It’s one of the most pervasive and dangerous habits in America today and it's destroying your relationships! You see it all the time, but you probably never thought much about it. It's, unfortunately, at work in oral, face-to-face conversations and written exchanges over social media, text and email. I call it Conversational ADD. Here are a few examples: Mary posts on Facebook asking for help for problem X only to have Jane give her solutions for problem B. Jane didn't read Mary's entire post and assumed she knew what it was about. After the confusing exchange gets heated, Jane unfriend's Mary after six years of treasured friendship. Tom emails a company to report some problems with his product (or service) and receives...
In the same way that decluttering your house simplifies your life, decluttering your communication simplifies your message. While cleaning out your closets makes room for the important things you need to store, cleaning out unnecessary words and phrases allows more focus on your most important points and infuses it with power. What is the clutter of communication? Weasel Words. Weasel Words are a dead giveaway that you are nervous or unsure of yourself. They devalue your leadership, curtail your effectiveness and destroy your credibility. Weasel Words come in three forms. 1. Unnecessary Words When a person is nervious or unsure of what to say, they fill their conversation with unnecessary words like: "I’m gonna go ahead and," "kind of/kinda" and "sort of/sorta." This...
Communication is a word you've probably heard since you were young, but I'll bet you can't define it. Some people think communication is talking, conversation, making a speech or persuading someone of something. Others think it's manners, etiquette or social graces. Merriam Webster defines communication as "an act or instance of transmitting," "information transmitted or conveyed," "a verbal or written message," "exchange of information," "personal rapport," or their most comprehensive definition, "a process by which information is exchanged between individuals through a common system of symbols, signs, or behavior." Wikipedia has one of the most complete definitions of communication I have ever seen: "Communication is the activity of conveying information. Communication has been derived from the Latin word "communis", meaning...
Home, home on the range.... Where the deer and the antelope play... Where seldom is heard a discouraging word and the skies are not cloudy all day. What is it about our home that makes it special? It's safe, secure and supportive...or it should be. When your home is filled with discouraging people (or your life is), it can be difficult to become rejuvenated, rested and ready to take on the day. The rest of the world can be against you, but if those who are supposed to support us are negative, challenging and difficult, it can make life more stressful. Do you have people in your life who are discouraging? Do you have to deal with them on a...
July is Cell Phone Courtesy Month and Freedom from Fear of Speaking Month! Wow! What a month for communication stuff, eh? In honor of these two most important celebrations ("communicationally" speaking), I'd like to remind everyone not to: * Send text messages in the movie theater creating spectacles of light while others are trying to watch the movie. * Have a conversation with Uncle Vinny about his gallstone surgery while at a fancy restaurant. * Forget to check out Art of Eloquence.com for all the fun ways to learn to communicate effectively in almost any situation! x If you liked this post, make sure to subscribe to our RSS Feed so you don’t miss one and SUBSCRIBE to our newsletter:...
