Difficult people do exist at work. They come in every variety and no workplace is without them. How difficult a person is for you to deal with depends on your self-esteem, your self-confidence and your professional courage at work.
They all have one thing in common. You must address them. No matter the type of difficult situation in which you find yourself, dealing with difficult people or situations is a must.

Handling difficult people is more about you and your reaction.

My blog article offers 15+1 Smart Techniques to Deal with Difficult People at Work.

For many professionals, limiting thoughts or even negative beliefs haunt their minds. These have a limiting effect on self-confidence and success at work. I have observed this especially in women.

Our life experiences - essentially, our successes and failures - are shaped by two types of communication: Our inner communication, which includes our ideas, our thoughts and our feelings.

And external communication, which includes words, tone of voice, facial expressions, gestures and physical actions. Every communication we are "involved" in is an action, a cause. Every communication therefore has an effect on ourselves and others. In this blog I will look at our inner communication and offer a process to dissolve limiting beliefs.

Women in business may find day-to-day communications challenging. How do I express my thoughts, needs, and goals with assertion? Will I be perceived as aggressive or pushy? How do I drive the conversation in a way that leads to my desired outcome while maintaining a positive relationship with the person I’m interacting with?

Many women want to develop the assertive communication skills needed to express themselves, deliver a message effectively, and be heard without second-guessing themselves. Finding the right balance between confidence and an impactful expression of your position is key.

Assertiveness is a skill that means demonstrating healthy confidence where you state your rights and stand up for yourself in a respectful manner. You are taking care of yourself by looking out for yourself.

Active listening is one of the most critical skills in effective communication. Most of us were taught how to speak, how to present clearly, how to make a good argument, defend a position, ask questions, make a point, but few of us have been taught how to listen. We may have been told to listen or scolded for not listening but seldom taught how to do a better job of it. So, we grow up thinking that listening is “not” doing something. That it is passive. We are either good at it or not. But that is not really true. Listening is a skill that can be learned and developed like any other skill. The article features some techniques you can use to become an active listener. The author offers an easy exercise How to Become an Effective Listener on request.

Believe it or not, most communication is nonverbal. Are you really saying what you think you’re saying? If you often find that people misunderstand you, perhaps your body language is communicating different thoughts than what your voice is saying!

Adjusting your body language can strengthen your communication and help you make a better impression in all kinds of social and professional settings. Facial expressions, hand gestures, and posture all communicate certain meanings. When your body language agrees with your words, what you say is much more powerful.

Whether you wonder what messages you're sending with your body language or you just want some tips to brush up on your communication skills, here are some techniques you can try. Katharina Engelhardt shares general principles, head and body adjustments.

Body language is an important interpersonal skill. By taking conscious control of your nonverbal communication, you help yourself to feel more confident and you put others at ease.

Body language and career confidence are the center of her course SPEAK UP!

Why Are People So Anxious About Public Speaking?

Public Speaking Fear can be paralyzing... You probably know the feeling. You can work for weeks, learn the materials, prepare the presentation. You try to ignore the anxiety. And then it's the moment... You go to the stand... Your throat is dry, you begin to stutter... Your brain feels empty. The good news is that this phobia can be reversed and that there are lots of help to overcome this problem.
In my course SPEAK UP! We tackle exactly this topic.

7 TIPS HOW TO SAY NO

Time is a limited resource and we all need to be careful what we do with our time. It seems that there is never enough time in a day. But, since we all get the same 24 hours, why is it that some people achieve so much more with their time than others? The easy answer is in good time management. Lots of people attend time management seminars, with the following idea: Effective time management is the effective use of your time that allows you to plan your days in such a way that you finish your work with less effort and make the most of the limited time you’ve got. But for many of us it is not time management which is the challenge, but to say NO! The blog shares 7 tips on how to say NO!