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PAPER NAPKIN WISDOM GROWTH HUB
Communication
The best Paper Napkin Wisdom conversations on communication, chosen and in order.
When a conversation gets tense, most founders reach for control. Doug Noll, a former trial lawyer, offers a different first move. Two words. You feel. Name the other person's emotion out loud, then keep listening. Christina Harbridge starts in the body. When physiology is hijacked, people act outside their own values. Her advice is to get curious in discomfort.
Courtney Ramsey's napkin says quit hitting snooze. She opens a hard talk by saying her intent out loud. Sheelagh Whittaker says the hesitation is a communication too. For feedback, Christina watches for what she likes. Then she can name exactly what someone should repeat.
Then there's the leader's side. Jeff Wetzler led a team of hundreds. They still weren't telling him what they thought. David Herle watched politicians get cocooned once they held power. Any founder at the top of what they built can drift the same way.
“Tell the truth quickly, big things and small.”
Sheelagh Whittaker, Episode 229
Start here: the top 10
1
Two Words That Calm a Tense Conversation: "You Feel"
Episode 387 · Doug Noll
Doug Noll: two words, 'you feel', that calm a tense conversation.
2
How to Give Feedback That Changes Behavior: Christina Harbridge
Episode 47 · Christina Harbridge
Christina Harbridge: how to give feedback that changes behavior.
3
Get Curious in Discomfort: Christina Harbridge on Tense Conversations
Episode 349 · Christina Harbridge
Christina Harbridge: get curious in discomfort during tense conversations.
4
Stop Putting Off Hard Conversations: Courtney Ramsey on Intent
Episode 276 · Courtney Ramsey
Courtney Ramsey: stop putting off hard conversations.
5
The Most Interested Are the Most Interesting: Christopher Robbins
Episode 214 · Christopher Robbins
Christopher Robbins: the most interested are the most interesting; curiosity and asking questions in conversation.
6
Why Leaders Stop Listening Once They Hold Power: David Herle
Episode 263 · David Herle
David Herle: why leaders stop listening once they hold power, and how to get honest feedback anyway.
7
Tell the Truth Quickly: Sheelagh Whittaker on Candor in Leadership
Episode 229 · Sheelagh Whittaker
Sheelagh Whittaker: tell the truth quickly.
8
How to Tell Your Story as a Leader: Sekou Andrews on Becoming It
Episode 210 · Sekou Andrews
Sekou Andrews: telling your story as a leader, a story is only as great as its teller.
9
How to Listen Better as a Leader: Patrick Thean on True Curiosity
Episode 96 · Patrick Thean
Patrick Thean: how to listen better as a leader.
10
Why Your Team Won't Tell You What They Think: Jeff Wetzler
Episode 275 · Jeff Wetzler
Jeff Wetzler: why your team won't tell you what they think.
Build the Field
Build the Field is a live cohort where peers question and challenge you each week, a good place to practice the conversations you keep putting off.
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