The final speaker school of the year is coming up and these are things that are tight knit, intimate. The ROI here is clear folks. I don't need to push this too hard. We all have perspective. We want to share. We all have stories, we all have thoughts. Nobody likes the idea of getting put into the dirt without sharing something

that could help other people. Well, here's your chance. And for me, I don't think there's

anything that can top live events for this. You're shoulder to shoulder with other people.

It's an intimate environment. It's highly tailored to you. LinkedIn learning isn't going

to teach you this stuff. Some online courses isn't going to teach you this stuff. And at the very least, if you're somebody that, you know, you're not quite sure what you'd

want to work on, because you certainly don't need to have a speech, you don't need to have

an idea, you don't need to have any of that. Just come to hang out with some great people. We have some really cool people that come to our events. They're thoughtful, they're They want to provide feedback if nothing else. It's a great opportunity to network

But just remember speaker school and all of our events you don't need to come in with some major issue or some topic. We'll help you find that. That's what we do for a living. We want to help make people more thoughtful, thorough communicators so that you can show up better at work, show you can show up better at for your family, and most importantly, so you can also have that peace of mind and self confidence. So go to artofcoaching.com slash events regardless of the year you're listening to this. Check out our speaker school program, our apprenticeship program, and check out our virtual mentoring as well. We'd love to welcome you as a part of the art of coaching family. What's going to set you apart? I mean literally what's going to set you apart? Is it your knowledge and what you do? Is it your ability to motivate others? What do you think is going to set you apart in a crowded marketplace, whether you're trying to move up to the C suite, whether you're just trying to get an internship, whether you're trying to be noticed by somebody that you care about deeply and you want to establish a relationship with, what's going to set you apart? If you ask yourself this, or you're not sure, or maybe you have a little bit of hubris

and you think you know, but you want to check your blind spot.

I'm going to urge you guys to go to artofcoaching.com forward slash what drives you.

Again, that's artofcoaching.com forward slash what drives you.

We have a quiz.

It's completely free, and it may tell you some things about yourself or others that

surprise you. Check it out now, learn what will actually set you apart or what might you're a Killy's Hill. Art of Coaching Podcast. I'm Brett Bartholomew, and at a young age, poor communication nearly caused me my life. Now, I help others navigate the great area of social interaction, power dynamics, and communication so they can become more adaptable leaders regardless of their profession, age or situation. This podcast is for everybody who is fascinated with solving people problems. So if you're in the no nonsense type who appreciates frank conversations, advice you can put to use immediately and learning how others navigate the messy realities of leadership, you're in the right place. I'm glad that you're joining us. Let's dive in. [♪ OUTRO MUSIC PLAYING [♪ Hey, everyone. Today's podcast is going to be quick, but it's one of those reminders that sticks, at least for me. So lately my son and I have been going through

ASOPs Fables and one of my favorites ties directly into everything we are about at Art of Coaching, Persuasion, Negotiation, Communication Dynamics, all of these things that pertain to leadership, they're the lifeblood of leadership, and coaching. And it's called the North Wind and the Sun. So whether you're trying to get more discretionary effort from your staff, buying from athletes,

and get somebody to cooperate in a tough negotiation or conversation, this fable is a simple, simple, simple gut check that sometimes subtleness, timing, and not using force is the real key when you want somebody to act. Now, I'll read it to you real quick because it's not very long and just certain things deserve their full day and the sun pun intended. Okay. So the fablers really quick. The North wind and the sun had a quarrel about which one of them was the stronger. That's a weird phrasing. While they were, while they were disputing with much heat and bluster, a traveler passed along the road

wrapped in a cloak. And of course, my son goes, Daddy, what's a traveler? Let us agree, said the sun, that he is the stronger who can strip the traveler of his cloak. Very well, growl the North Wind, and at once sent a cold blistering, howling blast against the with the first gust of wind, the ends of the cloak whipped about the traveler's body. Right? Again, you got to appreciate the language. But he immediately clutched it and wrapped it more closely around him. And no matter how hard the wind blew, the tighter the traveler held his cloak to him. The Northwind tore angrily at the cloak, but all of his efforts were in vain, and it did not work. Then, slowly and subtly, the sun began to shine. At first, his beams were gentle, and the pleasant warmth, and after the bitter cold of the Northwind, and the traveler started to unfasten his cloak and let it hang loosely from his

shoulders. The suns raised, grew warmer and warmer. The man took off his cap and mopped his brow. At last he became so heated that he pulled off his cloak and to escape the blazing sunshine through himself down under the welcome shade of the tree. Now, what is the lesson here, right?

Like what's the whole point of what I'm trying to tell you? The point is oftentimes when we try to get somebody to do something, whatever that is, I'm not gonna go through every example, right? There's so many examples. Whenever we do it force, we think, and it could come in the form of, well, they need to get more educated. They need to get more educated, or they need to do this and they need to do that that creates reluctance people when they feel push they're gonna defend their autonomy they're gonna double down they're gonna become more stubborn right the sun doesn't also try to just like nice away the traveler into compliance it alters the environment so that compliance felt like the traveler's idea, right? And the translation for real life is reduce friction if you want somebody to change. If you want more people to come to your live events or do this, make it easier for them to sign up, make it easier for them to see the return on investment, make it easier for them to see the people that have already come and gotten results. Right, that's something that we do in our business. We have testimonials from firefighters and first responders and strength coaches and organizations saying, hey, here's what art of coaching did. Otherwise, we're just gonna, hey, here's what you get. Here's this, here's that. People want to see themselves in the solution. Right? If you're leading a team, find any way you can to reduce friction, raise incentive, and allow them to preserve dignity. There's nothing more important than return on investment anytime you pay for personal and professional development. But there is nothing that will give you more return on investment than improving as a communicator, than learning more about yourself and your own tactics and your strategies and your blind spots and all of these things when you're interacting with anybody. It doesn't matter whether you're a coach, whether you're a leader, whether you're talking to your kiddos, whether you're talking to your family, we all have the responsibility to do everything we can to become a more complete person. And that's what our workshops help you do. We're not raw raw, we don't do trust falls, we are a welcoming, small group tailored environment that will help you develop skills that don't have a shelf life. Tired of being underpaid, we can help you become a better negotiator. Tired of feeling unconfident and socially anxious, we can help you learn how to be more assertive without losing yourself. Tired of feeling like nobody gets what you're saying or respects you or values you, we can help with that as well. Or maybe you just want to figure out, hey, I've led 30 years, I think I've done so relatively successfully, but I want to communicate better with different generations of staff or I want to actually see where I can improve. We have had firefighters, other first responders, strength coaches, lawyers, doctors, surgeons, all at our clinic. The thing that people that come to our clinic all have in common is they're past all the superficial fluff. They've done all the other con ed, the same con ed, year after year after year, they wanted something different, they wanted something challenging, and they're at a point in their life where they recognize the value of doing that. I hope that's you. If it is reach out to us, go to info at artofcoaching.com. We do custom in services, keynote presentations. We've even gone into an organization for a week and done a whole SWAT analysis of their communication strategies so their staff could be more cohesive. At the end of the day, though, we just want to help. But ask yourself this, and this is my only little pitch. What is poor communication going to cost you if you let things slide? Because poor communication is the only thing guaranteed to make anything in life worse.

Double down, improve with us, we'd love to get to know you.

Find any way you can to reduce friction, raise incentive, and allow them to preserve dignity. This goes into, and it's certainly not just a Japanese custom, but I was having this conversation

with a client the other day, and he spent a lot of time in Japan. And face saving, saving faces very big there, right? These appearances, you don't want to, part of great deal making is making sure that the other person gets something for their dignity as well. It's not always money. Maybe they get the

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