351 Communication Is In Everything We Do
We are always communicating in everything we do, from overtly talking to or texting someone, to smiling and nodding to strangers you pass on the street, it’s human nature to want to be seen and heard and to give that to others.
In this episode Sarah Elkins and Jim Collison discuss the importance of communication and how understanding your strengths leads to better communication not just with others but with yourself.
351 Communication Is In Everything We Do
We are always communicating in everything we do, from overtly talking to or texting someone, to smiling and nodding to strangers you pass on the street, it’s human nature to want to be seen and heard and to give that to others.
In this episode Sarah Elkins and Jim Collison discuss the importance of communication and how understanding your strengths leads to better communication not just with others but with yourself.
Highlights
Choose to put yourself into situations where you can tell a great story afterwards.
Live a life bigger than the one you have.
Strengths are sometimes seen as a weakness before you learn how to use them.
Be patient enough to let things happen.
Quotes
“You can’t take people places you’ve never been.”
“I think some people miss on Clifton Strengths, it does explain who you are, but it is also a productivity tool. How do you get better?”
Mentioned in this podcast
National Suicide Hotline, Text or Call 988
Help is available. You are cared for.
Dear Listeners it is now your turn,
This whole Clifton Strengths, any assessment, maybe this isn’t the answer to our global communication issues but it can be an answer to your individual communication. And the reality is that each of us are responsible for our own communication and how it’s received by the people and environment around us. You are communicating with everything you do; every like, every comment, every share, every honking of your horn, you are communicating who you are, your character. And when you can take responsibility with it, the world changes. So listeners, what are you going to do, today, tomorrow, over the next few days, to figure out what it is you want to work on.
And, as always, thank you for listening.
About Jim
CliftonStrengths Top 5: Arranger | WOO | Maximizer | Communication | Activator
I am the CliftonStrengths Community Manager for Gallup and Produce Gallup's Called to Coach and CliftonStrengths Webcasts found at http://gallup.com/cliftonstrengths. In my role I manage the global community of Gallup-Certified Coaches and help those customers who are engaged with our CliftonStrengths Assessment worldwide. In prior years I have managed IT resources, managed a high school and college internship program for Gallup and was a member of the Omaha STEM Ecosystem managing board. I have been at Gallup since 2007.
Be sure to check out Jim’s LinkedIn!
About Sarah
"Uncovering the right stories for the right audiences so executives, leaders, public speakers, and job seekers can clearly and actively demonstrate their character, values, and vision."
In my work with coaching clients, I guide people to improve their communication using storytelling as the foundation of our work together. What I’ve realized over years of coaching and podcasting is that the majority of people don’t realize the impact of the stories they share - on their internal messages, and on the people they’re sharing them with.
My work with leaders and people who aspire to be leaders follows a similar path to the interviews on my podcast, uncovering pivotal moments in their lives and learning how to share them to connect more authentically with others, to make their presentations and speaking more engaging, to reveal patterns that have kept them stuck or moved them forward, and to improve their relationships at work and at home.
The audiobook, Your Stories Don’t Define You, How You Tell Them Will is now available!
Included with your purchase are two bonus tracks, songs recorded by Sarah's band, Spare Change, in her living room in Montana.
Be sure to check out the Storytelling For Professionals Course as well to make sure you nail that next interview!
Episode 97: Your Identity is Created by the Stories You Share
Family Narratives Can Impact Your Identity - For Better or For Worse
Dr. Kate McLean
Dr. Kate McLean was raised by a man who loved to share stories. Her father is a master storyteller, entertaining family and friends for hours with his sense of humor and insights. It’s not surprising that Kate found herself compelled by the narratives she heard in her first research position, focused on attachment theory in human development and psychology. She was so touched by the trust of people sharing their most intimate memories and experiences, that she knew her area of focus would revolve around the impact of telling those stories on the people sharing them and on the people hearing them.
Some of her colleagues focus their research on early childhood narrative, Kate’s area of interest revolves more around the transformative years between young adulthood and adulthood, roughly 17 - 22 years old.
She finds that the stories parents and caregivers share about their children in front of them, can have positive and negative effects in terms of their relationship, and how the young adult moves through those transformative years.
If the stories a parent or caregiver share about the young adult’s childhood don’t fit how that young adult sees themselves and how they are transforming into adulthood, conflict develops between them, and the transformation can become stilted.
On the other hand, if the narrative continues to resonate with the young adult, it may help them move forward with confidence in their identity as they move into adulthood.
Our conversation took some twists and turns, one thing that struck me was our mutual respect and admiration for those who share their stories with us. When someone chooses to trust you with their most intimate memories, we must respect that story and the person sharing it.
Learn more about Dr. McLean’s work, and check out her book, The Co-Authored Self.
Kate C. McLean, Professor of Psychology at Western Washington University, was trained in Developmental and Personality Psychology at the University of California, Santa Cruz (Ph.D., 2004). Her research focuses on adolescent and emerging adult identity development. She is on the governing council for the Society for the Study of Emerging Adulthood, and is an Associate Editor for the Journal Personality and Social Psychology: PPID. She teaches courses in Developmental and Personality Psychology, as well as research methods. She currently serves as the Director for the Center for Cross-Cultural Research at WWU.