Communication Psychology - with Gerhard Ohrband

  Imagine the following situation. A wife wants to buy a new handbag, but her husband is concerned about the price. In many relationships, the discussion quickly becomes polarized. The husband accuses his wife of being financially irresponsible, while the wife accuses her husband of being stingy. However, if you asked them separately, you would probably hear a very different story. The husband would likely say, "I'm not stingy. I'm simply financially responsible. I want to protect our family budget so that we can afford our next vacation or be prepared for unexpected expenses." The wife, on the other hand, would probably say, "I'm not a spendthrift. I simply enjoy life, and I believe it's important to treat ourselves from time to time." Neither person identifies with the negative label the other has assigned to them. This illustrates one of the biggest obstacles to productive dialogue: we tend to interpret the other person's position ...

  For many companies, especially in our information age, it seems important to gather as much information as possible about employees and customers. We have so-called Big Data . Social media companies collect enormous amounts of information about our preferences, behavior, and attitudes. Many organizations believe they need to do the same. Why? That is a good question. Let us start there. Are you collecting information because company leadership requires it? If so, do you understand the real reason, or are you simply following orders? And is that reason logical and morally acceptable to you? Many things depend on the answer. Do we want to know more about employees in order to control them better? To manipulate them more effectively? Or do we have more humanistic motives? Do we want to improve the workplace, find a better fit for employees within the organization, or gain insights that help improve the company as a whole? And how do we typically approach the task of gath...

  Especially in the business world, we want to be impeccable — including as communicators. At the same time, we believe in continuous improvement. This creates a dilemma that many professionals face: How can I improve my communication skills or social skills while at the same time avoiding mistakes during the improvement process? In almost any other human endeavor, this idea would seem absurd. If we are trying to acquire new skills or change the way we do something in music, sports, art, or any hobby, it is obvious that experimentation will be part of the process. And whenever we experiment with new behaviors, techniques, or approaches, mistakes are inevitable. Yet when it comes to communication and soft skills, many people expect improvement without experimentation. On the one hand, many companies complain that soft-skills training yields little or no measurable results. But an important question is rarely asked: What conditions does the company create for employees to c...

In times of economic uncertainty, many companies reduce or suspend activities dedicated to the development of so-called "soft skills." Budgets are tightened, priorities are reassessed, and employee development is increasingly presented as a personal responsibility. At first glance, this seems reasonable. Employees are encouraged to read books, watch videos, listen to podcasts, attend seminars, and engage in continuous self-development. After all, personal growth is important. However, from the customer's perspective, this argument misses the point entirely. As a customer, I could not care less whether an impolite employee was given a list of recommended books, encouraged to attend trainings in their free time, or received access to an online learning platform. My concern is much simpler: your company hired this person, your company represents itself through this person, and your company is responsible for the experience I receive. When I leave a restaurant dissati...