Dr. Rick Kirschner

How You Learn From Your Mistakes

In my work as a coach and educator, I call upon a wonderful metaphor to help my students and clients learn from their mistakes. It's a story about a guy who must go down a particularly dark road in order to get where he absolutely must go. First time, d... Read >

If Like Doesn't Attract Like, Does Opposite Attract?

In the heavily hyped movie and book, 'The Secret,' they speak of the 'Law of Attraction,' which gets the genie in the sky to open up the great catalog and give you a bicycle. But this is no law! It does not appear anywhere in our universe except in the m... Read >

Can You Hear Needs In A Person's Communication Style?

Here is an insight to help you communicate more effectively. When you talk with individuals, match your style to their need. Pay close attention, because style is behavior, and behavior changes depending on the situation. In this model, there are fou... Read >

Persuasive Communication and Society

The question before us: Is persuasion bad for society? It's an important question, because our world is witnessing an unprecedented onslaught of persuasive communication at every turn. Much of it is the creation of professional propagandists and marketing... Read >

The Morality of Persuasion

To understand whether or not there is a moral basis to persuasive communication, I recommend the writing of innovator, Internet consultant and Fellow at the Prestigious Harvard Berkman Center, David Weinberger. He is writing about the morality of the ma... Read >

If Nagging and Whining Work, What's The Cost?

Did you hear about the scientific study that says nagging and whining actually work? Stirs the blood, doesn't it? (NOT!) The data seems to say that if your way of getting your way is to grind down the will to live in others, keep it up! Because when th... Read >

When Parents of Teens Have The Summertime Blues - Tips For Better Parenting

School's out, and your teenagers are home. An apt metaphor for this moment is a messy room. A metaphor for what? For any area of their life(and your relationship with them) that's currently a mess! Keep reading to learn how to deal with a messy parent... Read >

Putting Some Funny In Persuasive Communication Part Three

Pain makes us laugh. Comics understand this. They know, and now you know, that pain, whether physical or emotional, is what is funny about funny. Not all pain, of course. Just pain that people survive. It's funnier when it's happening to somebody els... Read >

That's Funny! The Use of Humor In Persuasion Part Two

So just how do we use our wits to keep our wits about us? How do we use humor in our communications in order to foster goodwill, camaraderie and common ground? How do we persuade with humor? For starters, be non-verbal! No, no, I don't mean don't say a... Read >

That's Funny! The Use of Humor In Persuasion Part One

You know what's funny? The use of humor in positive persuasion! And I'll tell you why, even though it seems a bit obvious. The use of humor allows us to speak to the universality of the human experience. More, it invites people to laugh at themselves,... Read >

Even When They Are Wrong, It is Right That The Customer Is Right

There's a famous adage which you've no doubt heard. 'The Customer is ALWAYS right!' Yet the fact is, customers are often wrong. But if you have an interest in a successful business, and better relations between employees and customers, then it's still ... Read >

Leveraging the Power of Persuasion In Motivating Your Team

If you want to increase motivation and performance in your team, you can use the power of positive persuasion. One way of defining persuasion is making a deliberate attempt to influence a person or group's attitude in order to bring about a change in beh... Read >

Coaching Keys To Bringing Out The Best In Others

Want to build and project your authority as you coach your team? Then make sure to make listening before talking your habit. Talking before listening is a common obstacle because you cannot coach what you don't understand. Iunderstand how this happens... Read >