Blind Spot: After the First Five Minutes
Have you ever noticed that some people can walk into a room and win everybody over in five minutes? They have a good story, a quick smile, and a way of making others feel at ease. I enjoy being around people like that.
Jerry Clark
Sep 302 min read
Blind Spot: Small Choices, Big Damage
When I hear the word betrayal, I tend to think of something big. An affair. A secret that changes everything. A promise was broken when it mattered most. But relationships at home and at work can also be damaged by smaller choices that are easy to explain away.
Jerry Clark
Sep 281 min read
Blind Spot: Going Quiet
Here is what I have learned. People contribute where they feel safe, respected, and valued. They are more willing to bring their ideas, energy, and creativity when they know they can speak honestly without being punished or dismissed.
Jerry Clark
Sep 251 min read
Blind Spot: What People Are Really Saying
After years of counseling, I have learned that the problems people bring are seldom as simple as they appear. The angry husband may fear his marriage is slipping away. The quiet wife may have stopped talking because every conversation becomes an argument. The defiant teenager may be carrying anxiety he cannot explain.
Jerry Clark
Sep 231 min read
Blind Spot: Emotionally Steady
Emotional steadiness does not mean having no feelings. It means recognizing what I feel without allowing that feeling to control my response. It means pausing when I want to react, lowering my voice when others escalate, and asking questions before concluding.
Jerry Clark
Sep 211 min read
Blind Spot: Matching the Chaos
Staying calm does not mean tolerating threats, cruelty, manipulation, or abuse. Sometimes the response is to set a boundary, leave the room, or say, “I care too much about this relationship to continue while we are upset. I will return when we can talk respectfully.”
Jerry Clark
Sep 181 min read
Blind Spot: Emotional Regulation
Emotional regulation is the skill that holds every other relationship skill together. Without it, communication collapses, curiosity disappears, and anxiety drowns out intellect. Emotional regulation means calming my internal world enough to respond instead of react. It does not mean denying what I feel or pretending everything is fine.
Jerry Clark
Sep 161 min read
Blind Spot: Before the First Word
Before entering a difficult conversation, I can take twenty seconds to slow my breathing and remind my body that I am safe. I can relax my jaw, lower my shoulders, soften my voice, and choose my first sentence carefully. A gentle beginning often determines whether the conversation becomes a discussion or an argument.
Jerry Clark
Sep 141 min read
Blind Spot: HUSH...Long Enough to Hear
I’ve spent a lot of years working with people, and I’ve learned that three simple words can change the direction of a conversation: “Help me understand.”
Jerry Clark
Sep 111 min read
Blind Spot: You Don’t Know the Whole Story
I remember a conversation with a coworker who responded in a way that rubbed me the wrong way.
Before I knew it, I had the whole thing figured out.
I knew why they said it. I knew what they meant. I even knew what they were thinking.
There was only one problem.
Jerry Clark
Sep 91 min read
Blind Spot: Control or Curiosity?
I’ve spent many years working with people in both corporate America and counseling, and I’ve noticed something about successful teams. The best leaders don’t have to have all the answers. They know how to ask good questions.
Jerry Clark
Sep 71 min read
Blind Spot: Withholding
Most relationships are not damaged only by what is said. Many are slowly weakened by what is never said. Withholding our feelings, needs, fears, and disappointments can quietly erode the connection between two people.
Jerry Clark
Sep 42 min read
Blind Spots: Secrets
Secrets do not always involve betrayal or dishonesty. Sometimes a secret is simply a feeling we are afraid to share. It may be an unspoken fear, a hidden disappointment, a need we have pushed aside, or hurt we have carried quietly.
Jerry Clark
Sep 22 min read