Talk To Me: Workplace Conversations That Work

A mission-critical project is spinning out of control. Failure will mean lost customers, lost revenues, lost prestige for a venerable financial institution and – no doubt – lost jobs. Can anyone or anything save it? When Paul Hunchak is invited to take on the task of bringing Project Delta back on track, the first thing he does is update his résumé. Saying no to the quirky CEO would be a career limiting move. Saying yes looked just as bad. A not-so-chance encounter with a neighbourhood barista induces him to take a chance, take the assignment and take on the real problems with the project and the organization. Talk To Me: Workplace Conversations That Work follows the adventures of a reluctant hero as he strives to make sense of the nonsense. Join Paul as he discovers how the way we talk affects the way we work. You’ll learn breakthrough techniques to end the habits that lead to miscommunication and misunderstanding. Part novel, part workbook, Talk To Me weaves practical lessons around a story of one man’s experiment in helping his team to use the most powerful business tool we will ever have – conversation. The book examines ideas emerging from such studies as positive psychology, social and emotional intelligence, neuroscience, and coaching.

A mission-critical project is spinning out of control. Failure will mean lost customers, lost revenues, lost prestige for a venerable financial institution and – no doubt – lost jobs. Can anyone or anything save it? When Paul Hunchak is invited to take on the task of bringing Project Delta back on track, the first thing he does is update his résumé. Saying no to the quirky CEO would be a career limiting move. Saying yes looked just as bad. A not-so-chance encounter with a neighbourhood barista induces him to take a chance, take the assignment and take on the real problems with the project and the organization. Talk To Me: Workplace Conversations That Work follows the adventures of a reluctant hero as he strives to make sense of the nonsense. Join Paul as he discovers how the way we talk affects the way we work. You’ll learn breakthrough techniques to end the habits that lead to miscommunication and misunderstanding. Part novel, part workbook, Talk To Me weaves practical lessons around a story of one man’s experiment in helping his team to use the most powerful business tool we will ever have – conversation. The book examines ideas emerging from such studies as positive psychology, social and emotional intelligence, neuroscience, and coaching.

Sue Johnston is dedicated to improving the world, one conversation at a time. She believes real conversation is the most powerful tool we will ever use. “Don’t send a letter when talking is better,” has been her philosophy since she was a corporate communications rookie, writing newsletters for executives. She often persuaded them to abandon the print piece and, instead, prepared them to talk to people. As a writer and trainer, Sue brings coaching skills and a lifelong study of interpersonal communication to her experience in senior management, corporate training and communication consulting. Midway through a master’s degree, she concluded - to her dismay - that the profession she had practiced for many years and was now studying was overlooking the most important aspect of communication at work - how people talk to each other. She set out to do something about that, establishing It’s Understood Communication to work at the intersection of business and communication to help create better workplaces. The learning journey continued at The Graduate School of Coaching, Six Seconds EQ, Psychometrics Canada, and Results Coaching/Neuroleadership Group. She has a BA (Sociology/Psychology) from Bishop’s University and an MBA (Communication Management) from Royal Roads University. She has earned professional accreditation by the Institute of Canadian Bankers (ICB), the International Association of Coaching (IAC) and the International Association of Business Communicators (IABC). She is a past regional chair and chapter president of IABC, where she continues to volunteer. Sue began her communication career in journalism, working at the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, The Edmonton Journal, and The London Free Press. She then spent 10 years as an internal communications specialist in Canada’s financial services giants, TD/Canada Trust and BMO/Bank of Montreal. She worked with communication agencies and nonprofits in Bermuda, where she lived for nine years. Today, she’s based in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada where she works to improve work team performance through face-to-face communication. She also coaches solopreneurs on telling their stories in person and in print.