Left side, right side

Have you been doing your hourly squats?  Yes?  Excellent.

You’ve now graduated to the Elbow Tap:

• Stand with arms at sides.
• Bend and touch your right elbow to left knee as you raise your leg.
• Then stand and touch your left elbow to your right knee.
• Repeat 5 times each side.

Sit back down.  How do you feel?

Turns out, cross-lateral movements (those in which arms and legs cross over from one side of the body to the other) “unstick” the brain and energize learning.

The left side of the brain controls the right side of the body, and the right side of the brain controls the left side. Both sides are forced to communicate when arms and legs cross over.

Cool huh?

Thanks for the tip, Dr. Paula Berardinelli!

Have an INCREDIBLE Halloween

Apparently, there is truth to the adage 'dress for success'.  

Research shows your alertness is affected by what you wear.

One study found that people wearing a doctor’s lab coat displayed heightened attention.

When the same people then wore an identical coat but were told it was a painter’s coat, they weren't as attentive as when they wore (what they perceived to be) the doctor's coat.

The research found: “The influence of clothes thus depends on wearing them and their symbolic meaning.”  

Seems like the impact of dressing casually in the office can have some scary effects.  Read more here.

But not tomorrow....

Happy Halloween!  

If you or your team dress up, please share a picture on our FB page. 

Triple Nod

Do you deal with customers and clients in person?

If so, get to know the triple nod.

• No nodding = bored or disinterested
• Too much nodding = impatient or overly agreeable
• The Goldilocks of nodding - just right - is three, slow and deliberate nods.  That signals your customer to keep going by showing that you are listening.

BTW:  Works on internal customers too.

"I don't know"

My dunkin' donut habit/math problem from last weeks' E-Couragement inspired some conversation, so let's continue.

The moral of the DD story was to be curious vs. being right.  When we think we are right, we don't listen very well, in fact, instead of listening, we're waiting to speak. 

When we're curious we focus fully on the caller's request.

But what do you do when you don't know?   Find out.
What do you say?  "I'd be happy to look into that and get back to you by 4 pm today."

Why does that work?
- you're expressing your desire to help
- you're letting them know that you will take action
- you are managing expectations by setting a specific timeframe

And in case you are wondering, it's 3 cups of strong, black coffee a day.  Thank goodness new research shows this to be a good habit!

Question for you...

How much Dunkin’ Donuts coffee does Ann drink a year?
     -  Do you know?
     -  Would you like try to figure it out or guess?

Your answer should be: “I don’t know” but most people are uncomfortable saying those words.   
We like to be smart, have answers, and be an expert.  This is helpful when we are solving problems, but not when we are listening.  When you are listening, it’s better to be curious and open.

At the beginning of your next call,  aim to be curious not right.

Try this simple chant as you greet your caller: “I wonder who it is? I wonder what they need?”

Give it a whirl and let me know how it works for you.  I’m curious and probably drinking a dunkin'.

It's the people

If you left your job today, what would you miss?

The most common response to this question is: “the people.”
This answer doesn’t change across businesses and industries that I work with.  It’s the people.

Why not take a moment today to appreciate your people:
-    Offer to get someone a coffee
-    Bring in some homemade goodies
-    Share a good binge-watchable show recommendation
-    Give someone your full attention as they share a personal story

For inspiration, check out this 2.48 minute video story.

Aww...

Yes, that's the reaction I was expecting.  

Last week's post about putting on your positive pants received a lot of great feedback so I thought I'd share more tips from Jane McGonigal.

Tip #3: Emotional Resilience

Looking at pictures of baby animals changes your frame of mind in an instant. Didn't you have a reaction when you saw the seal pup?  We added this picture but it'd be a good idea to have a picture at your desk of something or someone that makes you smile.

Tip #4: Social Resilience 

We need human connection. Find someone and shake hands for 6 seconds.  This positive, personal interaction is said to increase oxytocin in the brain and make you feel better.  

Now you have all four resilience tips from Jane: Physical, Mental, Social and Emotional.  And yes, there's an app for that: https://www.superbetter.com/  

Choose the one that you need when you need it and send me (well, Karen, actually) a picture of your favorite baby animal.