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Our Blog Posts will help you reach your full potential in becoming a confident conversationalist. New topics each week.

Learn from a Leader: Leading with Authenticity

The end of the year is always a time of reflection. It's a time to evaluate what worked what didn't. Where you had success and where you can be even more successful next year.

Goal-setting often starts with what you've done in the past. So does authenticity. 

As former NFL GM Randy Mueller explains, doing the "crap jobs" develop character. It's part of your story and it's how you demonstrate authenticity as a leader. When people know you've failed or you've done the dirty work or overcome adversity they can better relate to you and follow your lead.

So when you evaluate 2021 don't gloss over where you've failed, overcome challenges and persevered. It's just as important as the success and the wins you've enjoyed. 

You can find more insights from Randy and other leaders on YouTube.

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Sports Conversation Starters for Your Workweek

conversation starters Dec 12, 2021

I feel fortunate when my work travel schedule takes me back home and gives me a chance to see family. That’s what happened during the weekend when I was in Houston. Each family member I talked to – including my 4-year-old nephew – talked sports to me, regardless of their true interest in Seattle sports. I work in sports. I was in town for a game. It makes sense they would use sports as a conversation starter. 

It also makes sense that people would start sports conversations with you when they know you’re a sports fan. Use can use these sports conversation starters to indicate you’re a sports fan. You don’t have to engage in long conversations, just mention them in small talk. Even if there are no follow up questions, debates or interactions you’re setting the stage for future interactions.

Don’t be shy, these topics are making news around the sports world this week.

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Sports Conversation Starters for Your Workweek

conversation starters Dec 05, 2021

I’ve taken a fair amount of grief from my family in the last week over my Christmas list. According to them, it’s too short. The way I see it, having fewer options makes it easier. Limiting options narrows the focus and takes the guesswork out of next steps, which in this case is what to buy for Christmas.

The same thing is true when it comes to sports headlines. There are hundreds of sports headlines you could choose to talk about. That’s the great thing about sports but it can also be overwhelming. It’s why narrowing your focus to just a few topics makes the next steps – using them in conversation – easier. Here are a handful of sports conversation starters that take the guesswork out of sports small talk this week.

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Learn from a Leader: Starring Roles vs. Supporting Roles

learn from a leader Dec 05, 2021

Not every leadership role is a “starring” role. There are supporting roles, in fact, that might fit your personality and skillset more than being front and center. 

Don't downplay your leadership skills because they don't look like someone else's. There are leaders with strategic vision, who innovate, who chart the course and lead a large number of people on a grand scale. 
 
There are also leaders who find ways to make the greatest impact on their team, in their community, in their industry, with their families. It might be on a smaller scale but leadership is leadership and good leaders make an impact regardless of the number of people they're leading. 
 
Former major league soccer player Roger Levesque explained how he approached leadership during his professional career in a Learn from a Leader session. You can find more Learn from a Leader lessons on the Talk Sporty to Me YouTube channel. 

 

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Conversation Starters for Your Workweek

conversation starters Nov 28, 2021

You could spend this week asking everyone what they did for the Thanksgiving holiday, what they purchased on Black Friday and if their Christmas decorations are up.

But if you get tired of that conversation track try sports small talk and these conversation starters. 

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Tis the Season to Practice Saying Thank You

business communication Nov 24, 2021

When it comes to thanks and praise would you rather give or receive?

It’s a bit of a trick question because you should be equally adept at both. This time of year gives you a chance to practice showing gratitude and receiving compliments.

Graciously receiving a compliment is a skill and it’s important to the narrative you create at work.

If someone says, “Great work! I’m really impressed by how that turned out” and your first reaction to say something like, “It was nothing” you aren’t being humble, you’re lying. It was something. In fact, your efforts made someone stop and notice enough to pay you a compliment. That’s an opportunity to own your accomplishment. Don’t downplay your skills, efforts or success. Don’t shrink back. And don’t give all the credit to your team.

You might be used to saying something like, “My team deserves all the credit” without realizing what you’re actually...

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Conversation Starters for Your Workweek

conversation starters Nov 21, 2021

Happy Thanksgiving week! There is a good chance you’ll be expected to make casual conversation this week with friends or family. There’s an equally good chance you’ll be trying to navigate potential conversation minefields. Sports can help you reign in some of the conversations and keep it light.

It’s okay to think outside the box scores and talk about “sports adjacent” topics related to a game. Think about things like location, favorite game-day food or ritual, maybe you’ve seen a concert at the same venue that’s hosting a sporting event, which can help you transition to music and other fun things you have on the calendar - all of those topics can start with sports, but end up in other fun conversations.

Of course, if you prefer to stick to sports these conversation starters can do the trick.

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Talk Sporty 101: It's more than sports

 

A sporting event is just that – an event. There’s always more going on than the game itself and that introduces additional conversation topics outside of the stats, scores and outcome.

Sports conversations don’t have to focus on the game itself. You can choose to talk about the experience of watching a game.

The Super Bowl is a great example. You could talk about the teams and players or you could talk about the food, commercials, halftime entertainment, location, parties you’ll attend and who you’ll be watching it with.

There are few events as big as the Super Bowl during the year, but these potential conversation topics exist in every game. You could choose to talk about what you ate a game, or restaurants near the stadium you like to visit. Talking about the vibe in the building or the friends who went to the game with you is an option too. If you watched a game on TV, the location of the game could lead to conversations about travel or personal...

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Sports Conversation Starters for Your Workweek

conversation starters Nov 14, 2021

My current travel schedule takes me all over the country covering football and hockey. In each city I try to find something unique or local to the area. (It’s how I ended up at a Piggly Wiggly grocery store somewhere between Milwaukee and Green Bay on Saturday night, but that’s an entirely different story.) 

Here’s what not unique – the way fans talk about their team and sports in general. Fan bases have their own identities, but the way they actually talk about sports is similar. That means if you have a topic and something to say, you can talk to any fan you encounter.

These sports conversation starters can help you with that this week.

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High-Performance Habits to Help You Win at Work

business communication Nov 14, 2021

Talented teams and athletes make winning look effortless. It’s not just their physical strength and abilities that lead to results, it’s the habits they lean on daily that produce great outcomes. 

There’s always more going on behind the scenes than what you see on game day. The same is true in your office and with your team. Your habits determine your success even more than your talent and hard work.

Here are three high-performance habits you can borrow from sports to help you win at work. 

  1. Practice like you play. Coaches preach it, athletes say it. It sounds cliché until you watch professional athletes in practice. Of course, Russell Wilson is practicing touchdown throws to Tyler Lockett and DK Metcalf. Of course, the Mariners are trying to launch it out of the ballpark during at least one round of batting practice. But do you know what they do at least 90% of the time? They practice fundamentals at very basic levels. Hand placement, wrist...
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