{"version":1,"type":"rich","provider_name":"Libsyn","provider_url":"https:\/\/www.libsyn.com","height":90,"width":600,"title":"476 Positive Communication, Temperaments, and the WOW Effect with Paule Genest","description":"  Communication shapes how teams learn, respond, correct, and build trust. Trace Blackmore, CWT welcomes returning guest Paule Genest, Director, Sales and ESG (Environment, Social and Governance) Water and Energy TGWT \/ The Tannin Guys for a conversation on positive communication, temperaments, the WOW Effect, and how water professionals can use words with more clarity and care.    Communication With a Positive Impact  Paule reframes positive communication as communication with a positive impact. The goal is not fake positivity or polished language. The goal is to use the right words, tone, timing, and listening habits to create better emotional and relational outcomes.  That distinction matters in technical environments. Teams may say they want innovation, accountability, safety, or trust, but unclear or defensive communication can unintentionally create the opposite result. Paule reminds listeners that communication is not optional. It is operational.    Listening, Temperaments, and Shared Definitions  Trace and Paule revisit the temperament framework made familiar to Scaling UP! Nation through Kathleen Edelman\u2019s past appearances. Paule identifies herself as a \u201cyellow,\u201d while Trace identifies as a \u201cred,\u201d creating a useful example of how different communication styles can either complement or frustrate one another.  They also discuss why listening is more than waiting to respond. Paule encourages listeners to pay attention to words, nonverbal cues, context, environment, and emotion. She also emphasizes the importance of shared definitions. A word like \u201cinnovation,\u201d \u201ccourage,\u201d or \u201caccountability\u201d may not mean the same thing to every person in the room.    The Fizz Factor  Paule introduces the idea of \u201cjust enough fizz\u201d in communication. Fizz is the energy, care, authenticity, and clarity that makes communication feel alive without becoming fake, overwhelming, or unclear.  Too little fizz can make communication flat. Too much can create noise. The professional challenge is learning how much energy, directness, empathy, and clarity the person and the situation require.    When Communication Gets Difficult  The conversation also addresses harder moments: tension in meetings, emotional escalation, apologies, safety corrections, and urgent technical situations. Paule encourages professionals to pause, breathe, validate, and revisit conversations when needed.  In a boiler room or safety-critical setting, direct communication may be necessary immediately. However, Trace and Paule agree that teams can still return later to review what happened, protect the relationship, and improve the system.  Better communication does not remove difficulty from technical work. It helps professionals handle difficulty with more clarity, humility, and purpose.  Listen to the full conversation above. Explore related episodes below. Stay engaged, keep learning, and continue scaling up your knowledge!    Timestamps  01:17 \u2014 Trace shares information about the Global 6K for Water and invites listeners to participate on Saturday, May 16. 02:20 \u2014 Trace introduces the episode topic: why clear, positive communication matters during busy seasons filled with projects, audits, customer calls, emails, and coordination. 03:28 \u2014 Words of Water with James McDonald 05:03 \u2014 Trace encourages listeners to visit the Scaling UP! H2O events page and highlights the 2026 Environment Systems Research Institute Conference in San Diego, California, July 13\u201317. 06:33 \u2014 Trace previews Legionella Awareness Month in August and explains why the podcast dedicates the month to Legionella, waterborne pathogens, expert interviews, and industry education. 08:29 \u2014 Trace introduces Industrial Water Week, taking place October 5\u20139, with daily themes for pretreatment, boilers, cooling, wastewater, and careers. 09:45 \u2014 Trace announces the return of Detective H2O during Industrial Water Week and reminds listeners why the week is designed to celebrate the industrial water treatment profession. 10:42 \u2014 Trace sets up the main interview by identifying miscommunication as a common professional challenge and introducing the need for better communication. 11:17 \u2014 Trace welcomes returning guest Paule Genest of TGWT Clean Technologies Inc. and references her previous appearances on Episode 192 and Episode 380 12:31 \u2014 Paule shares what she has been focused on since her last appearance, including growing relationships, improving communication, and supporting the water technologies community. 13:47 \u2014 Paule discusses her podcast-style work with power engineers and boiler operators, created to bring visibility to professionals who are often overlooked. 14:40 \u2014 Paule shares her work as an adjunct teacher at the University of Montreal, where her class on social responsibility and PR has become a required course. 15:23 \u2014 Paule talks about the Women of Water community, mentoring Abigail Coquette, and the value of documenting mentorship experiences for future learning. 16:05 \u2014 Trace reflects on an AWT Colorado Springs panel with baby boomers, Gen X, millennials, and Gen Z, showing how different generations respond to the same communication questions. 17:01 \u2014 Paule explains how she has learned to organize her communication around the listener and the message she wants them to take away. 18:30 \u2014 Trace introduces temperaments, with Paule identifying as yellow and Trace identifying as red, and connects the discussion to Kathleen Edelman\u2019s communication work. 19:31 \u2014 Trace explains why communication should be shaped for the recipient, using his Gen Z son and punctuation in text messages as an example. 19:54 \u2014 Paule explains that positive communication is not simply the opposite of negative communication, but a way of choosing words that influence emotional and relational outcomes. 21:40 \u2014 Paule emphasizes listening as an art and encourages professionals to pay attention to words, nonverbal cues, context, environment, and emotion. 22:43 \u2014 Paule explains why shared definitions matter, using \u201cinnovation\u201d as an example of a word that may mean different things to different people. 23:54 \u2014 Paule discusses how people bring past experiences into present conversations and references I\u2019m Okay, You\u2019re Okay and the child, parent, and adult framework. 26:00 \u2014 Trace asks Paule to explain her idea of \u201cjust enough fizz\u201d in communication. 26:09 \u2014 Paule defines fizz as the energy, care, authenticity, vulnerability, and positive impact that help communication become more effective. 28:14 \u2014 Paule introduces the Fizz Factor Quiz and walks Trace through possible responses when tension rises in a team meeting. 29:29 \u2014 Paule compares communication styles to still water, espresso, sparkling water, and kombucha, helping listeners visualize different ways people show up in conversation. 30:30 \u2014 Paule explains the importance of speaking truth with empathy, checking tone and timing, and acknowledging how a message is received. 31:40 \u2014 Trace shares the example of a communication stick, where one person speaks until the other can accurately reflect what was said. 34:07 \u2014 Paule explains how to step back during emotional conversations by breathing, noticing physical cues, and returning to a listening mode. 37:10 \u2014 Paule reframes positive communication as \u201ccommunication with a positive impact,\u201d focusing on the outcome it creates for both parties. 40:02 \u2014 Trace explains the three-part apology: acknowledging what happened, connecting with how it affected the other person, and asking how to make it right. 41:01 \u2014 Paule connects social responsibility with communication and explains why the outcome needs to be positive for both parties in a dialogue. 42:11 \u2014 Paule describes the communication model of speaker, listener, message, environment, noise, context, and feedback. 45:21 \u2014 After the sponsor break, Trace explains a question he uses when communication does not land as intended: \u201cWhat did you just hear me say?\u201d 45:55 \u2014 Paule suggests rating meetings and conversations by asking what each person felt, understood, and took away. 46:34 \u2014 Trace asks how communication changes in urgent safety situations, such as a boiler room issue that could lead to equipment failure or injury. 46:59 \u2014 Paule explains that direct safety communication may be necessary in the moment, but the team should revisit the conversation later to learn and preserve the relationship. 48:37 \u2014 Trace returns to the idea of \u201cjust enough fizz\u201d and asks how to know whether the fizz is for the speaker, the listener, or the situation. 48:53 \u2014 Paule explains that fizz should respect both people, the situation, and the communication style of the other party. 50:47 \u2014 Paule shares how Melanie helped her realize that poetic communication still needs a clear action or outcome. 53:06 \u2014 Paule introduces Mathieu Laferri\u00e8re\u2019s Feel, Know, Do approach as a practical structure for communication and email writing. 55:43 \u2014 Trace asks whether fizz works in email, where tone, facial expression, and visual cues are missing. 56:07 \u2014 Paule explains how to adapt the Feel, Know, Do structure for different temperaments, especially when writing to more direct communicators. 57:08 \u2014 Paule encourages listeners to ask people how they prefer to communicate, whether by email, text, Messenger, or another channel. 58:31 \u2014 Trace raises a practical technical example, asking whether fizz matters when simply reporting that a pump was out of prime. 58:54 \u2014 Paule explains that fizz is part of the experience and can still be present in technical updates through clarity, usefulness, and a human touch. 01:00:38 \u2014 Trace shares advice he received early in podcasting: it is okay to be impressed, but you have to be involved. 01:02:33 \u2014 Paule summarizes her key message: positive communication is not optional, it is operational. 01:03:15 \u2014 Paule begins the lightning round by creating a friendship holiday centered on writing a letter to yourself and to a friend. 01:04:52 \u2014 Paule shares her mantra, \u201cLife is fragile,\u201d and connects it to people, the environment, Mother Nature, and water. 01:06:50 \u2014 Paule explains why she wishes more people understood the importance of boiler operators and power engineers. 01:10:21 \u2014 Trace summarizes the main lesson from the conversation: positive communication requires intentionally chosen words that help the other person understand the message. 01:11:16 \u2014 Trace explains how past experiences can shape miscommunication and why choosing words carefully can remove some of the \u201cgray\u201d in communication. 01:12:07 \u2014 Trace reflects on generational communication differences and encourages listeners to give others more grace.   Quotes \u201cBe calm. Make sure your antennas are open and grab whatever is happening with the words, but also the nonverbal communication, the context, the environment.\u201d  \u201cI would like to say that communication is not optional. It's operational.\u201d  \u201cTo be clear and check you know on our tone and timing, I've had to learn about my timing this year in hard ways.\u201d  \u201cdon't let kindness cloud the core message.\u201d    Connect with Paule Genest Phone: (514) 703-4317  Email: pgenest@tgwt.com  Website: TGWT: About | LinkedIn  LinkedIn: Paule (Paula) Genest, PRP, APR, Fellow CPRS, MCPRS | LinkedIn    Guest Resources Mentioned   The Gifts of Imperfect Parenting: Raising Children with Courage, Compassion, and Connection by Bren\u00e9 Brown PhD LMSW   Thanks for the Feedback: The Science and Art of Receiving Feedback Well by Douglas Stone (Author), Sheila Heen (Author)   I'm OK--You're OK: The Pioneering and Bestselling Self-Help Guide by Thomas Harris   Paule-Cast     Scaling UP! H2O Resources Mentioned  AWT (Association of Water Technologies)  Scaling UP! H2O Academy video courses  Submit a Show Idea  The Rising Tide Mastermind   192 The One With The Best Marketing Expert In The Water Treatment Industry  380 The WOW Effect: Women Leading Transformation in the Water Industry  117 The One With Temperament Expert, Kathleen Edelman   179 Another One that Teaches Us to Communicate Better with Others  281 The One About The Power of Kindness    Words of Water with James McDonald Today's definition is an electrochemical form of corrosion that occurs when two dissimilar metals are in electrical contact with each other in the presence of an electrolyte. Can you guess the word or phrase?    2026 Events for Water Professionals  Check out our Scaling UP! H2O Events Calendar where we\u2019ve listed every event Water Treaters should be aware of by clicking HERE.  ","author_name":"Scaling UP! H2O","author_url":"http:\/\/scalinguph2o.com","html":"