Michelle D. Gladieux is the author of the book Communicate with Courage: Taking Risks to Overcome the Four Hidden Challenges. She is the president of Gladieux Consulting.
Q: What inspired you to write Communicate with Courage?
A: I want to teach people communication tips that allow them to live less complicated, more joyful lives. I'm a lifelong educator and enjoy training and coaching people who sometimes struggle (just like you and me) with how and when to get in the game as communicators.
I set out to write a short paperback filled with what I call "Pro Moves" - small things anyone can do to add skill and smart risk-taking to the way they send and receive messages.
Q: In the book, you describe four “Hidden Challenges”--can you say more about how these issues affect people's ability to communicate?
A: Hidden Challenges are sneaky obstacles that rob us of our effectiveness when we try to make a point, offer praise, negotiate, resolve a conflict, apologize, advocate for or against an idea, express our feelings, and more. They keep us from realizing our potential as writers, listeners, and speakers.
It's taken me a long time and some enlightening heartbreak to figure out where I fall into these traps such as Hiding from Risk and Defining to be Right and how to escape them. In Communicate with Courage, I offer readers simple, small steps others often miss that can improve careers and relationships.
Q: What do you see as the role of risk-taking in communication?
A: Taking smart risk (not every risk available) as communicators allows us to live life more fully and have our voices heard.
I often say that our best communication is a full-body, full-mind, and full-heart effort when we're doing it right. When fear arises, we can appreciate it as a signal that it's time to summon our courage to advocate for ourselves or others.
My book describes where and when a risk will be worth the effort and strategy to communicate to our best ability. It empowers people to have more of an effect on their world.
Q: What do you hope people take away from your book?
A: I admit that engaging in a new mindset or behavior as a communicator comes with no guarantee of successful outcomes, but it does come with the blessing of increased self-esteem and learning through experimentation. The experimentation can be fun!
Balancing risk and reward is a tricky dance that can be learned in baby steps. Communicate with Courage is a bravery manual that meets you wherever you need to start.
My heart is on every page and I think readers can feel it because I tried to be courageous in what I shared about my own life and work. Every example is a real-life example rather than a case study. There's a love letter to conflict in it that I hope people will ponder.
Q: What are you working on now?
A: Book workshops and keynotes are going great all around the U.S.; I can't get enough of them! Audience response has been deeply moving.
We've added a free Companion Guide to Communicate with Courage on our website at www.gladieuxconsulting.com. We are a training and 1:1 coaching company celebrating our 20th year in business full-time and add free tools, Coach's Corner articles, and more to the website weekly.
I've started an uplifting personal and professional development-focused newsletter called Breakdown (named after a favorite Tom Petty song) with sign up available on the website.
Q: Anything else we should know?
A: Yes. There's often more we can do as communicators to improve interactions that matter to us than we realize.
--Interview with Deborah Kalb
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