How to Give a Memorable Toast
Weddings, birthdays, dinner parties, and happy hours are events where people give toasts. We’ve all experienced incredibly touching toasts and we’ve cringed at the train wrecks, too. Great communicators are masters at honouring guests with toasts that are inclusive, entertaining…
How Talking to Strangers will Enrich Your Career
On Saturday I celebrated the life of my grandmother, Virginia. One of the themes from her memorial service was how my grandma loved having conversations with anyone and everyone about anything and everything. So, I thought it fitting to write…
Three Professional Lessons Canadians Can Learn from American Super Bowl Ads
One thing that unites Canadians and Americans is a mutual love for American Super Bowl ads. Thanks to the CRTC we won’t have to stomach those God-awful Canadian car commercials during the big football game for much longer. But in…
What’s in my Happy Pills
“Wow, John, where can I get some of what you’re taking?” Michael, a colleague of mine, recently said. I’ve heard this before. Over the years, many friends and colleagues have asked what’s in my happy pills. Many natural and learned…
Five Tips for Having Difficult Conversations
The difficult conversations in our work and personal lives are challenging. Sometimes it is easier to veil the truth of what you want to say in generalizations to soften the blow and sometimes people outright avoid a conversation altogether. Being…
Building Community with #theGoodMoneytalks
Today is Vancity Member Day at The Fair at the PNE and I’m excited to focus this article on building community with #theGoodMoneytalks because you can experience them at the PNE today! Inspired by dinner table conversations, #theGoodMoneytalks are focused…
Helping Students Explore Education and Career Options Online
Our case study this week focuses on a BC based start-up that ticks a lot of boxes for us here at The Potentiality. It touches on the core competencies of Thinking and Learning, Communication, and it’s a nice blend of…
Five Negotiation Tips Learned the Hard Way in Thailand
Last month I had the good fortune of travelling through Thailand. It was a fascinating experience that got me thinking about how different cultures negotiate. In Thailand, there aren’t many fixed prices when negotiating with the locals, especially when it…
Three Better Questions than “So what do you do?”
“So what do you do?” Recently, I read an article by 99u’s Sarah Kathleen Peck called, “Answering the Dreaded ‘So what do you do?’ Question.” Amazing. For nearly a decade, Kurt Heinrich and I have pioneered a micro-social-engineering initiative designed…
Enhancing Potential in the Canadian Workplace
Enhancing Potential Earlier this year, the Canadian Education and Research Institute for Counselling (CERIC) released its Career Development in the Workplace: National Business Survey, which describes strategies for enhancing potential in the Canadian workplace. In addition to there being a…