Dr Shelly Gable is someone who knows what she’s talking about!

In a nutshell:

When someone’s telling you a story and you respond ACTIVELY and CONSTRUCTIVELY,

guess what? LOVE and FRIENDSHIP increase.

There are 4 styles of responding to people’s stories:

• ACTIVE, CONSTRUCTIVE (authentic, enthusiastic support)
• PASSIVE, CONSTRUCTIVE (understated support)
• PASSIVE, DESTRUCTIVE (ignoring the story)
• ACTIVE DESTRUCTIVE (pointing out negative aspects)

Your colleague: ‘ Hey, I’ve just been offered a promotion!’

You:

• That’s great, what’s your new position, when do you start…..
• Nice!
• My wife just started a new job at…….
• Bet you’ll have a much heavier workload…….

Get the idea?

So what style will you be using in the office next week?