Once Upon a Conversation

Deborah Graham

Let’s talk about . . . talking! Conversations are the heartbeat of relationships and yet we so often avoid the sensitive, difficult, intimate, emotional and scary ones. We play it safe and bit by bit our relationships become less intimate, less real, and less satisfying. Join my guests and I, as we explore what makes intimate conversations so scary and why we avoid them. We will talk about how to prepare for them, initiate them and participate in them in ways that deepen intimacy, clarify misunderstandings, repair disconnects, and resolve conflicts. We can learn to bravely ask for change, express our feelings, apologize with grace, see things from new perspectives, and invite growth into our relationships. We can build, repair and deepen our relationships, one conversation at a time. ​We get personal on this show. We talk about conversations we regret not having, the ones that we are forever grateful we had, the ones we wish we had done differently, and the ones we are currently avoiding.I have spent the last three decades learning, practicing, coaching, mediating and teaching how to effectively approach difficult conversations and conflicts and I still get butterflies before a tough conversation!. Join me . . . and let's get talking!

Episodes

  1. 2023-06-30

    Nothing left to say with Radhiki Lakhani

    Radhika is an a lawyer turned inner wellness teacher and personal and business alignment coach. In today's episode, Radhika talks about bringing unconditional love to her work. "I love you when you're angry. I love you when you're sad. I love you when you're happy. Because I think as children, we didn't all get that. It was like, stop crying. Why are you so angry? What's wrong with you? Right? And we were conditioned to go, oh, okay. Those parts of me are not welcome. So as adults now, half of the work that I do not most of the work that I do with my coaching clients is being a space of unconditional love and holding them in the most highest vision so that nothing changes on my face, because I love them no matter what." Radhika also shares her experience in sitting with her best friend and mentor in her final weeks.  "She said to me, is there anything you want to say to me? And I said to her, nothing I've never said before. And I said, what about you? Is there anything you need to say to me or want to say to me? And she said, nothing I've not said many times before. And I thought, what a moment to have. Because it meant that all along we were telling each other all the things we had already said. Everything. And I'm so grateful. There was nothing left to be said because we had said it all. And so that would be my share with whoever's listening to say it now. Don't wait. Say it over and over. Make it so clear that if you ever had a moment like that, you wouldn't even need to say anything." To find out more about Rad or to get in touch:  ​https://www.consciousnesswithrad.com/

    32 min
  2. 2023-03-19

    Bite Sized Conversations with Chef Pam

    Pam is a therapist and a chef and the founder of Fanjoy Culinary and Wellness Centre. In today's episode, she talks about using food as a therapeutic tool to start conversations in the kitchen that might be more difficult to have somewhere else. "So what we really do is provide an alternative way to have safe conversations while also looking at how food can bring people together to feed, connection and nourish the body at the same time." Pam talks about important conversations needing to be a series of conversations not a 'one and done' approach. "I mean, it's like when you make a dish, a curry, right? It always tastes better on the second day. Once you put your ingredients together, you get everything stirring in the pot and then you let it sit for a while and you come back and it's more flavorful. The second day, you can add a little bit of rice to it. You can serve it up a different way. I think of conversations that way too. And the more we create space, the safer the other person engaged in the conversation." Pam's conversation tips: Check in with the other person if it is a good time to start an important conversation and then take it in bite sized pieces and come back to it over a series of conversations. "If you bake a cake, it might be your favourite carrot cake, but you can't have the whole thing all at once or you're going to feel sick. Right. Same thing with conversations. How can you cut it into reasonable pieces so that you can enjoy it over the whole month and actually have someone asking for more when they come back?" To find out more about Pam and the work she is doing or to get in touch with her: https://www.fanjoycentre.com/

    42 min

About

Let’s talk about . . . talking! Conversations are the heartbeat of relationships and yet we so often avoid the sensitive, difficult, intimate, emotional and scary ones. We play it safe and bit by bit our relationships become less intimate, less real, and less satisfying. Join my guests and I, as we explore what makes intimate conversations so scary and why we avoid them. We will talk about how to prepare for them, initiate them and participate in them in ways that deepen intimacy, clarify misunderstandings, repair disconnects, and resolve conflicts. We can learn to bravely ask for change, express our feelings, apologize with grace, see things from new perspectives, and invite growth into our relationships. We can build, repair and deepen our relationships, one conversation at a time. ​We get personal on this show. We talk about conversations we regret not having, the ones that we are forever grateful we had, the ones we wish we had done differently, and the ones we are currently avoiding.I have spent the last three decades learning, practicing, coaching, mediating and teaching how to effectively approach difficult conversations and conflicts and I still get butterflies before a tough conversation!. Join me . . . and let's get talking!