CTC (NAR) key terms

A listening practice in which the listener paraphrases, summarizes, and asks clarifying questions to confirm understanding before responding, rather than planning a reply while the speaker is still talking.

Coaching is short-term, performance-focused, and question-led, targeting specific skills; mentoring is longer-term, development-focused, and advice-led, shaping the mentee's broader career and judgment over time.

A structured coaching conversation sequence moving through Goal, current Reality, Options, and Will or way forward, used to help a coachee commit to self-generated actions rather than receive instructions.

Open, non-leading questions that prompt reflection and widen thinking, such as asking what success would look like, instead of closed questions that invite yes or no answers.

Using one's influence to advocate for a protégé's advancement into visible assignments or roles, distinct from mentoring because it transfers real opportunity rather than only guidance and advice.

A repeating cycle of observed behavior, specific feedback, adjustment, and follow-up observation, which keeps development on track and prevents one-off comments from being forgotten or misread.

A feedback structure that states the Situation, the specific Behavior observed, and the Impact it had, keeping comments factual and behavior-based rather than attributing personality traits or motives.

Negotiation by trading fixed demands and concessions, where each side anchors on a stated position; it tends to lock parties in and obscure the underlying interests that could yield joint gains.

The best alternative to a negotiated agreement: what a party will do if talks fail. It sets the true walk-away point and therefore the real strength of that party's bargaining position.

The zone of possible agreement, the range between each side's reservation price where a deal is preferable to no deal; if the ranges do not overlap, no settlement exists on those terms.

The least favorable point at which a negotiator would still accept an agreement, derived from the BATNA; anything beyond it should be refused or met with a changed alternative.

Positions are what parties say they want; interests are the underlying needs, fears, and priorities behind that demand. Negotiating on interests usually reveals more trades and creative options.

A negotiation approach that expands the pie by trading across issues where parties value them differently, aiming for joint gains instead of dividing a single fixed amount.

Trading concessions across issues so each party gives up what it values least and gains what it values most, producing packages that beat splitting each issue down the middle.

The cognitive pull of an initial number or offer on later judgments, which is why the first credible figure in a negotiation can shape the whole range discussed.

Disagreement about the content of work, such as goals, facts, or methods; at moderate levels it can improve decisions, but it escalates into personal friction if unmanaged.

Interpersonal friction involving personality clashes, distrust, or animosity. It consumes attention and rarely improves outcomes, so it should be surfaced and reduced rather than encouraged.

The mediator's move from what each party demands to why they want it, allowing options to be generated that meet the underlying needs of both sides.

A conflict approach that separates people from the problem, focuses on interests rather than stated positions, generates options for mutual gain, and evaluates them against objective criteria.

A shared belief that raising concerns, admitting mistakes, or dissenting will not bring punishment or humiliation, which lets conflicts surface early while they are still workable.

Five conflict-handling styles defined by assertiveness and cooperativeness: competing, collaborating, compromising, avoiding, and accommodating. Each fits different stakes and time pressures.

Persisting with a failing course of action because of resources already spent, which distorts judgment and is a common barrier to abandoning a bad project or decision.

Ground rules that defer judgment, encourage wild ideas, build on others' contributions, and aim for quantity before quality, so evaluation does not cut idea generation short.

Two phases of creative work: diverging widens the option set without criticism, then converging narrows it against explicit criteria. Mixing the phases too early suppresses novel ideas.

A technique that imagines a project has already failed and asks participants to write the reasons why, surfacing risks that optimism and group pressure would otherwise hide.

A deterioration of judgment in cohesive groups where dissent is suppressed and alternatives go unexamined, producing overconfident and poorly tested decisions.

A root-cause technique that repeatedly asks why a problem occurred, typically about five times, until it reaches a systemic cause rather than a symptom.

Four behavioral tendencies: Dominance (direct, results-driven), Influence (sociable, persuasive), Steadiness (patient, supportive), and Conscientiousness (analytical, precise). Most people show a blend.

Adjusting pace, detail level, and directness to suit another person's preferred style, which improves communication without requiring anyone to change their underlying personality.

DISC describes observable behavior and how people prefer to interact, not fixed personality categories or measures of ability, so results are context-dependent and can shift with role and stress.

Recognizing one's own emotions, triggers, strengths, and limits as they occur, which is the foundation for regulating reactions and reading how one affects others.

Managing impulses and emotional reactions so that responses are chosen rather than automatic, including pausing before replying to a provocation or a stressful message.

Accurately sensing and understanding another person's feelings and perspective, and communicating that understanding, without necessarily agreeing with or adopting their view.

Reading the emotional climate of a group, including informal networks and unspoken concerns, to judge how decisions and messages will land with the people affected.

A rapid threat response in which strong emotion overrides deliberate reasoning, often producing fight, flight, or freeze reactions that a short pause can interrupt.

A sequence of rough panels sketching what each slide will show and say, used to test narrative flow and logic before investing time in detailed slide design.

A structure that leads with the conclusion, then supports it with grouped, logically ordered arguments, so audiences hear the recommendation first and the evidence second.

Spoken cues such as first, next, and in summary that tell an audience where the presentation is going and how the current point connects to the whole.

A short opening section stating the situation, the recommendation, and the expected benefit, written so a senior reader can act on it without reading the full document.

Revenue minus variable costs, showing what each unit or sale contributes toward fixed costs and then profit; it drives break-even and short-term pricing decisions.

The sales volume or revenue at which total revenue equals total costs and profit is zero, calculated by dividing fixed costs by the contribution margin per unit.

Money already spent that cannot be recovered, which should be ignored in forward-looking decisions because only future costs and benefits are relevant.

Current assets minus current liabilities, measuring the short-term funds tied up in operations; growth in receivables or inventory can strain cash even when profit is healthy.

Profit is revenue minus expenses recorded when earned or incurred; cash flow is money actually moving in and out. A profitable business can still fail if cash arrives late.

The sum of a project's future cash flows discounted to today's value at a required rate, minus the initial investment; a positive result suggests the project adds value.

The time needed for cumulative cash inflows to recover the initial investment, a simple liquidity and risk screen that ignores returns earned after the payback date.

The longest sequence of dependent tasks through a project network, which sets the minimum project duration; any delay on it delays the whole project.

The amount of time a task can slip without delaying the project end date, found on non-critical paths and useful for absorbing risk or leveling resources.

A hierarchical decomposition of project scope into manageable deliverables and work packages, forming the basis for estimating cost, duration, and responsibility.

Uncontrolled expansion of project requirements without corresponding changes to time, cost, or resources, usually eroding margins and morale; formal change control is the countermeasure.

The interdependent trade-off among scope, time, and cost, with quality affected by all three; changing one leg requires adjusting at least one of the others.

A chart assigning each task or decision to those Responsible, Accountable, Consulted, and Informed, clarifying who does the work and who owns the outcome.

A model of team development through forming, storming, norming, performing, and adjourning, where early disagreement is normal and leadership needs shift by stage.

A written agreement covering purpose, goals, roles, decision rights, and working norms, created early so expectations are explicit before conflict arises.

Reduced individual effort when people work in groups and contributions are hard to identify, countered by clear roles, small teams, and visible accountability.