Tag: Social Skills

  • Conversation Skills Essentials

    Conversation Skills Essentials

    A teacher friend of mine told me that this year students were different. If she asked to see a hall pass from a freshman, they’d give her the finger. They swore at her and were generally rude. The behavior was so out of line that seniors would step in and tell them not to talk…

  • Leading Leaders

    Leading Leaders

    One of the best compliments I ever received was when a friend told me that I was a leader of leaders. He was also a leader, so it meant a lot coming from him. I’ve had this topic on my “to write” list for years now, but every time I attempt to write it I’m…

  • How To Make Amazing Friends

    How To Make Amazing Friends

    A reader emailed me recently and asked how I’m able to have such a great group of friends who are so adventurous and into crazy ideas like buying an island and other properties around the world. I certainly don’t take my friends for granted, but because I’m surrounded by them constantly I do sometimes forget…

  • Reader Questions: How Selective Should I Be?

    Reader Questions: How Selective Should I Be?

    A couple weeks ago I wrote a post about what I think single people in their thirties should do. A few people emailed my about it, and one reader named Jack asked some really good questions. Rather than reply to him directly, I asked if I could reply to his email as a blog post.…

  • Dating Advice for Single People in Their 30s

    Dating Advice for Single People in Their 30s

    I have a surprising number of single friends who are in their 30s. I don’t think that this is a problem by any means, but I know that a lot of them don’t actually want to be single. I’m married and think that being married is pretty cool, but I could also see a great…

  • What I Admire About My Friends

    What I Admire About My Friends

    As I always say, I really do believe that I have the best group of friends that a guy could ask for. I use friends as a shorthand, but I really mean it to include everyone who surrounds me, including my wife and my family. The people in my life are truly incredible, and a…

  • Some Thoughts on Marriage

    Some Thoughts on Marriage

    When I asked for blog topics before writing this annual batch, I got a lot of great suggestions with almost no overlap at all. The one exception? Everyone wanted to know what I think about marriage. I think that this comes from my history as a pickup artist, and a perceived incompatibility with the two.…

  • Your Three Social Layers

    Your Three Social Layers

    One very common thing I work on with coaching clients is social skills. Through that work I’ve seen a lot of common patterns and have come to use a three layer model to think about and discuss how people are interacting with the people around them. If all three layers are in good shape, you…

  • How to Support Your Friends Through Hard Times

    How to Support Your Friends Through Hard Times

    Recently I’ve had a lot of friends going through hard times. Not terrible times like great illness or financial loss, but times of growth like going through big life changes or breaking up with a significant other who you know isn’t the right one. It’s nice to be able to provide some comfort or advice…

  • What I Learned From a Year of Intense Dating

    What I Learned From a Year of Intense Dating

    In the year before I met the woman who is now my wife, I was dating with purpose. I didn’t necessarily aim to find a wife, but I was pretty intentional about what I was doing. And since I ended up finding an amazing woman and marrying her, I figured I’d share what I learned…