Meredith Bell has been helping individuals and teams communicate and connect more effectively for over 30 years. Since she began her career, a lot has changed in the ways we communicate (thanks, smartphones!), but a lot of the fundamentals—like building trust, how to encourage someone well, and practicing neutrality and curiosity—have remained the same. Even though there’s now seemingly more ways to connect than ever before, Meredith’s work is probably more vital today than it has ever been.

On this episode of The Sidewalk Talk podcast, Traci talks with Meredith, an individual she has admired from afar for a while now, on how to build genuine connection in a time when it’s all too easy to hide behind an email or text message. Throughout their conversation, Meredith talks about taking things personally, the four ways to encourage someone, and why it takes practice and accountability to re-wire our brains for connection. No matter what your work environment is like today or who you surround yourself with at work and in life, this episode on connection and communication is one you need to hear this week.

Episode Milestones

[00:07] Intro

[02:36] Meet Meredith

[07:24] What has changed, and what hasn’t, in the 30 years Meredith has been in the field

[12:59] Taking things personally

[17:26] How to build up safety and trust in the workplace

[22:39] Getting neutrality and curiosity to stick

[27:02] The practice and accountability behind re-wiring our brains for connection

[30:04] Four ways to encourage someone

[36:58] Meredith’s books

[38:27] Meredith’s word for you 

[42:08] Outro

Resources Mentioned

 Connect with your Team: Mastering the Top 10 Communication Skills

 Strong for Performance: Create a coaching culture with learning & development programs that stick

 Peer Coaching Made Simple: How to do the 6 things that matter most when helping someone improve a skill

 The Prosperous Coach: Increase income and impact for you and your clients

Standout Quotes from the Episode

“One of our key goals is to help alleviate the unnecessary pain that often exists in the workplaces.”

—Meredith Bell

“Focus on serving that other person. It doesn’t matter who it is or what your past relationship has been. If you think about, how can I be present for them in a way that really serves them, it just makes a huge difference in the way that the whole interaction goes.”

—Meredith Bell

“I make a point to make note of things about a person that I genuinely appreciate in the moment.”

—Meredith Bell

“Every single person, no matter how you measure their success, we all have this need to be acknowledged and appreciated and valued.”

—Meredith Bell

Connect:

Find | Sidewalk Talk Podcast

At sidewalk-talk.org

On Instagram: @sidewalktalkorg

On Twitter: @sidewalktalkorg

Find | Traci Ruble

At Traciruble.com

On Instagram: @TraciRubleMFT

On Twitter: @TraciRubleMFT

On Facebook: @TraciRubleMFT