"I Have Nothing to Say:" Conversation starters and deepeners

What to ask other than" "What are you thankful for?" Toward good Thanks...

How to Interview a Friend or Relative

7 Alternatives to "Hi, how are you?" "Fine."

A Martian visiting Earth would have a hard time understanding why so many interactions begin with, “Hi, how are you?" "Fine. How are you?" "Fine.”

Yes, that's a social convention, a nicety designed to acknowledge the other person and give a moment to gather thoughts. But you might want an alternative or two to that old standard. I offer seven in my Psychology Today article today. 

10 Words or Phrases to Use More in the New Year: Words that convey intelligence and nuance

How-to books and even, ahem, blog posts, may not sufficiently engender behavior change.

My clients generally find that the more concise the advice, the more likely they are to follow it. Well, the ultimate in brevity of course, is the word or phrase. My PsychologyToday.com article today suggests ten words or phrases that you might want to more often use in in 2021. Of course, there’s no need to wait until the New Year. Feel free to start now.

Small Talk For People Bad at It: A step-by-step approach

We’re going to a party, on a date, or to a workplace event. “After, ‘hi’,” what will we say? Silence would be embarrassing.

Some people are naturals at small talk, the usually necessary prerequisite to deeper conversation. My PsychologyToday.com article today is for the rest of us.

When You Want to Persuade Someone

If a sailor hopes to make it to Hawaii, s/he must stay alert to the need to adjust a sail, change course, etc.

Similarly, in our conversations. we must we stay alert to the need to change tactics.

In my PsychologyToday.com article today, I discuss the situation in which an employee feels overworked and micromanaged.