Communication Blog | Varga & Associates

How to Focus: Lessons from a Banana Cream Pie Debacle

Nov 30, 2021 | Coaching, Communication, Focus, Listening | 0

I must acknowledge immediately that I do not count cooking or baking as personal strengths or talents. As a result, when the holidays roll around, I get a tad nervous about what dish I will be asked to make for potluck gatherings. This year’s assignment was to make a banana cream pie. I jumped in excitedly, because I love banana cream pie, but missing some of the key recipe details turned the pie into a soupy mess. Here’s what I learned about how to stay focused and attentive to the details. Critical for pie -making and any other pursuit you may have…

Listening re-visited: The closer you are, the less you listen

Nov 15, 2021 | Communication, Interpersonal Skills, Listening | 0

Recently my sister shared with me a stack of letters sealed in a plastic zip-locked bag she had found amongst my mom’s possessions. They were love letters from my father written around 1952 in the year before they were married. The letters reveal sides of my father I did not know. Kate Murphy’s new book, You’re not Listening: What you’re missing and why it matters illuminated how “closeness communication bias” may have prevented me from learning more about this side of my dad while he was still with us.

Simone Biles and the Hero’s Journey

Jul 29, 2021 | Presentation Skills, Storytelling, Uncategorized | 0

The gymnast, Simone Biles, has often been called the GOAT (greatest of all time). Her...

Find story-telling inspiration from teachers in your midst

May 27, 2021 | Presentation Skills, Storytelling | 0

We all have something to teach, and we all have something to learn. I treasure the teachers in my...

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

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: