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 […]
icebreakers
Who’s Your Daddy? For Real.
Dear Debra, In a moment of weakness, I agreed to be a room parent for my first grader. While the class parties and teacher gifts promise to be time-consuming, my biggest problem is that I don’t know which child belongs to which parent. And I, of all people, SHOULD […]
Talk Tyrants and Their Victims | A Small Talk Series | The Advisor
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 […]
Mercy Me! How to Forgive and Forget.
Today is Global Forgiveness Day, which is perfect for me because I am approaching that sweet spot of being totally comfortable forgiving others and really, really good at forgetting anything that happened before lunch. Forgiveness can be a tricky business, because oftentimes we wait to hear an apology […]
Talk Tyrants and Their Victims | A Small Talk Series | The Monopolizer
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 equips you to artfully escape the attack of […]
Should Kids Use Formal or First Names With Adults?
Dear Debra, School’s back in session and I am not sure how to introduce myself to children in my child’s class. There are some children in class whom I have known for many years, and they call me by my first name. But there are new faces as well, and I would actually […]
