What makes you successful at work sucks the life out of your relationships

In many fields, there are beliefs that are commonly held because they are intuitive, 

The correct belief is often counterintuitive: 

In relationships, there are many commonly held beliefs that you continue believing in because they feel intuitive, but in reality, 

they are getting in the way and causing unnecessary arguments, headaches, and confusion in your relationships

you will discover the painful cost of holding on to one of the most intuitive, but insidious beliefs, and instead, discover the ease made possible in your relationships by unlearning this belief. 

Norman is a facilitator for Stanford Graduate School of Business' legendary Touchy-Feely class, which has trained MBA's on interpersonal dynamics for over 50 years. During the pandemic, Norman helped Stanford co-design a virtual version of the Touchy Feely class. After facilitating and creating learning experiences for companies like Facebook, IDEO, Stanford d.school, Norman teamed up with Stephanie and co-founded Relating Between the Lines, an 8-week program that helps you skillfully navigate conversations with the people you care about most. It's a program to make the most of your relationships for the rest of your life. 

In Relating Between the Lines, we are fortunate to have been able to serve students from these companies: 

Forte Labs x RBTL: 👀 Taking the Work Out of Relationships

Have you ever gotten to know somebody so well that you could both finish each other's sentences? Or maybe you have a friend who you could give 

 look, and both of you would start laughing because of an inside joke?

Now for the opposite, think of the times your feelings were hurt because you either made an incorrect assumption about a person, or they made a judgment about your character based on something small you did.

This is the miracle and madness of mindreading.

In fact, it's something our brains are programmed to do. 

According to Nicholas Epley, Professor of Behavior Science at University of Chicago:  

Knowing the minds of others is essential for social success because it enables you to anticipate what others are going to say it before they say it [...] At its best, [mindreading] enables understanding between friends, forgiveness among enemies, empathy between strangers, and cooperation between countries and couples and coworkers.

our survival depended on our caregivers successfully intuiting our needs 

it is our responsibility to not just know what we need, but to also communicate it.

Mindreading ALWAYS incurs a risk because it can miss the mark on both ends as listener and speaker.

When it pays off, it fills our lives with awe, delight, and connection.

When it doesn't, it frustrates us, blindsides us, and leaves our hearts broken.

This is why we need a User manual for our relationships:

In this 5-day bootcamp, we will help you create a User Manual so that the people you care most about know how best to communicate and connect with you.

By having the courage to know yourself, you make it possible to 

spend LESS time working ON the relationship

spend MORE time being IN the relationships

What more worthwhile task than to give you and your relationships the intention & care they deserve?

​Norman is a facilitator for Stanford Graduate School of Business' legendary Touchy-Feely class, which has trained MBA's on interpersonal dynamics for over 50 years. During the pandemic, Norman helped Stanford co-design a virtual version of the Touchy Feely class. After facilitating and creating learning experiences for companies like Facebook, IDEO, Stanford d.school, Norman teamed up with Stephanie and co-founded Relating Between the Lines, an 8-week program that helps you skillfully navigate conversations with the people you care about most. It's a program to make the most of your relationships for the rest of your life.

​In Relating Between the Lines, we are fortunate to have been able to serve students from these companies:

🗺 Relating Between the Lines Bootcamp

, a bilingual connection card game designed to spark deep conversation with your loved ones

a program that teaches you the tools to listen and express skillfully

. We invite you to join this workshop if you’re open to exploring how to be a better listener with your parents. 

In our relationships with our parents, there are some commonly held beliefs that we believe in because they feel intuitive, but in reality, 

they are getting in the way and creating more strain, headaches, and confusion in our relationships

. One such commonly-held, but actually unhelpful belief is that we should aim to be helpful to our parents by giving advice, solving problems, and telling them how to do things.

But just like how we definitely don’t like receiving unsolicited advice about what to wear or what careers to pursue, our parents certainly don’t feel more connected to us when we listen from the mindsets of:

We fail to see our parents as human when we treat them as problems to be solved instead of people to connect with (flaws, vulnerability, and all!).

In this workshop, we’ll explore the principle of 

to rewire our problem-solving impulse and explore how to relate with our parents in a more open-hearted, inviting, and supportive way. 

After the 1-hour workshop, we will host a Q&A with Joseph Lam, co-creator of Parents Are Human and Norman Tran and Stephanie Tran, co-founders of Relating Between the Lines. 

, we are fortunate to have been able to serve students from these companies:

​Joseph Lam is a second-generation Chinese American on a 

mission to help people connect deeply with their parents

For the last few years, the most important priority in his life has been healing the broken relationship he had with his immigrant parents for over a decade. 

Joseph wanted to get to know his mom and dad before it was too late, and co-created 

 to help others do the same. He is currently helping his parents improve their physical health and documenting their stories every week.

facilitator for Stanford Graduate School of Business' legendary Touchy-Feely class

, which has trained MBA's on interpersonal dynamics for over 50 years. After facilitating and creating learning experiences for companies like Facebook, IDEO, Stanford 

, an 8-week program that teaches the art of skillfully navigating conversations with the people we care about most. Norman is on a mission to 

“queer-eye” communication by sharing what he’s learned as a gay neurodivergent (ADHD 2e) man trying to find a sense of belonging in a world that is not designed for people like him

. Norman is currently improving his relationship with his parents by asking his dad spot him in workouts and making ugly faces with his mom.

Stephanie Tran previously founded a wellness company that 

taught people how to design healthier lifestyles by talking about shame, not running from it

. As a daughter of immigrants, she grew up in a household that valued professional success over creative expression. Stephanie has reclaimed her voice by 

infusing delight, heart, and craftswomanship into every step

 of a student’s journey in 🌈 Relating Between the Lines. She is currently helping her parents’ live out their dreams and recently jumpstarted their 

 selling pineapple shortbread, inspired by Taiwanese pineapple pastries.

To ensure the best learning experience for yourself and others, 

 (Version 5.9.3), and come on time to the workshop. 

We will close doors 5 minutes after the session begins.

​Ahead of the workshop, we would like to let you know that the learning experiences we design at 🌈 Relating Between the Lines are interactive. Like riding a bike, relationships cannot be learned through observation alone, without a willingness to fall, and in absence of your fullest attention.

Therefore, we invite all attendees to take a 5-10 minute break before the session and to participate fully by having their video on during the session

. We have found that having your video on is the most effective way for you to connect with others in the community, experience the material first-hand, and to practice showing up as you are (a sometimes vulnerable, but necessary part of relating with others).

​With so many of us working in virtual spaces because of the pandemic, 

we understand that not everyone will have the bandwidth to have their video on in Zoom

. If you feel you cannot have your video on during the workshop, that is completely OK—

we will kindly ask you to leave and invite you to take this time to take care of yourself

. In a world that constantly asks so much of us, we want this to be a space where you are reminded of your own humanity. ​We are certain there will be many more workshops in the future where we can serve you when you have the means to participate fully, and we look forward to seeing you in a future one!

PAH x RBTL: 🫂 Seeing the Human Beneath our Parents

 art of skillfully navigating conversations with the people we care about most

 of a student’s journey in 🌈 Relating Between the Lines. 

On Wednesdays, they sometimes wear pink, and can be found getting their Vietnamese Iced Coffee fix, while thinking about how to bridge the profound and the profane in their next learning experience.

But don't take our word for it - here's what past Bootcamp participants have said:

“It was such an energetic, life-giving hour well-spent for my wife and I. We enjoyed every single minute of it, and the hour seemed to FLY by. We also made some new friends during the breakout sessions! Norman was so fun & engaging - he has a keen ability to simplify terms & demystify concepts in communication that either of us have never thought to put words to. We walked away from this RBTL workshop feeling more connected to each other as newlyweds, and we are excited to practice acknowledging and affirming each other in new ways as we both grow in our marriage together. Thank you, RBTL team! <3” - J.C + M.C.

“The week's overarching scope and sequence crescendoed to a profound final session as Norman casually dropped koan-esque nuggets like "choose the people in your life who are going to honor your no's" and "all behaviors make sense, just not to you." Thank you, thank you, thank you for the vision that went into designing this experience!  I'll be applying to the course. :) P.S. The aesthetics of the slides were on point.” - G.P.

“Norman and Steph and Kevin have all really amazed me on how they kindly help others be the best version of themselves and give us the tools and resources to be so much more and connect on such a deeper level to those we want to connect with and even find it in those we didn’t know we could connect with. I thank you all from the bottom of my heart. I never thought that at almost 50yrs old I had so much to learn about myself and those around me.” - C.P.

“Thanks for an amazing bootcamp! The material is so well put together, and design 💯. So much positive energy and I’ve definitely learned a lot.” - V.Z.

“Thank you, RBTL crew for hosting another thought-provoking session. Love all these concepts and practices and am excited to continue exploring more with you all <3” - V.L.

“These sessions go by so fast, probably because enjoying every moment” - J.D.

“Thank you everyone for being open + RBTL team for putting such an incredible program 💙💙💙” -A.B.

”WOW. Mic drop. I’m speechless. That was excellent yall.” - M.L.

“Thank you for this bootcamp! Definitely learned a lot this past week and found new ways to improve myself :)” - R.A.

”Thank you all for providing these much-needed tools and having these conversations! <3” - K.M.

“Deeply appreciating the thoughtfulness of this workshop!” - A.L.

“These slides & worksheets are beautiful for real though” - J.W.

“Excellent content, format, and leading.” - W.H.

🗺 Relating Between the Lines Bootcamp - Spring 2022

 team is hosting an in-person gathering at Dolores Park in San Francisco on

You're invited to join us if you're in the area! 

Our intention is to introduce you to the RBTL community (the team and alumni) and provide you a space to learn more about the program.

Alumni, we're excited to finally see some of you in person! You're welcome to invite your +1's (friends, family, partner). And folks who are joining us because you're interested in joining the next cohort (10/3 - 12/9), we can't wait to meet you! Bring your questions and let's chat.

​We're looking forward to seeing some of you there and getting to see how tall you are beyond the Zoom boxes 😂

🌈 Bay Area In-Person RBTL Meetup!

This inevitable question shows up not just in romantic relationships, but in all relationships--family, friends, colleagues. 

So how do you decide whether or not to continue putting effort into your relationships?

It begins with recognizing that our relationships can actually be divided into different buckets, each requiring us to answer a different question: 

In this 3-part workshop series, we'll visit the 

, a tool that helps us determine which relationships to prioritize without feeling guilt for departing from the ones that no longer bring us joy. We explore

 in our relationships, check in with what is and what isn't working, and get clear on the next conversations you can have within your relationships. 

Below is the schedule of workshops and what we'll be exploring in each one: 

What do I do with the people that I want to invest my time and energy with for the long haul, and how can I show them my care for them? 

What do I do with the people who used to play a big role in my past and want to stay connected, but I don't feel as motivated or inclined?

What do I do with the people I care a lot about, but are challenging for me to spend time with? 

This workshop series is hosted by Norman Tran and Stephanie Tran, co-founders of 🌈

​Stephanie Tran previously founded a wellness company that 

 of a student’s journey in 🌈 Relating Between the Lines.

​On Wednesdays, they sometimes wear pink, and can be found getting their Vietnamese Iced Coffee fix, while thinking about how to bridge the profound and the profane in their next learning experience.

🔬 Relationship Audit Workshop

Founder to Founder is a conversation series about what’s possible when you put relationships first, while building a company together. 

What happens when we become dissatisfied with our responsibilities?

In this conversation, Norman and Stephanie discuss how their responsibilities evolved over the few years of starting Relating Between the Lines together, the unexpected heartbreak along the way, the necessary character development they experienced, and what they wish they knew before. 

This conversation series is hosted by Norman Tran and Stephanie Tran, co-founders of 🌈

Stephanie Tran previously founded a wellness company that taught people 

how to design healthier lifestyles by talking about shame, not running from it

. She is a natural hypewoman, and something that is meaningful to her is to help others bring their dreams to life. As a 1st gen Chinese-Vietnamese American woman, she has been on a lifelong journey of 

accepting her emotions fully, translating them into needs, speaking up for herself, and is a mission to empower others to do the same

infusing delight, heart, and craftswomanship

 into every step of a student’s journey in 🌈 Relating Between the Lines. 

​​On Wednesdays, they sometimes wear pink, and can be found getting their Vietnamese Iced Coffee fix, while thinking about how to bridge the profound and the profane in their next learning experience.

🤝 Founder to Founder | Reality Check

​This inevitable question shows up not just in romantic relationships, but in all relationships--family, friends, colleagues.

​It begins with recognizing that our relationships can actually be divided into different buckets, each requiring us to answer a different question:

​In this 3-part workshop series, we'll visit the 

 in our relationships, check in with what is and what isn't working, and get clear on the next conversations you can have within your relationships.

Below is the schedule of workshops and what we'll be exploring in each one:

What do I do with the people that I want to invest my time and energy with for the long haul, and how can I show them my care for them?

What do I do with the people I care a lot about, but are challenging for me to spend time with?

​This workshop series is hosted by Norman Tran and Stephanie Tran, co-founders of 🌈

​​Stephanie Tran previously founded a wellness company that 

In this fireside chat, Marie Poulin and Norman Tran discuss how to build relationships as people with ADHD. They will cover specifically:

✨ Attention: Balancing listening vs. sharing

✨ Authenticity: Embracing quirks and dealing with rejection

Join this fireside chat to discover the unique opportunities and challenges of building relationships when you have ADHD.

Friends, family, and partners of ADHD folks are welcome!

teaches business owners to level up their digital systems, workflow, and knowledge management processes

 using Notion. She’s the co-founder of 

, an online program and community that helps creators, entrepreneurs and small teams tame their work + life chaos by building life and business management systems with Notion. 

Diagnosed with ADHD at age 37, Marie is especially passionate about helping folks customize their workflows and workspaces

 to meet their unique needs and preferences. 

She believes that Notion is especially powerful for neurodivergent folks

 who have long struggled to adhere to traditional or rigid project management processes, and may need a little extra customization and flexibility. 

Fireside Chat: Building Relationships When You Have ADHD with Marie Poulin and Norman Tran

In this fireside chat, Jiggy Yoon and Norman Tran discuss how 

being queer affects the way they show up within their relationships

✨ How being strong and loving yourself are not mutually exclusive

Join this fireside chat to discover the power of owning all the parts of your identity, even the parts that seem contradictory. 

 at 🌈 Relating Between the Lines. Growing up, Jiggy's mom seared into her consciousness the idea that "high performance" was the be-all-end-all of goals. But when her mother lost her battle to cancer, Jiggy questioned the gospel of pursuing excellence for excellence's sake. In her search, she took a course by Dr. Christopher Uhl, which introduced to her the idea that 

what we need more in life is not excellence, but self-compassion.

 She quickly rose from student to assistant lecturer because of how much the message resonated with her, and she now actively 

teaches this to competitive athletes, entrepreneurs, and young adults.

 In Relating Between the Lines, Jiggy is helping people see that the 

greatest act of self-love is to be fully who we are.

possible to have a chronic illness and be an athlete

, for we are the space between our labels.

Fireside Chat: Queer Identity and Relationships with Jiggy Yoon and Norman Tran

In this 3-day series, we will help you create a mini-User manual so that the people you care most about know how best to communicate and connect with you. We'll be diving deep into the following topics: 

​Stephanie Tran previously founded a wellness company that taught people 

 into every step of a student’s journey in 🌈 Relating Between the Lines.

Here's what past Bootcamp participants have shared about the bootcamp:

🗺 Relating Between the Lines Mini-Bootcamp - Summer 2022

The Fall 2022 cohort of RBTL will run for 8 weeks, kicking off on 

, and the final day to apply for this cohort is 

🤗 Supporting over Solving |  🎞 Mirroring | 🔍 Gentle Inquiry

At work, our value and status is defined by our ability to solve problems. You will learn how to be emotionally supportive without trying to provide solutions to others.

Module 2: The Dark Matter of Relationships

🤸‍♀️ Pleasure over Proving | ⭐️ Affirmation | 🔗 Attunement

Between each person you interact with, a thread is formed. How it strengthens and weakens over time often feels like something that happens to us, not something within our control. We’ll learn how to proactively communicate to strengthen our ties with those that matter.

🎭 Congruence over Composure | 🚪 Disclosure | 🌡 Temperature Check

Imagine driving a car without knowing the speed and how much gas is left. That’s what communication without awareness of your emotions is like: driving blind. You will learn how to read your “inner dashboard” called emotions to better inform how you engage with others.

Module 4: The Declaration of Interdependence

❤️‍🩹 Heartbreak over Harmony | 🧲 Invitation | 🚦 Boundaries

One of the greatest challenges of relationships is being with others without losing ourselves - to share what we really need and resist bending over backwards to get those needs met. You will learn how to advocate for yourself through the art of asking and saying no.

🌈 Relating Between The Lines Cohort 6 - Info Session

This is why we need a user manual for our relationships:

In this 3-day series, we will help you create a mini-user manual so that the people you care most about know how best to communicate and connect with you. We'll be diving deep into the following topics: 

The next cohort of Relating Between the Lines will be running for 6 weeks from 

Here's what past participants of the series have shared about their experience:

🗺 A User Manual for Your Relationships

How we lead is shaped by how we relate to ourselves, our teams, and our communities. 

In this fireside chat, Jamie Issuh and Norman Tran discuss how 

being queer affects their relationships and therefore how they choose to show up for the communities they lead. 

✨ How do your Queer and Asian identities influence the way you lead? How do they shape the "why" behind your work?

✨ Why relationships are so important for leadership, and what do people often overlook when it comes to investing in relationships?

✨ What does it mean to queer-eye communication? How does doing so impact the communities you serve?

Join this fireside chat to discover how changing the way we communicate changes the way we connect, and ultimately changes the impact we can have as leaders.

A Queer Korean-American Renaissance Woman, 

Jamie Issuh (she/her/they, aka Jamie Lew)

has produced, directed, designed & hosted touring concerts, live spectacles, community events, virtual panels, music videos, art installations, NFT collections, and love letters all over the world.  From pitch deck to opening show night, 

harnesses the power of art, technology & storytelling to create immersive experiences that foster genuine community & generational healing through the magic of joy & wonder

. By magnifying the intangible heart to an audience full of strangers, Jamie hopes to make the world a more colorful & kinder place to coexist.

Queer Eyeing Relationships with Jamie Issuh and Norman Tran

​During the info session, we will cover:

​The Spring 2023 cohort of RBTL will run for 6 weeks, kicking off on 

🤗 Supporting over Solving | 🎞 Mirroring | 🔍 Gentle Inquiry

​​Stephanie Tran previously founded a wellness company that taught people 