Make Friends Like a Grown Up

As an adult, you would think communication is skill that would be mastered by now. Each day we send, receive and handle a boatload of messages. Beyond simply exchanging information, the emotion behind each message needs to be understood to properly communicate. Non-verbal cues, listening, managing stress in the moment and understanding the emotions of you and others are important to establishing trust and cultivating good relationships. Good communication skills can help you to communicate negative or difficult messages without creating friction or ruining that trust. Whether you have them or not, these skills can be learned at any age:

Not only should you understand what a person is saying, but also how they feel about what they’re saying. Give them your full attention - texting, doodling or daydreaming is not really listening.

Listening is not simply waiting for your turn to talk. Steer clear of interrupting or redirecting the conversation to your concerns. For example, “If you think that’s bad…” devalues what your friend is saying. Even if you don’t agree, try not to judge and hear them out.

We communicate what we really care about with our body language. Facial expressions, body movement and gestures, eye contact, posture, the tone of your voice, your muscle tension, and even your breathing tells someone more about how you are feeling than words alone ever can. Go people watching (a favorite of mine) to see how they communicate. Try to imagine their relationship, what they’re talking about and how they feel about it.

Next time you are nervous about a social situation, walk into a room smiling and standing tall. Even if you aren’t feeling it, using body language to convey positive feelings when you are anxious can put the other person at ease while making you appear more confident.

You can’t always go for a run when stress happens, but there are some things you can do to relieve the tension in the moment. The first step is being able to recognize when you are becoming stressed. You body will tense up, or you may feel uneasiness in your belly. Take a moment to calm down, take a deep breath, or think of something soothing to you. You could always try to find humor in the situation to diffuse and disarm people. And sometimes, compromise is the best solution. If someone cares way more than you do, is it worth the energy?

Emotional awareness – the consciousness of your moment-to-moment emotional experience – and the ability to manage your feelings are essential to effective communication. Awareness helps you to understand and empathize with what is really bothering someone, what is really bothering you, and what you really want. It helps you to understand another point of view, even if you don’t agree. And ultimately, it helps you to build strong, trusting relationships.

Introducing the Worx Girls

How well do you know us? We bring our personalities with us, and you can always count on meeting the authentic Worx team. We embrace each other’s differences and help fill in the gaps of weaknesses with strengths to create a close-knit, un-breakable, one-of-a-kind team. I spend more time with these girls a week than with anyone else. Let me introduce you to…

Our fearless leader, Laura:
She’s so brave; Braver than I can fathom and I think the other girls would agree with me. The things she gets herself into blows my mind. She’s involved, motivated and dedicated to the many roles she plays. She’s mother to Kandon, age 6; wife to AJ; sister and friend; Creative Director of Worx Graphic Design; creator of The Green Couch Project; President of the American Advertising Federation of Greater Frederick; a member of Business Networking International; the Greencastle, PA Chamber of Commerce; as well as the Hagerstown, MD Chamber. Some of her non-professional titles would include athlete, interior designer, accountant, professional organizer and party-planner. She is a visionary and loves to brainstorm with our clients to help take their ideas to the next level as well as building their brand from the logo –up.

The web guru, Amber:
She’s the introvert of the group. She is also the healthy-inspiration member of Worx. Her healthful vegetarian lifestyle has inspired all of us to explore juicing and running 5K’s. You should see the vegetables this girl eats (even her daughter, Morgan snacks on peppers and cucumbers!). Her usual days of “plugging in” with headphones and designing websites are (almost) free of distractions. Her daughter Morgan joins us in the office a few days out of the week. Her off-the-scale cute factor makes up for her threenager mood swings. Amber’s patience with her is very admirable. Amber can say that she has a genuine fear of public speaking and will go to great measures to avoid it. Her addiction to Etsy and Pinterest are evident off-the-clock. She is the expert of website design and with her Masters degree in branding, she writes our proposals to clarify the goals of the project.

The Word Master, Momina:
The newest Worx girl may not be a designer, but she definitely thinks like one! How many copywriters have a “logo inspiration” board on Pinterest? Her vocabulary and writing skills are phenomenal, and she loves a good play-on-words. She knows how to put the personality of a business into their materials, as well as brainstorming with the team on advertising strategies. She is the fashionable one of the group and inspires us all to look a little more like our Style inspiration boards on Pinterest. She is a Twitter master, tweeting more fluently than some birds I’ve heard. Sitting across from her playing peek-a-boo over our giant computer screens has added to my experience at Worx in the past 9 months.

Then there’s me, Collateral Kassie:
It’s hard to believe I’ve been here over two years, but I feel like I’ve known these girls for my entire life. Whatever I’m doing – brainstorming, collaborating, coaching, designing – I’m passionate about and give it my 100%. I’m over-enthusiastic and have an unnatural obsession with glitter and sparkly things. I’m even wearing a shirt as I write that deemed me with the nickname “sparkle pits.” I love to dance and party on the weekends but love also just relaxing in a hammock listening to reggae. I love to create materials consistent with the company’s brand and tend to handle rush projects well. I enjoy helping a client meet a tight deadline; they are always grateful.

Our differences and similarities make for quite the chemistry of team members. The office experience we live everyday is one like no other. Our company culture creates an environment for personal and professional growth. This makes work fun, life enjoyable and clients happy.

Managing Client Expectations

A lot of work goes into attracting and retaining the clients we want to work with, so it is crucial to manage expectations from the beginning. A solid relationship can withstand bumps in the road and go on to grow even stronger for it. The foundation of a solid relationship is to connect with your clients on a personal level. Know their family situation, what makes them tick, how they spend their free time and what motivates them to do what they do.

Lack of communication can eat away at relationships, personal or business. Be proactive in communicating with good news and bad. Direct and transparent communication builds trust and helps you and the client to handle setbacks. Add to the value of your relationship by offering advice, direction, and input. An open dialogue like this can help establish the respect needed for better project management. You were hired for your expertise and knowledge, and if you don’t share your point of view, there is a risk of becoming a “yes man or woman.”

It is important at the beginning of every project to agree on strategy, goals and timelines. This gives a clear understanding of what success is and how to measure it. Create a document that outlines the scope of work to resolve any confusion about expectations and to avoid difficult conversations down the road. Speaking of difficult conversations, most relationships will go south very quickly if you are not open and honest about budgets. To start, you must be realistic about setting a clear understanding of the budget required to execute the desired program. If you don't address the client until you have an issue you will not only have an unhappy client, you may also find yourself eating the overages.

Lastly, be a good listener. Many clients are unsure of what they are trying to accomplish or not very good at articulating it. Following your gut instincts along with excellent listening skills are a must. One of the best ways to offset a client who communicates poorly is to repeat what you have heard and ask them to confirm the accuracy of details, which will ultimately impact expectations.