Book Barb

Relational Intelligence (RQ): The Skill That Picks Up Where EQ Leaves Off

Barb Betts demonstrating Relational Intelligence and human connection on stage during a keynote

Relational Intelligence is the ability to understand, build, and intentionally manage relationships in a way that creates trust, strengthens connection, and drives better outcomes. Emotional intelligence helps you understand emotions, both your own and other people’s, but Relational Intelligence helps you decide what to do with that awareness so you can build relationships that actually […]

AI and Human Connection: Are We Losing Our Relationship Muscle?

Barb Betts reflects on Sherry Turkle discussion of AI, artificial intimacy, and human connection in a conversation published by Scientific American.

I listened to a conversation published in Scientific American this week with Sherry Turkle, founding director of the MIT Initiative on Technology and Self, about AI and human connection, and there was one idea I haven’t been able to shake. What if the biggest risk with AI isn’t that we stop talking to people? What […]

Loneliness Epidemic: The Silent Health Crisis We Face

Illustration of diverse people in a crowd representing the loneliness epidemic and the need for meaningful human connection.

We have never had more access to one another. Most of us can reach almost anyone we know within seconds. We can text, email, send a direct message, jump on a video call, leave a voice memo, or follow someone’s life from hundreds of miles away. Inside our companies, teams can communicate across offices, cities, […]

How to Reconnect With Someone After Losing Touch

how to reconnect with someone after losing touch

If you’re wondering how to reconnect with someone after losing touch, the best place to start is simpler than you think: reach out without making the distance the problem. You do not need the perfect explanation, a long apology, or a reason important enough to justify the message. You need a genuine desire to reconnect […]

How to Be Intentional With Your Relationships (Without It Feeling Like a Chore)

Two professionals having an intentional conversation and building a stronger relationship.

If you want to know how to be intentional in relationships, start by making relationship-building part of what you already do instead of adding it to an already full to-do list. Intentional relationships are not built through grand gestures. They are built through small, consistent moments of attention that tell another person, I remember you. […]

The Relationship Advantage Is Becoming the Competitive Advantage

Barb Betts speaking on stage about the relationship advantage as the new competitive edge

For decades, businesses have searched for a competitive advantage. Better products. Better technology. Better pricing. Better processes. Better marketing. Those things still matter. But they’re no longer enough to make you truly different. Today, the relationship advantage is becoming one of the few things competitors can’t easily copy. Nearly every business now has access to […]

How to Build Stronger Relationships: Make People Feel Known 

Barb Betts on the SIMPLE brand podcast with Matt Lyles discussing how to build stronger relationships

Learn how to build stronger relationships by being intentional, not by being impressive. Relationships almost never fall apart because someone stopped caring. They drift because someone stopped being intentional, and the drift is so quiet that you usually do not notice it until you need the relationship and realize it is not there anymore.  I […]

How to Build Trust Faster: 7 Habits of the Most Trusted Person in the Room

Barb Betts listening attentively during a networking conversation, demonstrating how to build trust faster through active listening and authentic relationships.

If someone asked me the secret to building a successful business, my answer probably wouldn’t be what they expect. It isn’t having the best marketing strategy. It isn’t mastering the latest sales techniques. And it certainly isn’t trying to become the smartest person in the room. It’s becoming the person people trust. Over the past […]

How to Avoid Becoming a Commodity: The Competitive Advantage Every Industry Needs

Business professionals building trust through conversation, illustrating how relationships create a competitive advantage and help businesses avoid becoming a commodity.

I recently had two keynote discovery calls that couldn’t have been more different. The first was with a healthcare laundry services company. The second was with a real estate organization. On paper, they had almost nothing in common. Different customers. Different industries. Different challenges. Different regulations. Yet by the end of both conversations, they asked […]

Reach Out First: The Message You Almost Didn’t Send

Woman looking at her phone before deciding to reach out first and strengthen a meaningful relationship.

If you want to strengthen relationships, it usually starts with one simple decision: reaching out first. There is a small moment that happens in almost every meaningful relationship. You think about someone. You consider whether to reach out first. And then a quiet voice in your head talks you out of it. “It has been […]