Naomi Karten's Blog

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Naomi Karten's Blog

Naomi Karten has always been fascinated by human behavior. In this blog, she focuses on observations, thoughts, ideas, and the wisdom of others as it concerns people and how they function (or don’t), particularly in organizations.

What I Said vs What They Heard

Blog Post

by Naomi Karten

Aug 10 2011 - 10:05am

I used to assume that what I told people is what they heard. Then I had an experience that forced me to scrap that assumption. I was presenting my Managing Customer Expectations seminar and at 11:30, per my client’s instructions, I announced the lunch break. “We’ll resume in 45 minutes,” I told the group. Promptly at 12:15, I was ready to continue. But where was everybody? I’m not especially fond...

A One-of-a-Kind Misinterpretation

Blog Post

by Naomi Karten

Jul 28 2011 - 3:06pm

Have you ever said A to your customers and they thought you meant B? Or they said C and you thought they meant D? Such situations can lead to flawed outcomes and damaged relationships, especially if you don’t discover the conflicting understanding till too late. Fortunately, these experiences are sometimes merely instructive rather than serious. Take my experience, for example. While seeking a...

Burning with Excuses

Blog Post

by Naomi Karten

Jul 10 2011 - 6:03pm

When people are unresponsive to your needs, it’s wise to refrain from jumping to conclusions, because sometimes there’s an explanation for their behavior that’s altogether different from anything you might have imagined.

Black Holes

Blog Post

by Naomi Karten

Jun 7 2011 - 5:45pm

When I had a technical problem and sent a message to the online support address, I immediately received an automated acknowledgement advising me that I’d be contacted within 48 hours with a response to my problem. I appreciated receiving this acknowledgement because it reassured me that my problem had been received. But 48 hours later, nothing. And 72 hours later, nothing.

A Great Workshop Ice Breaker

Blog Post

by Naomi Karten

May 19 2011 - 11:54am

Here is an ice-breaker to get a workshop off to a lively start when most of the participants already know each other. At the start of the workshop, I tell them that to help me get to know them, I’d like each one to tell me his or her name – along with an adjective or descriptive phrase that begins with the same letter as their first name.

Verbal Clutter and Inverted Rectangles

Blog Post

by Naomi Karten

Apr 20 2011 - 4:33pm

When critical information is buried in a muddled mess of words, recipients can easily miss it. For example, a manager sent a letter (an email attachment) to colleagues to confirm an upcoming meeting and to request their comments about an important agenda item. Only a few recipients responded to his request.The rest? They didn’t even see it.Why? Because his request was on the second page of the...

When Is a Response Not a Response?

Blog Post

by Naomi Karten

Mar 22 2011 - 3:57pm

Since I recognize the words you use, I obviously understand you. And since my nouns and verbs and dangling participles are familiar to you, you must understand me.Well . . . maybe not. Actually, one of the biggest mistakes we make in working together is assuming we understand each other. But often – very often – we mean different things by the words we use.

Start Late, and Other Tips for Miserable Meetings

Blog Post

by Naomi Karten

Mar 14 2011 - 5:42pm

Want to hold meetings that are unproductive, mind-deadening, and a total waste of time? It’s easy; just do what some meeting-holders, unfortunately, do routinely:1. Hold meetings whether they’re needed or not. The more often,the better. Meetings help people stay connected. And theyensure that people don’t fritter their time away doing usefulwork. Back-to-back meetings are especially effective...

How to Make People Feel (Un)Welcome

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by Naomi Karten

Mar 2 2011 - 12:36pm

My out-of-state friend Jody, a member of a group that wanted to increase its membership, suspected that the group did too little to make newcomers feel welcome. When I visited Jody and she invited me to attend a meeting with her, I proposed an experiment. I said I’d pretend to be a first-time visitor and see how welcome I felt.

Chatterboxes and Cave Dwellers

Blog Post

by Naomi Karten

Feb 16 2011 - 12:11pm

While on a train ride, I overheard four people engaged in lively chatter. Well, that’s not quite correct. Three of them were soft-spoken and reserved. The fourth, a gregarious conversationalist, dominated the interaction. She caught my attention when she said to one of the others: “You have a lot of ideas for such a quiet person.”What a misconception—that a quiet person lacks ideas! Yet, it’s an...