All Episodes
Episodes
208. Same Words, Different Worlds: Why We Misunderstand Each Other
Have you ever walked away from a conversation wondering why someone reacted the way they did? Maybe you thought you were being considerate, while the other person felt ignored or disrespected. Or perhaps you found...
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207. Difficult Conversations? It's Not About Having the "Right Words"
Have you ever replayed a difficult conversation in your head, wishing you had found the perfect words to have things go differently? Maybe you want your partner to understand you without becoming defensive, your...
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206. What Do Your Conversations Say About Your Values?
We all have values we say are important to us, love, connection, respect, kindness, equality, honesty, presence, and more. But do our everyday conversations actually reflect those values?
In this episode, Alejandra...
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205. What Does it Really Mean to Be Authentic? Authenticity Vs. Brutal Honesty
Is saying exactly what you think really the same as being authentic?
We often hear phrases like "I'm just telling it like it is," "I'm just being honest," or "I'm speaking my truth." They can reflect a genuine desire...
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204. Doctors' Words & Healing with Dr. Chrissie Ott
In this episode, Alejandra Siroka speaks with Dr. Chrissie Ott, a physician leader, board-certified in internal medicine, pediatrics, integrative medicine, and obesity medicine, and an ICF-certified coach.
Together,...
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203. AIR: A Communication Tool for Life
What if the way we respond in difficult moments could help create more connection and belonging?Ā
In this final episode of the Multicultural Communication and Belonging series, Alejandra Siroka reflects on the...
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202. What to Say When Someone Makes a Hurtful Comment
In this episode, Alejandra Siroka explores one of the most courageous communication skills in the Multicultural Communication and Belonging series: how to hold someone accountable for hurtful words without shaming...
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201. From Fitting In to Belonging
In this episode, Alejandra Siroka draws a sharp distinction between two experiences that often get confused: fitting in and belonging. Fitting in, she explains, is effortful and performative: it means monitoring what...
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200. How to Understand Any Accent, with Speech-language Pathologist and Accent Modification Coach, Natalie Cohen
In this episode, Alejandra invites Natalie Cohen, a licensed speech-language pathologist and accent modification coach to discuss how we perceive various accents, and how this perception can create disconnection and...
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199. Questions That Sting. Multicultural Communication and Belonging Series. Part 5
The questions that feel like small talk perhaps unbeknown to you tell someone they don't belong.
In this fifth episode of the Multicultural Communication and Belonging series, Alejandra Siroka examines something most...
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198. Words That Push People Out
Some of the most xenophobic phrases in everyday English arrived quietly, stripped of their origins and normalized long before anyone thought to question them.
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In this fourth episode of the Multicultural...
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197. How Your Culture Shapes Your Relationships. Multicultural Communication & Belonging Series. Part 3
In Part 3 of the Multicultural Communication and Belonging series, Alejandra Siroka opens with a definition that shaped her entire career: language is not just a tool for communication, it is a way of looking at...
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