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Communicating

top 5 characteristics of effective facilitators
Communicating, Elicitation, Facilitation, Influencing and Consulting, Watermark Learning

Top 5 Characteristics of Effective Facilitators

As any instructor will tell you, one of the best things about teaching is learning from your students. It happens in some way, big or small, every time you get in front of people who are expecting to hear how to do it “right.” Of course, there is no “right” a lot of the time. In my classes, […]

a primer on working with executives
Agile, Business Analysis, Communicating, Project Management, Watermark Learning

A Primer On Working With Executives: Swim With The Sharks Without Getting Eaten Alive

Even though my wife Elizabeth Larson and I owned and ran a business, I wouldn’t exactly have used the term “executive” to describe us. But, we have both worked with several. And, in building and running Watermark Learning, we shared an important characteristic with executives which this series of articles will explore. Early in my career, I was

Staying Fresh - Three Keys to Growth in Everyday Interactions
Career Advancement, Communicating, Project Management, Project Management Professional (PMP)®, Stakeholders, Virtual Teams, Watermark Learning

Staying Fresh – Three Keys to Growth in Everyday Interactions

 August makes me think of lots of things: hot summer days, lemonade stands, and one of the most popular topics in the media this time of year, the summer slide. I’m not talking about the summer slide like the one you’d see at a swimming pool. I’m talking about the “slide” of students who fall

Preach What You Practice
Communicating, Project Management, Project Management Professional (PMP)®, Stakeholders, Virtual Teams, Watermark Learning

Preach What You Practice

 An acquaintance was talking a few days ago about a company function at which a functional group had been brought together for purposes of learning, bonding, and growing as professionals, presumably to benefit themselves and the organization. But when someone asked the CEO a question during the Q and A section of her presentation to

7 Ways to Build Trust for Successful Requirements Elicitation Q&A, Part 2
Business Analysis, Communicating, Elicitation, Facilitation, Influencing and Consulting, Requirements Analysis, Stakeholders, Virtual Teams, Watermark Learning

7 Ways to Build Trust for Successful Requirements Elicitation Q&A, Part 2

Thanks to all of you who attended Watermark Learning’s webinar Seven Ways to Build Trust for Successful Requirements Elicitation. This is Part 2 of a three-part series of questions and answers that were not addressed during the webinar. Question 1: Do you have a specific time limit when conducting requirements workshops? Mine is 1-1/2 hours.

Requirements Writer's Block
BA Training, Business Analysis, Communicating, IIBA, Influencing and Consulting, Requirements, Requirements Analysis

Requirements Writer’s Block

Requirements writer’s block – it happens to all of us at some point.  Writer’s block is a condition where an author loses the ability to produce new work.  Requirements writer’s block may happen for several reasons including: a lack of concentration, a feeling that our work is inferior, general feelings of anxiety, lack of inspiration,

Virtual Meeting Challenges: Stop Fighting the Multitaskers, Part 2
Communicating, Facilitation, Project Management, Project Management Professional (PMP)®, Stakeholders, Virtual Teams, Watermark Learning

Virtual Meeting Challenges: Stop Fighting the Multitaskers, Part 2

The frustration of multitaskers was the topic of my last blog, in which I reminded readers of two things most of us already know: 1) Our brains really don’t allow us to mentally think about two things at once, and 2) Most of us are not able to sustain our attention on something for more than

Virtual Meeting Challenges: Stop Fighting the Multitaskers, Part 1
Communicating, Project Management, Project Management Professional (PMP)®, Virtual Teams, Watermark Learning

Virtual Meeting Challenges: Stop Fighting the Multitaskers, Part 1

During the Q and A following my recent webinar, Offsite and On Board, most questions pertained to challenges around people multitasking during conference calls and online meetings. Evidence of people multitasking during virtual meetings includes the tap-tap-tap of keyboarding, silence when asking for input from someone, and the steady drip of “Could you repeat that

What’s Done is Done, Not Just Complete
Communicating, Estimating and Planning, Project Management, Stakeholders

What’s Done is Done, Not Just Complete

Last month, I was driving through a major highway construction project when my passenger commented how excited she was because she’d heard that the project was nearing completion and would be finished before year-end.  I took a quick gander at the site and responded that I was sure whatever source she’d heard that from must