Sarah M. Kipp

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Creating Connections: Part 2 – Making a Request

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Creating Connections is a three-part blog series. Part 1 explored how employers speak with their employees about utilizing our services. Part 2 focuses on how employees can take the lead in introducing our company to theirs.

Something has sold you on us. Perhaps you have seen, first hand, how we assist people with their writing and presentation skills. Maybe you have heard from a friend how they benefited from working with our company. Maybe you are struggling with your own writing or presenting skills, and believe our company will make your life easier. How do you approach your employer about hiring our company to work with you?

Making requests and asking for help can feel like risky endeavors. Even when we know we would benefit from additional support, actually asking for what we need requires intentionality and courage. The key to making requests is being able to identify, in advance, how your proposal will be a win-win for everyone involved.

Here are some steps you can take prior to making a direct request.  [Read more…] about Creating Connections: Part 2 – Making a Request

Creating Connections: Part 1 – Opening the Door

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Creating Connections is a three-part blog series. Part 1 explores how employers speak with their employees about utilizing our services.   

A business owner emailed me last week with a frequently asked question. “What’s the best way to tell my employee that I’m hiring you to work with her?”

While some of our clients are direct connections—a person calls our company and we provide training to that person—most of our clients are part of a business triangle. The sponsor is at one point of the triangle, and pays for the training. The person who receives the training, known as the client, is at the second point of the triangle. Our company completes the third point by providing training to the client and receiving payment from the sponsor. It is a relatively simple design when all points are on the same page and communicating well. Yet, challenges with communication are often what lead people to seek out our services in the first place. [Read more…] about Creating Connections: Part 1 – Opening the Door

Crockpot Relationships

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Are you using a flash-fryer or a crockpot to connect with people? If you don’t know the difference, you might have difficulty enjoying the meals—and the kinds of relationships—you really want in your life. Let’s be clear. French fries and pot roasts are both delicious, but they are not the same.

If you say you are looking for pot roast style connections in your life, but you keep driving through McDonald’s to order fries, you might find yourself eating an extra helping of frustration. This is not rocket science. If you throw all the pieces of your meal in a large frying pan with a quart of oil and cook it on high for ten minutes, do not expect to sit down to the equivalent of a savory pot roast at the end. In most areas of life, the richness of flavor emerges over time. [Read more…] about Crockpot Relationships

Writer’s Block

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I wish I could talk to all the people who are afraid to speak their truth, or who are stuck in the mud of writer’s block, or overwhelmed with the fog of “I don’t know.” I wish I could tell them that is doesn’t matter what they say; they just need to say something to get started. That would be easier, right? If I told myself, “Anything is fine!” one would think that I would have an easier time of settling in and writing through writer’s block.

Unfortunately, this advice is hogwash. We’re too smart. [Read more…] about Writer’s Block