Ben

Anna Maravelas is the President of Thera Rising International and author of the book Creating a Drama-Free Workplace: The insider’s guide to managing conflict, incivility & mistrust. Her work has been featured on numerous business radio shows and print media including Oprah Magazine, Harvard Management Update and MSNBC, while The New York Times named her …

MINDFUL COMMUNICATION PODCAST EPISODE #31 – DRAMA-FREE WORKPLACE Read More »

Pop quiz: How similar are these two situations? Situation 1 A twig snaps behind you. Whipping your head around, you see a mighty tiger barreling down on you at full speed. You and your hunting party stand your ground, spears poised to deliver a fatal blow. Situation 2 Your teenage daughter’s friends drop her off fifty minutes …

YOUR BRAIN ON ADRENALINE Read More »

Imagine for a moment that it’s time to hold someone accountable. This person can be a colleague, classmate, family member, friend, or anyone else. What adjectives would you use to describe your approach. Strong? Great! Persistent? For sure! Assertive? Absolutely! Now how about Warm? If you listed that last one, congratulations! Go to the head …

HARD ON THE PROBLEM, SOFT ON THE PEOPLE Read More »

It’s no secret that there’s a lot of anger and hostility on the internet. Whether it’s the comments section of a not-even-slightly-provocative news piece, the chat room in your online game of choice, or your social media feed, it can sometimes feel like decency is the exception rather than the rule. Granted, there’s also plenty …

WHY IS EVERYONE ON THE INTERNET SO MEAN? Read More »

We’ve talked a lot lately about the power of reciprocity. (Remember, reciprocity is the human tendency to reflect the attitudes and behaviors of others.) Today, we’ll give you a simple model for using reciprocity to defuse anger and hostility. But first, let’s do a quick recap. Reciprocity is so hardwired into our brains that when someone …

HOW TO HANDLE ANGRY PEOPLE Read More »

Imagine the following situation: You’re on a narrow street waiting for the light to change behind a rusty car. The driver is focused on something in the back seat. When the light changes, she doesn’t notice. You tap your horn politely, but she ignores you. Then, she gets out of her car, opens the back …

THE BABY IN THE BACK SEAT Read More »

It feels like the most important conversations are the hardest to have, doesn’t it? How many times have we known we should bring up a tough subject, only to chicken out when that toe-curling feeling of apprehension wiggles up in our gut? What if I told you there’s a simple trick to it? Not just …

HOW TO MAKE HARD CONVERSATIONS SIMPLE Read More »