It was snack time at my house and my kiddo pulled a giant orange out of the fridge and told me it was a dinosaur egg.

 

In a previous life, I might have argued, stated the obvious.

 

Instead, I played along. 

This didn't always come naturally, but it's a skill I learned in improv. 

Accept what's given, build on other people's ideas.

 

That’s what I did – I acknowledged his reality and indulged in playful banter.

Why not eat dinosaur eggs for snack?

This technique has proved incredibly useful for:

 

• Family car trips (purple gas station where the gas costs a dollar, yes please) 

• Brainstorming sessions where teams use their imagination instead of crushing each other's ideas (possible and not just in dream land!)

• Business meetings that spur creativity and are filled with productive discourse instead of verbal tug of war (sign me up)

The next time someone offers up a new idea, whether at work, at home, on a long car trip, or in the kitchen, instead of telling them they're crazy or why it won't work, play along.

Accept their reality. Tell them what you like about their idea.

 

It makes life more fun. 

It ends arguments. 

It exercises your imagination.

It encourages creative thinking and spurs innovation. 

You may or may not be craving holiday cheer this season (and I support your decision if you’re not), but who couldn’t use some extra creativity and innovation?

Hi, I’m Madeline.

I help leaders and organizations tell their stories, lead their teams and make change in the world.

I combine a project manger’s sense of process and a creative’s sense of play to bring more clarity, creativity and collaboration to communication.

Get in touch at madeline@madelineschwarz.com

“Dream with ambition. Lead with conviction. See yourself in a way that others may not, simply because they haven't seen it before.”   

– Vice President-Elect Kamala Harris

Yesterday, I caught the most amazing moment of 2nd-grade remote school.

They were discussing the book Grace for President and one of the students told the teacher “I think you should be president. 

She replied, “I'm honored and I hope to teach a future president.”

What are you dreaming of? 

And how can I help?

Next week, I'm speaking at the Career Breakthrough Summit, an event for professional women designed to support you as you get promoted and move toward a senior leadership role.

If you’ve ever talked yourself out of opportunities because you worry it might require too many personal sacrifices, this event is for you.

Liz St. Jean is a leadership expert devoted to closing the leadership gender gap and ending dysfunctional workplaces.

I couldn’t be more excited to share 5 principles you can use to activate your empathy and listening power in difficult conversations. Join me Monday, November 16th.

I’m one of 14 experts sharing tips and strategies to advance yourself without losing yourself.

Topics range from setting boundaries, making working motherhood work for you and taking control of your energy in the most stressful situations..

Tickets are free and you can join us here.

Hi, I’m Madeline.

I help quiet leaders and organizations communicate their story and invite audiences into their world.

Together we’ll transform how you communicate, at work, at home, in life.

Get in touch at madeline@madelineschwarz.com

I recently read an HBR article discussing why curiosity is vital to an organization’s performance.

It’s vital for decision making, communication and building better relationships at work.

When you’re stuck, curiosity can get you unstuck.

If your project leads are micromanaging, get curious.

If your teammates object to all your ideas, get curious instead of defensive.

Ask yourself what led them to this belief and what made them think this is the best option?

If you’re having difficulty responding with curiosity, picture what you’d do when a baby is crying.

Do you judge them for crying or do you get curious about what’s causing the crying?

What would happen if you applied this same technique at work.

Curiosity is crucial for effective problem-solving. It can help teams:

• innovate and come up with more creative solutions.

• pivot in times of uncertainty.

• show up to difficult conversations with an open mind.

• build trust with colleagues.

• create space for collaboration.

And who doesn’t want more creativity, more possibilities and more collaborative communication?

So how do you move into the space of curiosity if your default is skepticism?

Let your face lead the way.

When you unfurrow your brow, open your eyes and listen with all your senses, you tap into your creativity and see other possibilities that previously weren’t available.

Below are a few guidelines to help:

1. Listen more than you talk

2. Ask more questions

3. Be humble 

4. Approach things with a beginner’s mind

5. Adopt a learning mindset

6. Get curious about where you agree as opposed to defensive about where you disagree

Are you ready to change how you communicate at work and bring out your curiosity? Let's chat.

Hi, I’m Madeline.

I help quiet leaders and organizations communicate their story and invite audiences into their world.

Together we’ll transform how you communicate, at work, at home, in life.

Get in touch at madeline@madelineschwarz.com.

Are you feeling stuck?

Sometimes play can help you get unstuck so you can come up with new ideas.

That's why I created the Momentum Maker, a new spin on a classic game piece.

You might remember it as a fortune teller or a cootie catcher. But unlike the ones you made in grade school, this one won’t tell you who you’re going to marry or how many kids you’re going to have. Instead, it will do something far more useful.

The Momentum Maker is a conversation tool to stop procrastination
and get your team talking and engaged in a productive dialog exchange.

Check out this interview from when I was featured on The Cheerful Mind to find out how I use the Momentum Maker as a coaching tool. https://youtu.be/CRUp9Wm7jHI

Want one?

Join us at the next workshop Collaboration with Your Clients: Critical Conversation Skills To Keep Presentations On Track presented by Spark Design Professionals.

Below are 4 communication strategies that I wish were in every employee handbook.

1. ACKNOWLEDGE AND VALIDATE

Imagine this scene:

Your Account Manager comes to your desk (or messages you on Slack) at 12:30pm to check on the deck that was due at noon. It’s not done and it’s pretty clear that you’re going to miss the 3pm client deadline.

Account Manager says: “It’s late. This was supposed to be finished at noon.”

You answer: “We didn’t have enough time and we can’t show it because it’s not approved.”

Things go downhill from there.

Sound familiar? I’ve been in this exact situation dozens of times.

Imagine if you instead answered: “It makes sense you’re nervous because clients look to you when things are late.”

2. PREPARE FOR THE TOUGH QUESTIONS IN ADVANCE

If you anticipate that your teammates or your boss are going to ask tough questions, prep for them ahead of time.

Here are few questions that often come up at the end of a presentation:

• How are you going to build that?

• We love it, can we see the next round tomorrow?

• It’s not quite what we’re looking for, can we see 6 more options tomorrow?

• How much will it cost?

Plan out your answers ahead of time.

If the project is going to cost 5 million dollars and the budget is 2 million you might want to have a few speaking points prepared about why it’s worth the extra investment.

3. REFRAME THE SITUATION

If you go into a presentation or a meeting thinking it’s going to be terrible, chances are good that it will be a waste of time.

If you think of those meetings as an opportunity to show off your best skills, get creative, and collectively brainstorm, it will probably be more fun (and make your whole team look good).

Designers, your account or project manager is not asking you how it’s going because they want to drive you nuts. There’s a lot of business on the line and they have clients breathing down their neck. Think about how you can help them do their job better and the information you would want in their shoes.

And project managers, your designers aren’t ignoring you because they are ignoring your project. They’re working on it, along with the 10 other projects on their list. How can you help them prioritize?

4. USE I STATEMENTS

When you feel yourself getting defensive, try to steer clear of accusations like “You’re stressing me out" and use this formula:

I feel ________________(emotion) when you __________________ (do this action).

Going back to the example presented in Tip #1, this might sound like:

"I feel nervous when the deck is only 30% done and it’s due tomorrow."

It removes some of the finger pointing and allows all parties to take responsibility for how they’re feeling.

Want more help navigating the murky waters of difficult conversations? Download 4 Skills to Master Tricky Conversations.