Writing
Practical writing on DiSC, communication patterns, and the work of understanding the people around you.
DiSC · The D-i Pairing
The D-i Pairing in Telecom Sales
When a fast-moving rep meets a relational prospect, the same pitch lands completely differently and the mismatch is easy to miss.
NVC · Requests vs. Demands
Making Requests Instead of Demands
How to close a call with a specific, doable ask instead of a vague summary, and why the difference cuts down repeat calls.
Storytelling · Analogies That Actually Work
Analogies That Actually Work
What makes an analogy land instead of condescend, and why the bandwidth-as-highway line works for some callers and insults others.
DiSC · Sales Calls
DiSC in a Sales Call
How behavioral style shifts what a prospect needs to hear before they will say yes to a bundle or upgrade.
NVC · Observation vs. Evaluation
What Happened vs. What You Think Happened
NVC's observation and evaluation line on a support call, and why one version makes a customer defensive and the other doesn't.
Storytelling · Explanation by Style
Explanation by Style: Telling the Same Story Four Ways
The same technical explanation needs four different shapes depending on who's listening. How to build a D, i, S, and C version.
DiSC Framework · Recovery
When Your Read Is Wrong
Mistyping a caller's style happens to every rep. Here's how to catch it mid-call and pivot without the caller noticing.
NVC Framework · Escalation
The Need Behind the Complaint
A customer demanding a supervisor usually doesn't need one. Here's how to hear the real need underneath the demand and address it before you escalate.
Storytelling Framework · Reframing
The One-Sentence Reframe
A single sentence can shift what a call is about without ever telling the caller their version of events is wrong.
DiSC Framework · First Contact
Reading Style in the First 30 Seconds
Callers tell you their DiSC style before they tell you what they need. Here's what to listen for in pace, word choice, and how they open the call.
NVC Framework · Foundation
What NVC Actually Is on a Support Call
NVC gives you a four-part framework for hearing what a caller actually needs, not just what they're demanding. A precision tool, not a therapy exercise.
NVC Framework · Listening
The Empathy Guess
A tentative check on what someone is feeling or needing, offered for correction. Most reps paraphrase what a caller said. The empathy guess goes one level deeper.
Storytelling Framework · Fundamentals
The Story They Already Told Themselves
By the time a customer calls, they've already decided what caused the charge or the outage. Correcting that story head-on backfires, even when you're right. Here's the move: name their version first, then add yours.
What Narrative Structure Actually Is
Every explanation on a call is a story the customer decides to believe or not. Structure is what decides it, not the facts inside it. Here's why sequence matters more than wording, and how the same facts land differently depending on the order you tell a customer.
DiSC Framework · Self-Awareness
When You and the Caller Share a Style
The call that quietly goes wrong isn't always the hard one. When you and the caller share a DiSC style, you also share its blind spot, and there's nobody on the call covering the gap.
DiSC Framework · C Style
The Skeptical C Who Wants Proof
A C-style caller's skepticism isn't hostility. It's how they decide whether to trust you. Give them proof and the call gets easier. Try to reassure your way past them and you'll be on the phone a long time.
DiSC Framework · Call Handling
Closing the Call by Style
A resolved ticket and a satisfied customer are two different results. The close is where they split apart. Here's what "done" means for each DiSC style, and how to land it.
The Customer Who Says Yes But Isn't On Board
Some callers say yes to end the friction, not because they're convinced. Here's how to hear the difference, what it looks like by DiSC style, and the move to make before you hang up.
DiSC Framework · De-escalation
Calming Each Style When They're Already Angry
Most reps calm every angry caller the same way, usually the way they'd want to be calmed themselves. Here's why the move that settles a D backfires on an S, and what de-escalation actually sounds like for each style.
DiSC Framework · Subtle Friction
i vs. S: Why the Two Friendliest Styles Still Drive Each Other Crazy
i-types and S-types are both warm, relationship-focused, and conflict-averse. So why do they exhaust each other? Here's what each one is actually optimizing for, and the quiet friction that builds when neither says anything.
DiSC Framework · Conflict & Friction
D vs. C: Why Two High-Performing Styles Create So Much Friction
D-types want to move fast. C-types want to get it right. Both are reasonable. Neither is wrong. And they clash constantly. Here's what each one is optimizing for, and how to bridge the gap.
DiSC Framework · Fundamentals
The 4 DiSC Styles: A Practical Guide
A breakdown of D, i, S, and C. How each style communicates, what it prioritizes, and why reading it changes every conversation you have.
DiSC Framework · Feedback
Why Your Feedback Keeps Missing the Mark
Most people give feedback the way they'd want to receive it, not the way the other person can actually take it in. Here's how each DiSC style needs to hear it.