17 Comments

So True! It relates to most situations but saving lives is at the top. Acknowledging the person and the problem, do it with empathy.

Great work! Thank you for your service and thanks for sharing your story

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Alexz. Thanks for supporting me

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For sure bro, can’t wait for more

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Wow, Norm. It's wonderful to hear the inside story and get inside your head. You are a true hero. This advice is one I'd never heard before. Thank you for writing it so we can understand and apply it! ♥️ We never know when we'll be in a situation where we will need it.

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Tan. Thank you for taking time out of your day to MAKE ME FEEL SEEN AND HEARD. I appreciate what you do here. You know I’m a fan.

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Also a big fan here. 🌷🙋‍♀️ Can't wait to read more of your newsletter.

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What a moving story about responsibility on your shoulders. Thanks for sharing .

As the saying goes “ Listen to understand, not to respond . “

I am so guilty of this - verbal diarrhea. We all need to slow down, it’s not about the listener, it’s about the person talking.

So your “ early” “problem” of not talking actually serves you very well!

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Liny. You just made me feel seen and heard. Thank you for setting the tone for my day and my writing session. "Listen to understand, not respond." Even more eloquently put. I never looked at my early problem - hehe- serving me well. You reframed that for me. I have more superpowers than I know!

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Wow, what an intense story and what an intense job. Thanks for sharing this with us Norm, very insightfull.

I had to chuckle a bit with the sentence: “Norm, you’re only problem is that you don’t talk.”

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You should be a teacher Norm. I loved how you connected with the man and the reader. And of course my favorite was “volunteer-told”!

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Irma, you know that culture as well..better than me. Between you and me substack is my training ground to refine my voice and share principles you and I know to be true. You, by volume, have thousands of interactions with people in crisis. They said if you can’t explain it to a sixth grader you don’t know it yourself. What I think I know is crisis negotiations or just plain good communication starts with caring.

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As they say:truer words never spoken. You obviously absorbed much during your career. You might want to read Jen Psaki’s book “Say More”. It’s all about communication and is fantastic.

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Dude, that's some heavy stuff, delivered in an easy-to-read and easy-to-take-in tone. I dig it.

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Thank you Wizzo.

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Next on my reading list: Say more. I appreciate your insight and feel supported.

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And I didn’t realize spell check corrected Volun-told😀

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I speak auto correct..

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