People Skills

“Kristin, I just saw my first squirrel!” -Ceren, our exchange student from Turkey I don’t know why I’m surprised to hear this comment because every exchange our family has ever hosted has said the same thing.  EVERY. SINGLE. ONE. *claps hands for emphasis!* Squirrels are something I take for granted. I don’t often see them.  They blend […]

“Well someone certainly turned on the like switch” my son wryly says as I walk up and greet my family after my tandem paragliding session. “Yep”, I reply while matching his wry smile. Our family spent the last week vacationing in California and one of the highlights included my husband and I splurging for a 20 minute

It might be the nicer weather. It might be that I ran into some friendly people. It might be that people are feeling super social after being cooped up for a year. Dunno. In any case, my two recent “outside of my house” trips involved a lively, masked banter with a stranger. One. At the

These last two months I’ve just been “going through the motions”. So has my sister. And, especially my dad. In October my mom passed away and we are still figuring out what to do. I mean, there are things like muddling through the Thanksgiving twice-baked mashed potato recipe she always made. And writing thank you’s

I just discovered this comedian and wanted to share her “insights” with you. Introducing…Sarah Cooper! Sarah is the author of the book “100 Tricks to Appear Smart in Meetings” and below is her YouTube clip, “Nodding Strategies for Your Next Meeting”. Take a moment to watch, laugh, and nod along.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tbQG6roKYcA&feature=youtu.beSarah does a good job with

I’ve made at least 3,997,642 ish in my approximation. This means you should really like me because there is the science that says that when “typically competent people make small mistakes”, they are viewed as more likable. This is known in the scientific world as the “Pratfall Effect”. (Cue angels singing and me softly weeping).

Everyone needs to feel seen and heard. It’s a basic need and when people are marginalized and treated unfairly, they act out in frustration. This is perfectly demonstrated in the following clip. Let’s Watch a Capuchin Monkey video. (Because who doesn’t want to watch a monkey video?!) Cucumbers vs. Grapes. The Capuchin monkey experiment symbolizes