Meredith Bell shares her 30+ years of knowledge on connecting more effectively | Meredith Bell
Meredith Bell has been helping individuals and teams communicate and connect more effectively for over 30 years. Since she began her career, a lot has changed in the ways we communicate (thanks, smartphones!), but a lot of the fundamentals—like building trust, how to encourage someone well, and practicing neutrality and curiosity—have remained the same. Even though there’s now seemingly more ways to connect than ever before, Meredith’s work is probably more vital today than it has ever been.
On this episode of The Sidewalk Talk podcast, Traci talks with Meredith, an individual she has admired from afar for a while now, on how to build genuine connection in a time when it’s all too easy to hide behind an email or text message. Throughout their conversation, Meredith talks about taking things personally, the four ways to encourage someone, and why it takes practice and accountability to re-wire our brains for connection. No matter what your work environment is like today or who you surround yourself with at work and in life, this episode on connection and communication is one you need to hear this week.
Episode Timeline:
[00:07] Intro
[02:36] Meet Meredith
[07:24] What has changed, and what hasn’t, in the 30 years Meredith has been in the field
[12:59] Taking things personally
[17:26] How to build up safety and trust in the workplace
[22:39] Getting neutrality and curiosity to stick
[27:02] The practice and accountability behind re-wiring our brains for connection
[30:04] Four ways to encourage someone
[36:58] Meredith’s books
[38:27] Meredith’s word for you
[42:08] Outro
Resources Mentioned:
Connect with your Team: Mastering the Top 10 Communication Skills
Strong for Performance: Create a coaching culture with learning & development programs that stick
The Prosperous Coach: Increase income and impact for you and your clients
Standout Quotes:
“One of our key goals is to help alleviate the unnecessary pain that often exists in the workplaces.”
—Meredith Bell“Focus on serving that other person. It doesn’t matter who it is or what your past relationship has been. If you think about, how can I be present for them in a way that really serves them, it just makes a huge difference in the way that the whole interaction goes.”
—Meredith Bell“I make a point to make note of things about a person that I genuinely appreciate in the moment.”
—Meredith Bell“Every single person, no matter how you measure their success, we all have this need to be acknowledged and appreciated and valued.”
—Meredith Bell
Connect:
Find | Sidewalk Talk
At sidewalk-talk.org
On Instagram: @sidewalktalkorg
On Twitter: @sidewalktalkorg
Find | Traci Ruble
At Traciruble.com
On Instagram: @TraciRubleMFT
On Twitter: @TraciRubleMFT
On Facebook: @TraciRubleMFT
Find | Meredith Bell
At MeredithBell.Me
On Linkedin: @MeredithBell
On Facebook: @MeredithMBell
On Twitter: @MeredithMBell
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