August 18, 2015 • Volume 6, Issue 17 • ISSN: 2154-3240

In This Issue

♦	Feature Article: Social Awareness
♦	Ask Amanda: How do I stop a coworker from picking my brain?
♦	Practical Tips: Sit Up Straight

Social Awareness

Good communication and strong relationships stem from being able to read situations and other people’s feelings. Most of us pick up nonverbal cues and don’t even know we’re doing it. There are ways to increase your ability to accurately read and interpret nonverbal cues.

Crossed or folded arms, limited eye contact, fidgeting, clenched fists—most of us see these (appropriately) as negative nonverbal signals. However it’s important to evaluate these signs in context. Fidgeting in an interview is understandable and not necessarily negative. If a person doesn’t meet your eyes a few times in an hour-long meeting, it may not mean anything.
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	Tough times don't last, tough people do.

Practical Tips:
Sit Up Straight

Mom was right (but don’t tell her I said so!). Sitting up straight is not only better for you physically, it can also help you stay positive. According to a 2014 study published in Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy, when you slump, memory networks associated with bad moods are activated. When you sit upright, your happy-memory networks fire up.
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A coworker constantly wants to "pick my brain" and not only is it getting annoying, it feels like I'm doing his job for him. I would like to tell him off but he's a peer and chances are we'll work together at one time or another. How do I appropriately blow him off? K.P., Tampa FL

The next time it happens, ask him, “What specifically do you need help with?” Put the onus on him to explain the scope of his needs so you can assess them. If the answer is a quick one, go ahead and give it to him.
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About: Our Corporate Life LLC (OCL) is a company that offers a new system for reducing unnecessary workplace suffering caused by the organizational, interpersonal, and ethical issues of our time. It is founded on the belief that acting humanely and achieving business success are always compatible. Working with both companies and individuals, OCL helps create solutions that enable corporate employees at every level to optimize profits while thriving in the workplace.