Communicate with Courage
Many years ago when I first started out in sales I was tasked with reading The Nordstrom Way, a book showcasing the successful method instilling exceptional customer service. Not that the customer is always right, rather treat people with respect, kindness and be helpful. Fast forward to 2023…I challenge anyone to tell me that customer service as a whole isn’t down the tubes. Saying good morning, please and thank you, you’re welcome, how may I help you for the most part is a way of the past and in my opinion it should not be. Being polite, gracious and helpful is free and can be the winning score in a losing game. I will take mediocre food or products any day that is served with good communication and service over exception products served with crappy communication and service.
But is there an internal struggle with communication? Should we be looking closer at the challenge of facing communication in a day and age where much of our communication is isolated with keyboard emojis and a language not actually spoken and no eye connect necessary? Do we need to be brave and take risks to overcome those hidden challenges with being a successful communicator?
Michelle Gladieux, a Hoosier, communications expert and author dives deep into the challenges we face in being successful in our communication and how to work to overcome and grow in being more effective with those skills. She believes raising our game as communicators is the best way to make a difference in our careersand relationships, but it takes courage to find our voice, open up, and invite others to open up to us.
This book is an easy read with real life examples of how being brave and integrating these methods can make a real difference. Communicate with Courage, Taking Risks to Overcome Four Hidden Challenges will help transform your relationship with your self and others. It is something everyone should read from high schoolers to retirees. You are never to old to learn better practices.
The book is now available on Amazon.
About the Author
Michelle Gladieux (Glad-ee-oh) is author of Communicate with Courage: Taking Risks to Overcome the Four Hidden Challenges and President of Gladieux Consulting, a Midwestbased team known for top-notch design and presentation of seminars in communication and leadership topics around the U.S. She provides executive coaching and facilitates strategic planning for clients in diverse industries, in governments, at non-profits, and in academia. She has 18 years of collegiate teaching experience at three universities in her home state of Indiana, accepting her first adjunct faculty position at age 23. Her students (whether in introductory public speaking or graduate-level organizational psychology courses) benefitted from her deep commitment to helping others grow as communicators. She's worked as a Corporate Human Resources and Training Director in the cold storage, robotics, and construction industries and enjoys visiting conferences as a keynote speaker and workshop presenter. She's served on several boards of directors including the National Public Radio affiliate in her hometown for more than a dozen years. Michelle has mentored thousands of people and her positive effect on those she advises is evident even after just one interaction. Her clients and friends are delighted that she's finally documented some of her best tips (AKA "Pro Moves") in Communicate with Courage. Please visit her company website, Gladieux Consulting, to learn more about Michelle.
