Talk2Grow

Dear startup heroes
If you are done having your morning tea with your favourite co-worker, here's something for you 💯

👉How would it be if you got more time to interact with each other except for the tea breaks or lunch breaks?
👉Or rather, how would it be if you could make this person grow professionally and personally alongside you?

Huzefa, I'm not getting married. Get to the point 🙂

Well, if you are currently spending more than 7-8 hours in the same co-working space/office, there's a lot more you can do to ace your relationship-building skills with your co-workers by nurturing your bond with them

Let's take a look at these ⬇️

🎯Register for an online course and start upskilling yourself. It's always a good option to constantly look for growth opportunities with each other

🎯Learn about workplace dynamics by asking about or sharing your experiences at your previous workplace. The more you share, the faster you grow

🎯Why should only founders take all the initiative? If you think you and your co-worker can make a difference and have a unique perspective, voice it out. Collaborate on a project, ace the delivery and become the talk of the town

🎯If you are fitness freaks, consider joining a gym or yoga class and be each others' accountability partners to achieve healthcare goals

🎯Volunteer to be a part of networking events. Create a chain of network by sharing leads from such events with the appropriate person and uplift each other while also bringing more business

Share this with your co-workers and start bonding

Dear employers, managers and team leads 👩🏼‍💻
Are you aware of what's up with your team off-lately? 😊

If not, it's high time you make an effort to know it. Else, you might be calling for some trouble 🤷🏼‍♂️

Research states that 42% of a manager's time is spent managing conflict 🔎

But what if there's a way to be proactive and prevent it beforehand? 🤔

All you need to do is take a short round around the desk of your employees and ask them some questions.
Let's take a look at some of these

💯 The most basic one must begin with being a little direct and asking if they are enjoying their work.

💯 Next, take a step ahead and understand if they are content with what they are doing by aligning your vision with their personal goals

💯 In the age of AI and upskilling, know if they already have or are interested in learning new tools to ease their job

💯 The most difficult one on the list, ask if they are experiencing any work pressure. A lot of us may hesitate to do this because deadlines are deadlines, my boy. But, it's important to know how to assert those deadlines by making the employees feel comfortable

💯 If you believe you are not spending enough time to understand the team dynamics, try understanding if their rapport is okay with the rest of the team members.

Let's not wait for conflicts to occur.
Let's be inquisitive and prevent them 😎

Follow hashtag for more

Have you ever silently walked away from a conversation? 🤐

We may have at some point because
⚠ The vibe must have been strange
⚠ The topic of discussion might have led to pessimistic triggers
⚠ We must have felt uncomfortable at that spot

While walking away instead of interrupting is a wise choice, the same can be perceived as a sign of under-confidence in professional as well as other social settings

A wise communicator may choose to walk away and engage in a conversation with other individuals ✅

However, an effective and assertive communicator can confidently convey his/her discomfort to the group involved 💪🏼

It is never a bad choice to express your discomfort.

To ensure that it does not sound rude, consider asking if the group is okay with changing the topic of discussion for your betterment and well-being 🙌🏼

In case the majority of people refuse to do so, you can then choose to walk away by stating this as a reason 💯

Picture this

You are at a family function and finally decide to tell your mother about your girlfriend/boyfriend. Just at the right time, the 'Sharma ji's wife' interrupts and opens up the treasure of weekly gossip before you and your mother, killing the vibe

Sounds extremely frustrating right?

Interruptions in conversations, especially when uninvited, can irritate the other person and may lead to conflicts if not managed at the right time or appropriately 🙌🏼

Many times, we may not feel good about it and still fail to convey the same to the interrupter
👉🏼 To avoid being rude
👉🏼 To come across as an attitude-freak
👉🏼 To stain your reputation within a community

However, if we turn the tables and you are required to interrupt due to no choices at all, make sure that you
🎯 Acknowledge the presence of the other individual
🎯 Withdraw from the conversation within 1-2 minutes
🎯 Provide appropriate context to continue with the conversation at a later date

Have you ever been interrupted in a conversation? How did you react in such a situation?
Let me know in the comments section

Let's connect if you wish to master the art of confident communication in different situations 👇🏼
https://lnkd.in/gv9iD6tZ

We all have a friend who gives the best hugs. Don't we??
Does this mean that you can't communicate by other forms of touch? 😊

In social settings, physical touch i.e. Haptics plays an important role in appropriately conveying your thoughts and expressions 🙌🏼

However, you cannot always hug an individual or pat on the back of any random stranger out of nowhere. Thus, every form of good touch communicates/conveys a certain expression. Let's take a look at it

🎯 Handshake: A handshake is usually used as a greeting across the globe in various cultures. Apart from that, it is highly used to express interest in a long-term bonding or an initiation of a professional relationship with another individual

🎯 High Five: A high five usually indicates victory on various occasions. Additionally, it denotes a strong bond between team members and instils the confidence of a winner

🎯 Backslapping: Commonly known as Pat on the back, this touch denotes a sense of pride while congratulating another person. When you are genuinely happy for someone you have known closely or at a professional level, backslapping is an optimistic way of encouraging the individual

🎯 Soft touch on hands or cheeks: This form of touch is common among couples and friends who have known each other for a long time. It indicates a strong affection towards the individual and is also used as a comforting gesture during distress

🎯 Hugs: Quite common among Gen Z's and even otherwise, hugs are used to denote a sense of belongingness and acceptance towards another individual at a personal or in some cases, even a professional level.

Which ones do you practice frequently? Let me know in the comments section

How often do you observe yourself in public?? 😊

Lol! Do you think I carry a mirror with me everywhere? 🤷🏼‍♀️

Yes, you do.

Not the literal one but the mirror within that helps you introspect how you carry yourself in public. If you've ever had an opportunity to do this, let's take a quick look at 4 signs that indicate nervousness in a situation 💯

😢 Feet tapping. If your feet do not stop like a passionate dancer during presentations or interviews, it's your nervousness shouting within to escape the situation as soon as possible

😢 Finger fidgeting. Nervousness also means grabbing a pen or something handy and constantly fidgeting with it. If nothing, we end up fidgeting with our fingers as well

😢 Constantly checking your phone. In the age of smartphones, we usually end up checking our phones for a message or a potential missed call to escape a certain conversation. While it sometimes is a result of addiction, it can also mean anxiousness in facing a certain set of people

😢 Avoiding eye contact. During confrontations and other difficult situations, avoiding eye contact equals nervousness arising due to under-confidence and hesitation in accepting responsibility etc.

Bro Huzefa! Everyone is growth-oriented. It's only the time it takes for people to move from 0 to 1 that defines success

If my younger self tells me this today, I'll have a nice laugh 😂

Success is never defined by time. It's the mindset which is important. Thus, if you are truly growing, you can scale the same by incorporating these 5 moves

1. Invest in upskilling yourself every month. I don't mean to keep doing online courses. It can mean building connections with new people or learning about the latest trends in your niche.

2. Speak like there's no second chance. It's always a better option to listen to multiple perspectives and then put forth yours. Being assertive is important. However, blocking your mind to the acceptance of unique ideas is wrong

3. Competition cannot be avoided. But it can be tackled by exploring opportunities to collaborate. If you fail in doing so, never look down upon others who are serving in your niche.

4. Ask for critical opinions from your acquaintances, friends, peers, etc. It's okay to hesitate before doing so but magical when you implement it

5. Get over the mindset that you are enough for yourself. You are not. If things fall apart with someone, believe in fixing it together rather than moving on.

Anything else that you would like to add to this list that you practice? Let me know in the comments section

BONUS POINT IN THE END

It is not rocket science to understand that facilitating a training session requires effective presentation skills. 💯

However, there are 4 other important things that are essentials of a sound training session

1️⃣ Understanding your target audience without which you can offer what you like but will never be able to offer what they want.

2️⃣ Bridging the gap between what you know and what you can train on. This reality check is necessary to ensure that you don't brand yourself as a subject matter expert unless you are well-versed in what it takes to be a trainer

3️⃣ Personalizing is the key to getting future opportunities. We often love going back to the person who makes us feel special and heard while polishing and nurturing our abilities

4️⃣ Going back to the feedback received from the last audience. The moment you stop doing this, you de-transition from a growth mindset to a fixed mindset

5️⃣ THE BONUS POINT is about your intentions while training a specific group. We all wish to grow as trainers. But, you will scale this growth when your intention is to help your trainees grow in their area of interest

In a lot of cases, what we say matters more than how we say it especially when you are not physically present before each other

One such statement is 'Good for you '.

While technically there is nothing wrong in using it to praise someone, it generally denotes
👉 A sarcastic remark
👉 A fake praise
👉 Anger

To make sure that such misconceptions as well as the bad air around it is removed, it is important to support it with some powerful statements or compliments that do not leave the receiver in 2 minds about it

Check out the post for the same and stay tuned

We all felt it when Arjun in ZNMD said, "IT'S NOT FUNNY"

This is because humour hits differently to different people While something might be funny for you, it certainly may not be for somebody else.

Here are 5 ways in which your jokes might not be taken lightly

🎯Passing a personal remark. Not everybody has the same set of open boundaries. Anything personal when used in a humorous way can surely hurt

🎯Remember how we hated it when we were compared with other kids in our childhood?. But, do you realize you might be doing it as a joke and someone might be feeling the same way? Sounds a little rough na?

🎯The worst trigger for a person is when you touch their insecurities. The very fact that you are aware of it shows that the person has trusted you with something, Thus, it is never advisable to crack jokes around it

🎯When a person is working on himself/herself, the least we can do is support them. The worst is when you make fun of what they were because it kills the entire motivation to work on it

🎯Some situations in life must be dealt with some seriousness. Not everything is funny and when you approach everything light-heartedly, it turns you into a non-approachable person

If not used properly, humour can be a dangerous weapon that can tarnish relationships.

Why do you think the interviewers, at the end of an interview, ask, "Are there any questions for me/us?"

A very important reason behind doing this is to check your level of maturity and presence of mind, interest in the company and any background research that you have done before the interview

Is it necessary to ask a question because it's anyway optional?
Yes, it is. It shows your interest, inquisitiveness and excitement about your job which are important parameters for evaluating an employee

These questions can get your interviewer's mind tickling and provide you with some much-needed details about your role or the company.

After you are appointed, you may not get a chance to speak with a person in authority to obtain clarity on certain aspects due to various reasons

Thus, make complete use of this and ask these questions to secure a better understanding of what you are stepping into

Revealing the big surprise 🎯

The Ultimate Guide to Mastering 50 Difficult Conversations, which will be provided to all the participants of the workshop scheduled for the 8th, 9th and 10th of this month 💯

Split into sections for easier reference, the guide has situations ranging from handling an argument with friends to bigger challenges like answering difficult questions during a public speaking activity.

What's more? These are not generic points but are real-time situations that we may have faced or might face along with ready-made templates of appropriate words and sentences to be used for getting through them.

Still thinking? Register for the workshop now from the link in bio and grab this guide to improve your confidence in facing challenging situations