The best communicators are clear about the purpose of a conversation--and it's not just the topic, it's the needs being met.

It's maddening to try to communicate with someone who has already decided what you have to say.

How do you put someone at ease? Small talk can help you through awkward situations. But there are topics to be wary of these days.

Have you ever found out after you've completed something that you saw it all wrong? It's a matter of perspective.

Is the supposed reason for the call the real point? When we talk, we're often asking for more than we express clearly.

It’s been three and a half years since the pandemic threw everything sideways. The many and varied consequences of the shut downs,...

I wasn’t planning on buying a new car that day yet I thought I’d look while the trade-in value for my old car was high. I’d had a decent...

“I haven’t finished asking my question,” I snapped at my mother’s physician who had interrupted me at every turn. Because I’d spoken with...

Woo-hoo! The three-year journey to the publication of WorkJerks: How to Cope with Difficult Bosses and Colleagues completed on June 14th...

It was my mother’s 98th birthday and I had ordered a special cake. Paper butterflies were to fly out of the box when it was opened. Since...

The tide was going out, but one feisty wave unexpectedly came running up much farther onto the sand. This necessitated a scramble to...

I responded to a reporter whose query contained an unattributed quote for me to react to. The person quoted had gone off the deep end...

Ah, the holidays 2021. You’ve got obligations, work, family, and the decisions whether to socialize as Covid continues. Welcome to a...

Early in my career, a colleague who’d had enough of my whining asked if I’d ever considered suffering in silence. The answer was, “No.”...

For my birthday, my dear friend from Seattle joined me on a jet boat excursion up the Willamette River. It was so darn much fun! The...

I sent email to an institution that shall remain unnamed. I offered something of value and asked with which department I should...

About a month ago, I took a road trip for five days. It's been so long, I wasn't sure if my car would balk at extended driving. I spent...

Guest blogger, Vincentia Schroeter, PhD, is a somatic psychotherapist and the author of Tilt: Seeking Balance in Troubled Times (release...

Alan Alda has an avid interest in science and communication which he explores in the podcast, Clear and Vivid. Guests answer the same set...