Laura Baxter: How to Communicate with Divas and Difficult Personalities

Laura Baxter, the American opera singer and performance coach has studied the effects of the voice and body on non-verbal communication and leadership for over 25 years, and she brings this experience together to help her clients perform and communicate better. In addition to her many stage performances, Laura was the singing voice of Faye Dunaway in the feature film A Handmade’s Tale. She was on the faculty at Duke University prior to her move to Germany, and she has been on the faculty of the Friedrich-Alexander-University in Erlangen since 1999. A recipient of the prestigious Louis Sudler Award for the Arts from Emory University, Laura is coauthor of several German books, and her new book Dealing with Divas and other Difficult Personalities: A Mindful Approach to Improving Relationships in Your Business or Organization will be released June 2017! Why is so important to learn how to deal with divas and difficult personalities? If you really want to reach your goals, you can’t always choose the people you’re going to work with. A diva–who can be woman or man–is literally a person you can’t get along with. Laura’s book and approach has two main goals: * Remain center and focused. * Getting your goals done. How to communicate with divas and difficult personalities Laura’s framework to dealing with divas has the acronym DIVA: * Defining your the situation with the “diva”, * Creating and maintaining a strong, positive Inner State, * Valuing both yourself and the “diva” by learning about your and their personality structures and needs, and * Associating with the “diva”, the ability to interact with the “diva” in a way that helps you and them achieve your goals. The 4 most powerful states are: the state of gratitude, the state of love, the state of forgiveness and the state of play. Related: Body Language for Winning an Important Meeting Favorite quotation “Life is a state of consciousness.” — Emmet Fox Recommended book