Relationships thrive on genuine connection—on feeling heard, understood, and supported at a deeper level. Yet all too often, we hold back, afraid of vulnerability, or simply unsure how to open up. This pattern of emotional distance is sometimes called “emotional unavailability.” While it can protect us from hurt, it also holds us back from the warmth and intimacy we crave.
Why do we intend to do things but often don’t follow through? Learn how the Theory of Reasoned Action explains this puzzle—and how attitudes, social norms, and perceived obstacles shape your intentions and actions.
When you have something difficult to say, something that might hurt or embarrass the person you're talking to, how should you say it?
Should you come right out and say it, bluntly and honestly?
Or should you be tactful and indirect?
What values should guide us in these situations?
Is honesty the highest value? Or is kindness?
I want to tell you a story.
In addition to being a college professor, I'm a consultant. The most common kind of training I do, as a consultant, is communication skills training.
I specialize in training health professionals how to talk to patients and families who have been harmed by healthcare.
These are very difficult conversations. We focus a lot on empathic communication skills, which is a topic I've taught a lot about.
I'm going to teach you the single most important step you can take to begin to improve your communication skill.
Our own behavior is killing us.
If you look at the top 10 causes of death, you'll see at the top diseases like heart disease, cancer, and stroke, but it's actually our own behavior, smoking, drinking, not exercising, having a poor diet, which lead to the problems.
If you want to change people's behavior, you have to stop giving them information.
Information alone simply isn't persuasive. Most of the time, people already have a lot of the basic information like smoking causes lung cancer, but it doesn't change their behavior.
If you want to actually change people's behavior, you have to put this information into a story.
I want to talk about why we're often so scared of social interaction.
A lot of us are really scared about having a conversation.
We get anxious about giving a public speech, and we just have the feeling that the social world and social interaction and conversations are frightening and anxiety provoking.
The question is, why?
What exactly are we scared of?
If you want to be successful personally and professionally, you have to put down your phone and learn to have face-to-face conversations.
The popularity of cell phones has made an entire generation of young people afraid of face-to-face conversation.
If you don't stop texting, and instead learn to embrace telephone calls and face-to-face conversations, you will never develop the emotional intelligence, maturity, and empathy that are necessary to be a happy, successful person.
One of the main reasons people are afraid of face-to-face conversation and prefer texting is that they say when they're texting, they can edit what they say and correct things.
I'm going to give you five things you can say that allow you to edit your real-time remarks in a face-to-face conversation or phone call.
