Just yesterday, one of my male colleagues called me and said, “I know I’m about to sound sexist, but can you please tell me why it is so hard to do business with women?” “What do you mean?” I asked. “I just finished a conversation with a woman I’m doing…
Maria Keckler
President & Founder of Superb Communication
Maria is a communications expert who has been featured in Inc, Forbes, Business Vancouver, radio, and print publications.
Her firm, Superb Communication, works with global clients in the technology and financial services sectors to remove costly communication barriers. She’s the bestselling author of Bridge Builders: How Superb Communicators Get What They Want (listed in Inc. Magazine’s list “60 Great Business and Leadership Books All Written By Women”).
Follow her on LinkedIn: http://LinkedIn.com/in/MariaKeckler
Entries Maria Keckler
A couple of years ago, I asked several of my colleagues to offer their opinion on the title of my new book, “Bridge Builders: How Superb Communicators Get What They Want in Business and In Life.” One of their comments surprised me: “I’m not sure about the ‘Get What They…
First things first. When you get into an argument, remembering what to say or what never to say is almost impossible unless you learn how a small but powerful part of your brain works—the amygdala. The amygdala, sometimes called “the lizard brain,” is part of your limbic brain responsible for…
Everyone’s confidence falters sooner or later. That’s what I learned shortly after I began to coach C-level executives and emerging leaders over fifteen years ago. It was a refreshing discovery, given the fact that I was fresh out of graduate school, entering the world of consulting thanks to a mentor…
“Name three powerful women you admire,” I ask my barista on a whim. “Oprah Winfrey, Sheryl Sandberg, and Melinda Gates,” she rattles off. Merriam Webster defines powerful as “having great power, prestige or influence,” an incomplete description at best. When I think of powerful women, I also think of “good-to-great…
The dictionary defines toxic as “containing or being poisonous material especially when capable of causing death or serious debilitation” as well as “harsh, malicious, or harmful.” Toxic people are “hurt people who hurt people.” They deal with their brokenness by inflicting it on unsuspecting bystanders. When I think of toxic…
Let’s be clear. Emotional walls that get in the way of productive communication are not a gender problem. They come up (for men and women) when angry, offended, stressed or disengaged. But today is not about us. Now, allow me to give you the insider’s scoop from my personal laboratory,…
Over 30 years ago, Dr. Deborah Tannen, Professor of Linguistics at Georgetown University, popularized the idea of gender differences in communication styles with her best-selling book, "You Just Don’t Understand: Women and Men in Communication." She believes that “For girls, talk is the glue that holds relationships together. Boys' relationships…
Let’s be blunt. Generalization or not, while men’s bluntness is often perceived as confidence, women’s bluntness has been unfairly characterized as aggressive or rude. Perhaps this is one reason why, according to research, women tend to soften their demands and statements, whereas men tend to be more direct. Yet, these…
Darlene is a busy sales manager and the poster child of organization. Her keys and glasses always return to the same purse pocket. Her digital, color-coded calendar guides her every move. She tackles a goal at lightning speed and makes it look easy. For years I envied the ultra-organized, feeling…
Communication is your calling card, the first impression you make wherever you go. What you say, how you say it and what you convey—the good, the bad, and the ugly—paint a picture and tell a story about your credibility, character and competence (whether the story is true or not). Deep…
“What’s the secret?” is the first question I get about my 30-year marriage adventure to the man who was once the source of my greatest frustrations and eventually became my best friend. “Lots of failure,” I tease, only half-joking before I clarify, “failing forward.” Great relationships take practice, patience and…
