‘Tis the season: How to build more trust with us introverts

This post is part of our Monthly-ish Tips series.

The winter holiday season has descended here in the U.S. and beyond, which has many of the introverts among us (me included) uttering groans of dread as we face a dramatic uptick in social obligations. It occurred to me it might be useful to share a few tips for introverts and extroverts alike to help us all manage our circumstances for the best possible trust-building outcomes.

Start your next client interaction this way

This post is part of our Monthly-ish Tips series.

I had a really great experience with a customer support person not too long ago, via chat no less. It wasn’t because they were uber-friendly (which oddly tends to annoy me); it was because they did something really simple and distinctive early on that relates to the more rational side of trust-building (which is where most are more comfortable anyway). And few of us do this enough—or consistently enough—with our own clients, whatever the communication medium.

Reprise: How your relationship to authority may be hurting your client relationships

This post is part of our Monthly-ish Tips series.

I was recently interviewed for a podcast and asked at the end, “What advice would you give your 20-year-old self?” My answer reminded me of a cautionary tale from the early days of my consulting career. I think there’s a good bit of generalized wisdom in my story about everyone’s relationship to authority, and how that can cost us in terms of trust and relationship-building.

Reprise: A different kind of resolution for a different path to better relationships

This post is part of our Monthly-ish Tips series.

It’s the first week back at work for many of us in the new year, which means that any resolutions resolutely declared are within about 10 days of faltering—at least according to psychologists who say we typically do well for the first couple of weeks and then backslide. So I’m reprising my plea that we all try something a little different this year. Brace yourself because it may sound more than a little woo-woo.

Ready?