”We Need to Talk” by Suzanne Seifert Groves

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Suzanne Seifert Groves parlayed her B.A. in English from The University of Texas at Austin into a storied 35-year career in organizational communications, public relations, and marketing. She has served in leadership roles with several large organizations spanning multiple industries including higher education, healthcare, technology and travel and tourism. Her personal affinity for storytelling enabled her to help the executives and organizations she supported make valuable connections with their audiences. With just enough ADD to be dangerous, Groves is known for taking disparate ideas and weaving them into new creative or strategic concepts that have yet to be tried. Over the course of her career, she and the teams she has led have accrued more than 360 regional, national and international awards for communications, marketing and creative excellence from several prestigious programs including NYX MarCom, MarCom, Muse, Hermes, The Conference Board, PR Daily Content Marketing and more.

In 2020, Groves was named a "Top Woman in Communications," one of only nine women to be recognized in the Visionary category, by Ragan Communications/PR Daily in the inaugural year of the award. In 2014, she was named one of 24 "Great Women of Texas" by the Fort Worth Business Press. In addition to her professional career, she has served on numerous advisory boards including the Arlington Public Library, Leadership Arlington, Susan G. Komen of Greater Fort Worth, Alzheimer’s Association of North Central Texas, and as a member of the Downtown Fort Worth Initiatives Inc. Festival and Events Committee. In 2013, she earned her M.A. in History from The University of Texas at Arlington while working full time, and was named a University Scholar (a distinction only given to the top 1% of undergraduate and graduate students). Why history? Groves will tell you the discipline is a true study in leadership, which continued to inform her career as a communications strategist.

An admitted research junkie, Groves spends her time working on family genealogy for herself and for friends (when she’s not writing or editing). With their two children grown, successful, and likely not boomeranging home, she and her husband travel as frequently as possible, though it means leaving behind their two feisty German Shepherd Dogs and their very bossy cat. Of all her excursions, Groves will tell you one of her favorite memories is being dubbed “The Emu Whisperer” while on her honeymoon in Sonoma.

Learn more about Suzanne Seifert Groves and her work at: suzannegroves.com

TOPICS OF CONVERSATION:

• About We Need to Talk and Suzanne's inspiration for writing the book
• Why do people have trouble communicating effectively?
• Information is not Communication
• Communicating through Social Media
• The Key to Effective Communication
• What's next for Suzanne Seifert Groves?

WE NEED TO TALK

“We need to talk.” Nobody wants to hear it, and no one should ever say it.

So stop! It’s the worst way to begin a serious conversation, especially when you need something from the other person/s – their cooperation, their agreement or commitment, or a change in behavior.

Suzanne Seifert Groves has a 35-year career in organizational communication and here, in straightforward steps, she provides the ‘difficult conversation’ framework you’ve needed your entire career, and for every personal relationship as well.

How many times have you acquiesced, alienated, or just plain pissed off your staff, your clients, your partner, your kids, or your neighbors because you didn’t frame things correctly? We’ve all done it more frequently than we’d like to admit.

Along with the practice exercises, you’re going to want to make this methodology second nature because it will change how you think and speak about issues important to you. When “taken as directed,” the four-step process will transform every important relationship in your life (with no harmful side effects).