In a busy and distracted world, how do you maintain the focus necessary to turn your resolutions into reality? Believe it or not, mental focus is a skill that can be learned. In this episode we discuss three practical steps that can help you keep your goals clearly in focus and make those New Year’s resolutions more than just dreams.

Are you expecting the same old pattern of safe, polite small talk with family and friends this holiday season? Would you like to have more fun and meaningful conversations for a change? In this episode, we discuss 5 elements that can make a big difference in the quality of your conversations.

Have you ever noticed that some people seem to lead more interesting lives than the rest of us? Maybe they’ve just learned how to relate the ordinary events of their lives in the form of captivating stories. In this episode, we share five principles that can help you tell your own stories in a compelling way.

Everyone loves a good story, but did you know that the right story can transform even a boring topic or event into something engaging and unforgettable? In this episode, we discuss six unique ways that a good story can disarm, engage, and personalize any message or conversation.

We all tend to filter what we hear through one of four common listening styles. Do you know which one best describes your style? In this podcast we help you identify your own listening style as well as the styles of those you’re attempting to reach. Most important, we explain how to adapt your message to the listening style of your listener to make sure your message gets heard.

Holidays are always a contest between expectation and reality, and reality has a way of winning every time. There’s always a feast to prepare, a To Do list to complete, a timetable to manage—and then there’s Uncle Larry. How can we keep the celebration from getting lost in the challenge of making it happen? That’s the topic of this special Thanksgiving Communication Guys episode.

Do you know what it takes to become a great communicator? You might want to think again. Some of our assumptions about great communicators and how they got that way are simply myths, and those myths prevent us from fulfilling our own potential. In Episode 10 we explode those myths, and tell the truth about communication and how it works.

In Episode 7 we described four types of questions that can help build a business or move a relationship to a new level. In today’s episode we dig deeper into one of those four types of questions: smart questions. We discuss what smart questions are, how to use them, and the remarkable difference they can make.

Everyone wants to be liked, but few people think of “likability” as a skill that can be learned. The overall impression we create with a listener is a critical component of communication and persuasion. In Episode 8, we describe 6 practical principles anyone can apply to create a favorable impression with an audience.

We live in a world of tweets, texts, and posts, where technology makes it easier than ever to express your thoughts. Because of our focus on making statements, we often forget the art of asking questions. In this episode we discuss the remarkable impact that questions can have in both business and relationships, and we describe four types of questions that everyone needs to know.

Sometimes the goal of our communication is to persuade others—to change their thinking, alter their behavior, or motivate them to action. But only a toll booth attendant likes change, so how can we effectively persuade others to our way of thinking? In Episode 6 we describe 6 principles that will add persuasive power to any appeal you make, whether personal or professional.

How often do you speak in public? The answer is: every time you open your mouth. Public speaking isn’t limited to platform presentations. Every time you open your mouth to speak, whether corporately or privately, you have the opportunity to leave a great impression—if you’ll follow the principles we discuss in Episode 5.

We’ve all seen the telltale signs before: wandering eyes, glancing at watches, fumbling for cell phones… They’re the unmistakable signs that you’re more interested in what you have to say than your listener is. How do we make our listeners eager to hear more, instead of hoping we’ll go away? That’s the topic of Episode 4.

With so many podcasts out there addressing so many fascinating topics, why bother listening to this one? That’s the topic we tackle in Episode 2, where we describe the surprising role that communication skill plays in all areas of life, both professional and personal. From career success to the quality of your friendships and marriage, it all comes down to your ability to express yourself in a clear and compelling style.

We all think we know what we sound like to others, but sometimes our perception of ourselves doesn’t match the way we actually come across. That’s when communication breaks down. Do your listeners perceive you as weak? Blunt? Rude? Overpowering? Do you even know? In this episode we discuss how to avoid blind spots by learning to hear yourself the way others hear you.

A special thanks to everyone joining us for our very first episode. But communication is such a fascinating subject, and there are so many topics to tackle. Where to begin? We thought the best place to begin was by answering the questions, “Who are these Communication Guys, and why should I listen to them? How did they become communication experts, and what do they have to teach me?” In our premier episode we answer those questions, and give you the chance to get to know your co-hosts a little better.