EDtalk: Recent Episodes
Focus Life Institute
EDtalk - The Power of Influence
Don't miss this opportunity! Now is the time to do a personal inventory and become a person of influence. Many companies are looking for individuals who will step up at this time and become positive change agents who can influence their sphere of relationships. Ed and others are influencing their communities in innovative ways as well as preparing themselves as influencers in society!
EDtalk Preparation To Lead
Ed brings you a leadership principle of preparation with a new perspective to serve others gaining greater levels of results. Many people are not prepared to advance or move to the next level of success. Are you?
EDtalk - Improving Your Time Management
Time Management is listed as the number 2 essential soft skill employers are demanding within the workplace. Ed offers practical solutions to reduce distractions and effectively manage your time producing greater productivity and a higher return on your investment.
EDtalk - Staying FOCUSED in Crisis - Invest in Yourself
When this COVID-19 is over, where will you be positioned? This is the time to invest in yourself and be ready with the skills you need to have as you reenter the workforce or school. Many people are wasting time right now from this social distancing. BUT for you this could be the best time to position yourself into a new career, make more money or advance and get promoted in your current job. Don't let this down time slip away, INVEST in yourself NOW and be prepared when we come through this crisis!
Leading in Crisis - Be a HERO!
In the midst of the Coronavirus, The Focus Life Institute is offering our HEROES Leadership e-Course, HEROES Effect e-Book and Your Unique Assessment for FREE. We continue to pray for those who have been infected by this Coronavirus. We believe we can all come together and be able to overcome this crisis. Since many events and entertainment venues have been shut down, this would be a great time to invest in yourself to be equipped in the HEROES Effect leadership skills and be a HERO in your sphere of influence!. See the details at www.focuslifeinstitute.com
EDtalk - Communication - Get Equipped in the Most Important Life Skill
“A company’s success depends on only 15% of the technical ability of its employees. The remaining 85% depends on the employee’s ability to communicate with people both internally and externally.” – Carnegie Institute
According to LinkedIn, being able to communicate effectively is the most important of all life skills. Developing your communication skills can help all aspects of your life, from your professional life to social gatherings and everything in between. The ability to communicate information accurately, clearly and as intended, is a vital life skill and something that should not be overlooked. It’s never too late to work on your communication skills and by doing so improve your quality of life.
EDtalk - Essential Soft Skills - What Employers Are Demanding NOW!
We have the solution to provide you with the essential life skills to help you secure and advance in your career! According to LinkedIn’s “Workplace Learning Report,” soft skills are the No. 1 priority for talent development. Further, a LinkedIn study found that hiring managers indicated their company’s productivity was limited due to a lack of candidates’ soft skills. “The No. 1 problem with today’s young workforce is the soft skills gap,” “It runs across the entire workforce – among workers with technical skills that are in great demand, every bit as much as workers without technical skills.” Soft skills are key to individuals’ success in the workplace and are a competitive differentiator in the marketplace. Source: Bruce Tulgan
EDtalk - Your Unique Assessment - Understanding Self
It's FREE! As a trainer and manager with The Coca-Cola Company for over 27 years and a certified behavioral trainer (DISC Behavioral System), I gathered together a team of behavioral experts and we created a brand-new cutting edge assessment. Over the years there have been all types of rating scales developed to measure attitude, the most popular being the Likert scale (rate something from 1 to 10) which was created in 1932. The problem is, it has major accuracy issues because of how people view what these numbers mean. This outdated piece of technology lacks precision and does not accurately reflect your true sentiment. That’s exactly what we thought, and we partnered with behavioral experts to create a brand-new, high definition behavioral assessment solution. The predictive analytics engine removes subjectivity by allowing you to accurately quantify your priorities and provides valuable insights about yourself. The more you know about yourself, the better quality decisions you will make for your future. Get your FREE assessment at https://lnkd.in/ekgm64Y
EDtalk - 3 Keys To Your Personal Success
In this Podcast, Ed provides you with the 3 Keys To Your Personal Success. As a manager and trainer for Unilever and The Coca-Cola Company for over 37 years, Ed was able to identify the keys to advancement. He was able to help many individuals make the changes in their life in these three key areas that got them promoted and saw an increase in responsibility and their financial status. By understanding how these 3 keys can be applied into your life, your future will look bright!
I would not define myself as a good listener. It wasn’t something that came naturally to me. When my husband and I had been married for about 5 years, I realized that many times I interrupted him while he was talking because I was so eager to tell him my thoughts about the topic. I knew I needed to change. At Focus Life we strive for improvements and personal growth. Most people would say they could improve their listening skills. Here are a few practical tips from the Focus Life Institute on improving your listening skills in relationships:
TIP 1: Be sure to offer your full attention in a discussion
Many times, when I have a conversation with someone, I find myself distracted from listening. Either I’m doing something on my phone, or my children are talking (ahem, arguing) in the background when an interaction begins. Other times, it can be music or a video playing that pulls away my attention. More times than I can count, I have completely ignored my husband or children talking to me because I was wrapped up in the book I was reading. In the past several years, I’ve learned to give my full attention. I set the book down, turn the phone off, mute the video or suggest we go to a different room where it’s quieter so I can better focus on the person speaking. Dr. James Dobson, author of, Bringing Up Boys, encourages parents to go to their children while they are playing and bring them out of it before starting a discussion. He specifically suggests to the parents to put a hand on their child’s arm and have them make eye contact before talking with them. This is what I’m learning to do internally with myself. I pull my thoughts away from the distraction and FOCUS on the person speaking. My relationships have improved greatly since I’ve become better at this. Some of these distractions had become a habit during conversations (because I like to multi-task), and I had to break them. My full attention enables me to fully grasp what they are saying and helps me to read between the lines to pick up on the emotions behind the words.
TIP 2: Put yourself in their shoes
We’ve heard this since we were kids, right? I used to listen with a one-sided perspective: mine. I didn’t always think about the scenario from the speaker’s position. This is where understanding the behavior of others has greatly opened my eyes to listening beyond the limitations of only my way of thinking. I was a guinea pig for many of these products we sell from Focus Life Institute because they have been in development for over 25 years! As I started to learn about the motivations of others with these tools, I could better understand why they approached a topic the way they did. For example, one of my relatives is very detail-oriented, and enjoys examining all the angles of a discussion. Sometimes, they even ask questions that could come off as offensive or on the opposite side of how I feel about the subject. During these discussions, I was able to understand where they were coming from: an inquisitive mind that wants to know all the facts before establishing an opinion. There have been countless times when I could have gotten upset, but because I knew the motivation behind the questions based on this person’s behavioral style, we have had peaceful and insightful conversations. At Focus Life Institute, we call this blending our behavioral style. When we do this, relationships flourish. We finally hear one another and are able to “share their shoes” so to speak to better understand their frame of mind.
TIP 3: Acknowledge the speaker’s feelings
I’m quick to want to solve a problem. I want to ask questions to get to the bottom line and find a solution for someone. I really like to help them “feel better” when someone is upset begins sharing. But, over the years, I’ve learned that this is not profitable to do right away. It’s better to first acknowledge how the other person feels in a simple, understanding statement. If one of my children had a rough day and they are terribly upset because they had an argument with their friend, my initial response as a listener really matters to where this discussion can go. For example:
*Child: Tristan made me so mad today. He
thinks that because he is on the football team, he can tell me what to do!*
*Parent (wrong response): Why? What
happened! Can’t you just get along with people?!*
*Parent (better response): Okay, I hear
that you’re angry. [Silence, let them keep talking.]*
In *How To Talk So Kids Will Listen &
Listen So Kids Will Talk* by Adele Faber and Elaine Mazlish, the authors
give 4 ways that a parent can help children to deal with their feelings. I
think they are applicable to most relationships beyond parent and child.
- You can listen quietly and be attentive.
- You can acknowledge their feelings with a word.
“Oh…Mmm…I see….” 3. You can give the feeling a name: “That sounds
frustrating!” 4. You can give the child his wishes in fantasy. “I
wish I could make the banana ripe for you right now!”
Once you utilize these tools as a listener, the doorway usually opens wide for deeper discussions for talking through solutions and giving advice. If not, then you may have solved some of their problems just by listening and giving them an outlet for their feelings.
TIP 4: Get in sync
It’s hard for many people of different behavioral motivations to “get in sync.” They just never see eye to eye. It takes effort on both sides to make steps toward improving the relationship, especially when the past has been a difficult road between them. If you are struggling to get in sync with others, I highly recommend you check out How To Acquire Skills for Life, an all inclusive online course that teaches so much more beyond the art of listening to truly be successful in your relationships. This will help improve your personal and professional connections with others. The productivity of those relationships will increase immensely. When we take the steps to get in sync with others, we really become unstoppable in our personal growth and we more readily change!
Check out How to Acquire Skills for Life on our website: https://focuslifeinstitute.com/how-to-acquire-skills-for-life/and contact us for more information at contact@focuslifeinstitute.com.
~ Theresa Burnworth, Focus Life Institute Curriculum Director
Increase Your Capacity
Many people struggle with understanding how much they can handle. Based on different personality styles there are individuals who like to accomplish one thing at a time while others can handle multiple tasks at once. Find out how to increase your capacity in this week's podcast!
PERSONAL FULFILLMENT
What people are looking for today in life is personal fulfillment. Ed provides you with his expertise as a Fortune 500 manager and trainer for both Unilever and The Coca-Cola Company how he has helped hundreds of individuals to find the secret to personal fulfillment. You are not average! Your potential is great but you need to learn how to tap into the greatness that resides in you!
Work Life Balance - Learn How To Keep Your Priorities in Order
With over 40 years of Executive Management, Coaching and Consulting Experience with both Unilever and The Coca-Cola Company, Ed provides his expertise to get you focused to help you eliminate and reduce distractions in your life! Many of us struggle to maintain a healthy balance between work and life. In this Podcast, Ed provides specific ways to prioritize your day and week to keep you focused to have a happy balanced life. While managing a $75 million dollar territory in 5 different markets, Ed shares how to overcome stress and keep your priorities in order!
Focus Environment How to Create a Focused Environment to Eliminate Distractions and Resulting in Greater Levels of Success!
With over 40 years of Executive Management, Coaching and Consulting Experience with both Unilever and The Coca-Cola Company, Ed provides his expertise to get you focused in creating an environment to help you eliminate and reduce distractions in your life! By spending time everyday in a focused environment or a quiet place, you will be able to get focused and journal specific areas in your life that will produce greater results! Your focused environment might be in your bedroom, in your car, or in a park. I have been having a quiet time for over 30 years and it has helped me grow, reflect and bring a sense of renewal and joy in my life! Check out the link that provides 7 reasons why you need a daily quiet time and enjoy the podcast. https://psychcentral.com/blog/7-reasons-why-you-need-quiet-time/
FOCUSIZE - LEARN THE PRINCIPLES, PATTERNS AND PROCESS FOR SUCCESS IN YOUR LIFE!
With Over 40 Years of Executive Management, Coaching and Consulting Experience, With Both Unilever and The Coca-Cola Company, Ed brings you a weekly podcast GUIDING YOU TO GET FOCUSED!