Beware: There are small talk criminals lurking everywhere. The coffee shop, your kids’ school, the gym, the office, the dinner party. These brazen bullies strike quickly and without warning – and they don’t care who they hurt. My ongoing series, Talk Tyrants, serves two purposes: it allows you the chance to escape the attack […]
Debra's Blog
The Evils of Email – Yet Again. Why Email Can Be Our Worst Enemy.
I’ll say it again: email can be evil. Emailing in the heat of the moment is like taking four shots of whiskey and starting a bar fight – you think it’s a good idea until 30 seconds later when you are in way over your head and regretting your last move. And let’s not forget […]
Banish the Boo – Why Booing is Bad News Any Time of Year.
I was at a sporting event recently and overhead several fans using what my mother would call “colorful language.” It happens. It happens so often in fact that a reader of mine wrote to me about how to deal with the foul language of others and I wrote a blog offering some […]
I Don’t Like Your Tone. Why Email Can Cause Major Confusion.
Dear Debra: My brother-in-law (my husband’s brother) is getting married in South Carolina next spring and my husband and I are very happy for him and his fiancée. He has asked that we bring our children along (ages 2 and 4), which will prove difficult considering our two year-old is VERY much a two […]
What To Say When Someone Loses a Child
I can’t imagine losing a child. I don’t want to think about it. Ever. I am not one to lump all of the human race into one big group, but I hope I speak for most when I say that the death of a child seems unimaginable. Christina Boyer experienced such a loss and writes […]
Funniest Retort In Small Talk History
I try not to eavesdrop. Really. But my business in small talk and catching tidbits from other’s conversations could be considered research for my next book. Right? Right. Sitting at Elway’s at the Ritz-Carlton on a postcard-worthy Denver evening, I couldn’t help but tune into the exchange taking place between four women. I was […]
