reality is that we move around the three roles. Different circumstances—people, context, emotions, environment, topic—pull us towards one particular pattern of behaviour or another....
What if there was a process for soliciting honest, neutral input for your ideas?
Thoughts & insights | communication, creators, Critical Response Process, dialogue, giving feedback, Liz Lerman
You’re a creator. Perhaps you’re creating a new strategy, a product, a play, a novel, a team, or something completely different. You’re part-way through. You think you’re on the right track. And you have decided that you want to share your idea and get feedback and input that will not only help you move your ideas forward, but that will energise you and perhaps even make your creation even better than it would otherwise be. The way to do this is by asking for feedback, but asking for feedback...
What if there was a process for giving kind but honest feedback?
Thoughts & insights | Critical Response Process, dialogue, Feedback, Liz Lerman
The good news is that there are loads of interesting models, but which model you choose to use depends on what you are trying to achieve. If you want to give feedback on work-in-progress—a creation of some sort—you might want to take a look at Liz Lerman’s deceptively simple Critical Response Process or CRP. This allows you to understand get a wider perspective about an individual’s thoughts, motivations, and creation(s) so that you can offer feedback that is honest, direct, and both...
What if it was possible to have productive, conflict-free conversations?
Thoughts & insights | communication, conflict, conflict-free, conversations, how you say it, language
Conversations are life’s “grease”. Good conversations make things go smoother – work, relationships, buying something at the store, understanding a complex idea, and more. The challenge is that so many conversations become charged and filled with conflict below the surface. This is certainly true when it comes to communicating sustainability challenges or the climate crisis. Why? And how do you diffuse this? There are lots of reasons for conflict and many ways things to look out for in a...
Reframing can change hearts, minds, and souls – er, soles?
Thoughts & insights | branding, communication, naming, reframing
As a fish hugger (compare with tree hugger), I am always baffled at how people describe sea creatures as ugly. Who do we think we are that we can make value judgements about these extraordinary living neighbours of ours? Perhaps they'd rather be judged "ugly and inedible" by the folks in the UK, than re-branded as Cornish soles and now highly desirable. Fascinating what a bit of re-naming and re-framing can do. And if all it takes for people to eat "ugly fish" is some tweaked communication,...
What if climate change is a hoax?
Thoughts & insights | communication, culture, honest communication, top down, transparency
What do you take away from the inimitable Joel Pett's cartoon? (© Joel Pett - for more of his work, see: https://www.kentucky.com/opinion/editorial-cartoons/joel-pett/.)
How can you foster a culture of communication in your organisation?
Thoughts & insights | communication, culture, honest communication, top down, transparency
Like so many things, fostering a culture of communication has to start at the top. If leaders really want to have a two-way dialogue, they need to have an open-door policy, make time to listen, be open to new ideas, and not only act on good ideas, but acknowledge where those ideas came from. This encourages conversation in all directions. Of course, the same needs to happen when communicating downwards, and it’s vital that downward communication is clear, consistent, honest and transparent....
How can you make sure that everyone contributes in a meeting?
Thoughts & insights | communication, contributing, facilitating, facilitation, gatherings, meetings, purpose
If you have a meeting, hearing the voices of all attendees could be a game-changer. Of course, it depends on the meeting: if you’re delivering a state-of-the-nation talk to the company, perhaps you’re more interest in cascading information down rather than getting input. If, however, you have selected a number of people to attend a meeting to make a decision, generate ideas, move forward with plans, or start planning something brand new, you need to make sure that everyone can and does...
How can you diffuse drama in your team?
Thoughts & insights | communication, David Emerald Womeldorff, ddt, Dr Stephen Karpman, drama, drama triangle, facilitation, teams, the empowerment dynamic
The Karpman Drama Triangle defines the roles that people take on (and can switch between) in stressful, emotional or high-conflict situations. Dr Stephen Karpman identified three main roles that emerge: the persecutor, the victim and the rescuer. We can often find ourselves drawn to a particular role. However, the reality is that we move around the three roles. Different circumstances—people, context, emotions, environment, topic—pull us towards one particular pattern of behaviour or another....
What if there was a process for soliciting honest, neutral input for your ideas?
Thoughts & insights | communication, creators, Critical Response Process, dialogue, giving feedback, Liz Lerman
You’re a creator. Perhaps you’re creating a new strategy, a product, a play, a novel, a team, or something completely different. You’re part-way through. You think you’re on the right track. And you have decided that you want to share your idea and get feedback and input that will not only help you move your ideas forward, but that will energise you and perhaps even make your creation even better than it would otherwise be. The way to do this is by asking for feedback, but asking for feedback...
What if there was a process for giving kind but honest feedback?
Thoughts & insights | Critical Response Process, dialogue, Feedback, Liz Lerman
The good news is that there are loads of interesting models, but which model you choose to use depends on what you are trying to achieve. If you want to give feedback on work-in-progress—a creation of some sort—you might want to take a look at Liz Lerman’s deceptively simple Critical Response Process or CRP. This allows you to understand get a wider perspective about an individual’s thoughts, motivations, and creation(s) so that you can offer feedback that is honest, direct, and both...
What if it was possible to have productive, conflict-free conversations?
Thoughts & insights | communication, conflict, conflict-free, conversations, how you say it, language
Conversations are life’s “grease”. Good conversations make things go smoother – work, relationships, buying something at the store, understanding a complex idea, and more. The challenge is that so many conversations become charged and filled with conflict below the surface. This is certainly true when it comes to communicating sustainability challenges or the climate crisis. Why? And how do you diffuse this? There are lots of reasons for conflict and many ways things to look out for in a...
Reframing can change hearts, minds, and souls – er, soles?
Thoughts & insights | branding, communication, naming, reframing
As a fish hugger (compare with tree hugger), I am always baffled at how people describe sea creatures as ugly. Who do we think we are that we can make value judgements about these extraordinary living neighbours of ours? Perhaps they'd rather be judged "ugly and inedible" by the folks in the UK, than re-branded as Cornish soles and now highly desirable. Fascinating what a bit of re-naming and re-framing can do. And if all it takes for people to eat "ugly fish" is some tweaked communication,...
Suzanne ranks in the top 3% of experts that I have ever met. She is smart, sharp, professional, insightful and delivers great results. I have worked with her as a colleague and on my own business projects. She understands all aspects of and is one of the first people I seek to consult and involve in all my projects. She is outstanding. If you get a chance to work with her, then do.
Coach, speaker and author
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Media consultant & journalist, Babaco Media