Properly Handling a Venting Session

Venting is a case by case situation. It can be uncomfortable to hear a client, coworker, candidate or friend go on and on about a problem you cannot fix. Aside from the discomfort, venting is actually a healthy thing to do when need be. Sometimes letting someone talk out their problems or frustrations aloud can lead to a thoughtful solution.

Mark Goulston M.D. gives this series of three effective questions to help coach a person through a venting session:

1. What are you most frustrated about?
2. What are you most angry about?
3. What are you really worried about?

For an in-depth lesson, read Mark Goulston’s full article  How to Listen When Someone is Venting

5 Things You Should Read

 

I know, another list of “5 Things You Can Do To ____”, but trust me this one is worth it.  Jillian Goodman of Fast Company spoke with creative mastermind Simon Rich on his tips for being most productive. They’re excellent, take five minutes to read through “5 Things You Can Do Today to Make Yourself More Creative and Productive, Tomorrow” and reflect on your personal work style. 

Breakdown or Breakthrough?

Self-care seems to have gone by the wayside these days because we are running ever shorter on time. Most of us are constantly working on overdrive, running from one thing to the next without any time to relax and reflect. This way of life can be the express train to a Burnout when not managed properly. Are you feeling any of the following lately?

-Exhaustion: feeling over-extended by your work
-Depersonalization: feeling alienated from your work
-Personal accomplishment: feeling like you can never get enough done

Read on to Drake Baer’s article “4 Ways To Prevent Burnout Before It’s Too Late” for advice on preventing and dealing with breakdowns.

What Is All of This Busyness?

When you ask someone how they are doing, how often do you get the response of:  “good, but so busy!” More often than not, people tack on an “I’m busy” to any inquiry about their status. Unfortunately, it might not convey what message we intended it to “…we’ve begun to regard busyness as a virtue. It’s maybe second to exhaustion when it comes to being cool at work.”  Are people really always that “busy” though? Drake Baer’s recent article based off of Janet Choi’s blog post “Busyness is Not a Virtue” focuses on getting to the bottom of what all this busyness really is and what we are really saying to people when we give that response. “When we fill our schedules with appointments and hands with phones, we divest ourselves of downtime. When we’re endlessly doing, it’s hard to be mindful of what we’re doing.”  How truly focused and “busy” can you be, when you never take a break?

Why It Is Never Too Late

It is never too late to start something new.  Many of the world’s most innovative people began companies, wrote books, or tried something new for the first time much later in life. Your 20’s and 30’s aren’t the only time available to embark on something new. It has been found that midlife might in fact be “our brain’s golden age of complex reasoning – studies show that’s when we peak in inductive reasoning, spatial orientation, vocabulary and verbal memory.” It might not be a bad idea to take a note from Martha Stewart’s playbook (who, by the way, began her catering business when she was 40, which was the beginning of her ascent to being one of the most powerful women in the world at age 71). Never Too Late to Bloom by Martha Stewart 

Words of Wisdom

Our own Pat Welch has been included in Tam Jenkins “Listmakers: top women execs share second-career dreams and more” in the Portland Business Journal this month. Click here to view Pat’s words of wisdom along with her fellow Listmakers.

Acing an Interview With Body Language

Update:

This week The Huffington Post published an article entitled Ethnographic Animation: How Reality and Animation Collide coauthored by Vanessa Van Edwards, Author and Professional People Watcher and Kate Ertmann, President and Executive Producer at Animation Dynamics endeavor here in Portland.  They explore the massive strides that animators are making using Ethnographic Animation.  This body language animation mimics natural human expressions and gestures, leading viewers to a very realistic experience.

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When considering your next interview it’s important to take into account not just the verbal answers you provide but the nonverbal answers as well. Check out this great article by Vanessa Van Edwards, “How to Ace an Interview With Body Language” to learn how you can ace your next interview!