Personal Development | Varga & Associates

What’s your warm-up routine before a big presentation?

by maripat | May 19, 2025 | Communication, Personal Development, Presentation Skills | 0

My “S.O.P.” (standard operating procedure) has three parts: 1) A minute to visualize...

Communicating thanks and gratitude

by maripat | Nov 24, 2024 | Communication, Personal Development | 0

I am thankful for this time of year because it never fails to give me the nudge to reach out to others near and far to say hello, extend gratitude, or simply let them know they are loved. There are of course millions of ways to...

Name Tags – An essential communication tool

by maripat | Aug 9, 2024 | Communication, Engagement, Personal Development | 0

We all love to hear the sound of our name. It’s human nature to be drawn to things that are...

Are you up for an exquisite interaction?

by maripat | Sep 20, 2023 | Communication, Digital Communication, Interpersonal Skills, Listening, Personal Development | 0

My mother raised me to be a curious, inquisitive person. I am much more comfortable finding out about another person than talking about myself – having said that, I’ve gotten rusty.
I had the opportunity to put my post pandemic introversion to the test on my recent vacation. I went on safari in Botswana with my sister. It’s one of those trips in which you are immersed in another culture and surrounded my locals and fellow international travelers – strangers.

While I have spent a lifetime talking to strangers it can be awkward and uncomfortable – and with ever-present digital channels and the isolation we experienced during the pandemic, that interpersonal communication muscle has gotten weaker. And you know the saying, “if you don’t use it, you lose it.”

Martin’s leadership, learning, and sharing journey

by maripat | May 23, 2023 | Career Development, Coaching, Communication, Employee Engagement, Influence, Leadership, Personal Development | 0

I met Martin in the test kitchen at #fgf and the first thing he said to me with a laugh was: “I...

What you highlight is worth another look

by maripat | Apr 6, 2023 | Communication, Leadership, Personal Development | 0

In the new documentary series “Pretty Baby” actress and model Brooke Shields described her quest...

How to demonstrate EQ when you are ready to blow your top

by maripat | Apr 13, 2022 | Communication, Interpersonal Skills, Listening, Personal Development, Persuasion | 0

I like to think of myself as an empathetic person and someone who has a fair amount of emotional...

Do leaders need to show they like their job and us?

by maripat | Apr 10, 2021 | Communication, Employee Engagement, Leadership, Personal Development | 0

When someone attains a leadership position – whether in politics or business – we assume they’ve worked hard to achieve that role and are likely being compensated well. Should we expect them to like the job and us? I say yes.

In his new book An Effort to Understand David Murray’s essay “We deserve leaders who act like they like us” caught my attention. We’ve all had the experience of working with or for individuals who look like, sound like and feel like they’d rather be doing almost anything else than leading. It can show up in any number of ways:

I Miss My Colleagues and the Room Where it Happens

by Varg_Admin | Sep 8, 2020 | Communication, Employee Engagement, Influence, Interpersonal Skills, Leadership, organizational culture, Personal Development, Teamwork | 0

Lamenting this past weekend, I took liberties with Aaron Burr’s line in Hamilton and thought, “I...

Be in the Conversation about Racism – even if it is uncomfortable

by Varg_Admin | Jul 16, 2020 | Communication, Interpersonal Skills, Leadership, Personal Development | 0

Be in the Conversation about Racism – even if it is uncomfortable. I’ve always thought that the problems of the world could be solved if we would just be willing to enter into deep, meaningful conversations about them. The wise Fred Rogers once said, “Anything that’s human is mentionable, and anything that is mentionable, is manageable.” We are living through times none of us could have imagined. From the pandemic to racial justice protests to political turmoil – these have left many of us tongue-tied and unsure of how to articulate all that we are thinking and feeling. All of this is compounded by the fact that we are more isolated than ever before and yet communication – conversation – has never been more essential.