Communication Break-Down

I don’t have a great memory. I’d blame it on aging, but in all honesty, I don’t think it’s ever been that good. Years ago, when I was working the registration table at a musical event, a fellow grad student walked up to register along with her husband. I said, to the husband, “I’m so glad to finally meet you!” after which a long awkward silence occurred and my friend gently reminded me that we had indeed already met. Last month. When I’d had them both over to my house.

Yeah.

I bring that up because I would love to tell you about the first time I met Rachel, but I’m afraid I can’t actually remember. Suffice it to say we were fellow grad students in the piano department at Portland State University, and ended up teaching a class together. We’d get together to design weekly exams over a bottle of wine, and well, we’ve been inseparable ever since.

I guess I should get to the point and tell you why any of this matters. After a lot of cajoling, pressuring, wearing down and threatening to end our friendship unless she agreed, Rachel is joining Nonverbal Solutions as a coach. If you’ve been following this blog over the past few years then you already kind of know her. I’ve discussed her parenting, she’s pointed me in the right direction more than once, I’ve shared stories she’s shared with me, I’ve given her most of the furniture in my house to help me make decisions, and she also edited my eBook and freaked me out about passive voice. (Joke is on YOU Rachel as you now begin to blog….(cue evil laugh)…)

Anyhow, this is my very clumsy attempt to introduce Rachel Beohm to Nonverbal Solutions. She’ll be taking over most of the coaching as I focus on workshops and trial consulting. I’ll still coach, but will narrow my coaching practice to those looking to increase their presentation skills whereas Rachel will focus on all other coaching: interviews, promotions, general work issues, evil bosses, coworkers, and more.

I have to say I’m a bit…nervous. Not because I don’t think she’ll do well. She is absolutely the most intelligent, capable, and charismatic person I’ve ever known. No, I’m nervous because I’m worried that by sharing her with the world I won’t have as much access to her brain as I have previously. The woman is a genius. But that’s silly. I mean, hello, I’m paying her paycheck. She answers to me.

Rachel plans on introducing herself in this blog here soon as I am in Finland for the next three weeks. I look forward to hearing her voice in a more public way and in all seriousness, feel tremendously honored that she’s agreed to join Nonverbal Solutions. Welcome Rachel! You have NO idea what you’ve gotten yourself into!

*If you’d like to book a session with Rachel, contact Corey at: (503) 522.8038

Sigh.

I’ve been saying at workshops recently that I “blog regularly” and avoiding the eye of my business manager who, like all of you, knows that hasn’t been true lately.

After finishing the eBook, May and June have been a whirlwind of activity. I assisted on a high-profile trial, I’ve traveled to Bend, I’ve been down to Marion County, I’ve written and presented three new workshops, and on top of everything–I’m preparing for a three week vacation to Finland in a few weeks.

Throughout it all, I keep saying to myself, “When things return to normal, I’ll…” until one day I realized, this IS normal. Things aren’t going to “go back.”

It reminds me of the keynote I presented back in April called, “Navigating the New Normal.” An organization wanted me to speak on that topic, and I agreed, but when I started putting the keynote together I realized how silly it was to learn how to navigate “the new normal,” since once we learn how to do that, “normal” will change. Which just sets us up to learn how to navigate that new normal. And over and over again…

Part of the problem is the word normal. In and of itself, the word is limiting. It’s a box we create to contain “what we can handle,” and we think by labeling, we can stay safe. But as “normal” starts to fall apart, so do we.

No, what I realized back in April, and what’s been brought home to me personally this month, is that we need to navigate reality. We can only work with what’s right in front of us. Not with what we wish we had or how things used to be.

So I’m going to take my own advice and stop categorizing things as “normal” or “abnormal” and just navigate reality. The “new normal” is just a fancy phrase for what you have right in front of you.