Question:
Question: You also report on gift giving, the latest products and top toys and are called a Gift Guru from coast. You are well known as a gift giving Diva…why did you write a book on gift giving?
Robyn:
I love to shop and make smart purchases, but I don’t like to waste time. I also enjoy giving meaningful gifts and express my feelings to those people in my life who mean the world to me. Every day we have wonderful opportunities to give gifts to each other and many of those gifts don’t even cost a penny. A kind word or a thoughtful deed are both free and fabulous! When I wrote the book, When Words Matter Most: Thoughtful Deeds and Kind Words For Every Occasion, (Crown Publishers), my goal was to share creative ways you can give gifts and do deeds that make someone else really feel special. Spreading kindness is the greatest gift we can give one another.
With many live appearances on television over the years, I also have gotten to know a wealth of products, resources and the top toys for kids that make incredible gifts and wanted to share them. For over two decades, I have studied gift giving and learned a great deal about which gifts endure time, become a treasured memory and which ones collect dust!
When writing When Words Matter Most, I asked hundreds of individuals what were the most memorable and inspiring deeds, words or gifts they’ve ever received and their inspiring answers are in this book. From happy occasions to sad ones including sorrow and tragedies, I captured ways you can make a difference and really touch another person’s life in an extraordinary way.
Question:
We all have good intentions, so why do some gifts completely bomb?
Robyn:
Many people give their idea of a great gift, something that reflects their taste versus the other person’s taste. This is a huge mistake in gift giving. Just because you love it, doesn’t mean they will! Everyone has a favorite color, taste preference, etc. A gift that bombs or makes you wonder what they were thinking is a gift that has nothing to do with you at all. If you love milk chocolate and they give you bittersweet – that’s a miss. If you’re on a diet and they give you chocolate at all – that’s thoughtless. Great gifts also make a memory and preserve time in some way. Memorable gifts become treasures that last forever in our minds and our hearts. Gifts that are forgotten in time are gifts that are simply token gifts versus tokens of your affection for someone. You can definitely tell the difference!
Question:
Tell us about your latest career book for women, Take This Book to Work?
Robyn:
If you want it, you have to ask for it. That’s true in life, but especially at work. Asking the essential question is a skill, one that any woman can master quickly. It is a powerful tool that can get women more of what they want in the workplace. My latest career book for women, that I co-authored with the brilliant founder and CEO of Women For Hire Tory Johnson, is all about the right questions to ask and how to ask them. Take This Book to Work lists questions that every woman should master, with expert advice on each question, about topics such as compensation and benefits, more responsibility or a promotion, credit or recognition, work schedule flexibility and more. We created a highly user-friendly guide jam-packed with all the cue cards and guidance that every woman needs to approach her next request with courage, confidence and success. Ask for it at the bookstore or visit womenforhire.com!