This week’s word is Leadership.  I love this quote from General George Washington to his commanders: “A leader must look and act the part if he is going to have the success needed for a proper command.”

George Washington was a great leader, so much so that he was a general and our only president to be elected unanimously.  He understood that in order to be an effective leader, you need to look and act the part.  In other words, a leader must communicate that he is worth following.

A leader is expected to inspire to command his troops or a nation.  This cannot be accomplished without the Language of Leadership.  It’s more than weilding power or even using the right words. It’s an entire package and, if you don’t have it, you will not be given a position of leadership and you cannot be effective without it.

For more information on how you can develope the Language of Leadership, click the one of the links, scroll down to the bottom of the page and download our sample lesson.

The Bible tells us what a good and true leader is and Say What You Mean: The Language of Leaderships shows you how to accomplish this in today’s world.

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Adding to the confusion of these rumors was the notion that President Nixon is credited with changing Washingtong’s birthday to President’s Day commemorating ALL presidents including himself.  Nixon did issue an Executive Order declaring the third Monday of February as Washington’s Birthday, but the notion he called for it to be called President’s Day celebrating all presidents was actually from a newspaper spoof.

According to this snopes article, in 1968, the New York Times reported:

“The first uniform Monday holiday plan was promulgated by NATO [the National Association of Travel Organizations] in the early 1950′s. It called for combining Washington’s and Lincoln’s Birthdays into a single President’s Day, to be celebrated the third Monday in February, and shifting Memorial Day to the fourth Monday in May, Independence Day to the first Monday in July and Veterans Day to the second Monday in November.

This initial effort met with sporadic success in a few states. But after several years of attempting to get the individual states to adopt uniform Monday holidays, it became apparent that a Federal bill was needed to serve as an example for state action.”

This is how confusion is spread through miscommunication.  The third Monday of February is Washington’s Birthday, though you will, no doubt, see many a TV and newspaper ad depicting both Washington and Lincoln pushing products from furniture to kitchen items.

This is the stuff that brings us to coin phrases like, “don’t believe everything you read,” grows urban legends and makes sites like Snopes.com so popular.  What say you?  What do you celebrate on “President’s Day?”

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Secret Doctor Talk Decoder Ring:

* All the tests came back negative.
(Translation: I don’t know what else to do for you so you’ll just have to live with it.)

* Maybe you should take a few days off work.
(Translation: I don’t think there’s anything wrong with you, but you might feel better if you go shopping and buy a new hat.)

* Are you worried or stressed about something…how’s your family life?
(Translation: Since the tests are all negative, you must be upset about something in your life.  Depressed people complain of stuff.)

* Are you sure you’re not depressed?
(Translation: You’re a hypochondriac or it’s all in your head.)

Now don’t you feel so much better?

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On Monday I posted about how doctors don’t communicate to their patients well enough.  Today I’d like to talk about something a bit outside the medical community, but still in the health industry.  This week’s word is Natural.  I posted about this a few years ago, but thought it was appropriate to bring it back this week to share with you a very important distinction that is not usually made when advertising health related products.

Natural
By JoJo Tabares

You may never know it by listening to political rhetoric, TV commercials or the main-stream media, but words actually mean things.  Specific things!  If we allow ourselves to get caught up in the current trend to re-define words and to use them as we see fit, we end up saying nothing of value.  If we don’t realize that today’s societal trend is to adopt a Shakespearian attitude in applying meanings to words, we may be fooled into believing something that just isn’t so.

In the next several weeks, I will be sharing some of the ways in which words are misused or even purposely used incorrectly and how to discern the truth by paying close attention the real meaning of words.

This week’s word is…Natural.  Natural is a word misused by the advertising industry and is one of my Dad’s pet peeves.  Natural means “existing in or produced by nature : not artificial.”  (Merriam Webster.com)   Let’s take a look at some of the ways in which the word natural is used in advertising.

*All Natural  *Natural Goodness  *Naturally Good  *Naturally Delicious

“Natural” is an advertising technique.  Advertisers use the word “natural” in a way that leads you to believe that, if it’s natural, it has to be good for you.  This is not always true.  Here is a short list of things that exist in nature that are NOT good for you.

•    Tornadoes (and other Natural Disasters)

•    Scarlet Fever (and some people reportedly die of “Natural Causes”)

•    Cocaine (but this is not what you would consider a Natural High)

Why is this an important distinction?  Because not everything that is advertised as “natural” is natural and not everything that is natural is so good for you.  There are things that exist in nature that are not good for you when taken in large amounts-like salt.  If you drink too much water in a short period of time, you can die.  We know this from the radio stations that have had water drinking contests with disastrous results!  “Natural” potato chips may be better for you, but if you eat too many, you will still gain weight.  If you eat them exclusively, you are not getting the nutrition you need.

I remember a Bill Cosby stand up routine where his wife asked him to get breakfast for the children.  His young daughter wanted chocolate cake, which was already made and easily served.  He argued that it had natural ingredients like flour, eggs and milk.  Though his children were singing praises to dad for the chocolate cake with natural ingredients, mom didn’t believe it was a good choice for breakfast.

Related to all things natural is the word “Organic”.  Organic foods are all the rage lately.  Naturally good for you.  Consumer Reports did a study several years ago about Organic Foods.  They determined that organic foods containing no pesticides were no more healthful than those that used pesticides.  Actually, they determined that some organic foods might contain a larger amount of micro organisms for which the pesticides are used.  In fact, it found that it can be dangerous to buy organic fish and seafood because fish can contain mercury, which is also natural.

Many products use the word “natural” in order to get you to buy them, but some of them are really not very good for you.  Fruit snacks may have natural flavoring, but I wouldn’t suggest my kids eat many of them.  Something may be listed as “All Natural” but if you read the packaging, you’ll find that not all of the ingredients are natural.

In general, it is true that things are better the way they are created by God in nature.  However, not everything labeled as “natural” really is and not everything that is natural is really good.  Remember that the Lord gave the Jews many laws, the purpose of which was to protect them from some of the more deadly things that are “natural”.

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JoJo Tabares holds a degree in Speech Communication, but it is her humorous approach to communication skills which has made her a highly sought-after Christian speaker and writer.  Her articles appear in homeschool publications, such as Homeschool Enrichment Magazine and The Old Schoolhouse Magazine, which also endorses her Say What You Mean curricula.  You can also find JoJo on web sites such as Crosswalk.com and Dr.Laura.com.  For more information on communication FUNdamentals and Christian-based communication skills for the whole family, please visit http://www.ArtofEloquence.com

Words mean things, don’t they?  What say you about the “natural” things advertised these days?

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He raced back down there where they did all sorts of tests and told him to stay to talk to the specialist who would tell him what needed to be done and how fast.  My father, at this point, just wanted to go home and asked if he could see the specialist the next day. He was told that was fine, but they wanted to see him “right away.”

He never did hear from the specialist so he called and was told that the earliest appointment he could get with the specialist was two weeks out.  What happened to “right away?”  Aside from the fact that the office didn’t have any of his paperwork, they seemed unconcerned.

First they scare him half to death and have him rush down, do not pass go, do not collect $200.  Next, they tell him he HAS to be seen right away.  Then suddenly, it’s not so urgent.  We wondered if it wasn’t so urgent because they looked at his tests or it wasn’t so urgent because they had no idea who he was or what he had.  Either way, it would have been nice if someone had told us (him) and eased his concerns.

Aside from the confusion of the communication from the doctor to patient was the confusion that took place each of the MANY times he talked to the doctor’s office to straighten this out.  Why is it so difficult for most doctors and doctor’s offices to relay proper information to their patients?  When you are dealing with people’s health, shouldn’t it be a priority to keep them properly informed so that a dire situation doesn’t turn deadly and a benign situation doesn’t needlessly worry a patient?

Now before I get hate mail from people who know a doctor who does take the time and whose staff does do a good job of this, let me say I understand that there are exceptions, but in my experience, many doctors and doctor’s offices are in grave need of learning communication skills.  In fact, I read an article several years back where the AMA suggested that doctors and staff learn to communicate well as a way of cutting down on malpractice suits.  It stated that many, if not most, of the lawsuits were filed not because the doctor  messed up someone’s treatment, but because they failed to explain things effectively to their patients.

In my study, Say What You Mean Every Day, there is a chapter called, “Doctor! Doctor!” where I discuss this very issue.  Visit the product page to learn more about this study and to download our free sample excerpts (link at bottom of page) with a part of that chapter!

What’s your experience with doctor/patient communication?  Please share your experiences.

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In honor of Ronald Reagn’s birthday this week, the word of the week is humor.  What is humor?

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Ronald Reagan usually had a simple message which he delivered in a clear and sincere manner.  His humility and authenticity allowed him to be seen as a real person who cared about people.  Regan had an incredible way of connecting with his audience because he truly listened to them.  His passion and use of humor endeared him even further to the American people as he was viewed as a genuinely likable guy.  His vision offered hope to Americans at a time when they had lost confidence in their leaders.

In this YouTube video, you will see the wit and humor of The Great Communicator, but you will also see the talent he had for turning a political punch into a punchline.

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Here now is the famous Mideival Help Desk illustrating that people have always had difficulty with new technology.

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As I shared on Monday, I’m celebrating communication technology this week in honor of Johannes Gutenberg (the inventor of the printing press) who died on Feb. 3rd in 1468.  The printing press was a huge advancement in communication, but there have been many others that have contributed to our growing and changing communication.  Here are just a few of the amazing technological advancements in communication:

1439 Gutenberg’s Printing Press

1835 Samuel Morse develops Morse Code

1876 Alexander Graham Bell exhibits the electric telephone

1877 Thomas Edison patents the phonograph

1901 Guglielmo Marconi transmits radio signals

1925 John Logie Baird transmits the first television signal

1963 First geosynchronous communications satellite is launched

1989 Tim Berners-Lee and Robert Cailliau built the prototype system which became the World Wide Web

The question becomes whether or not these advancements have increased our effectiveness as it’s increased our reach.  I believe the advancements have both helped and hurt us as a social community.  I have written several articles on this and I’ll refer you to them here, but I’d like to ask what YOUR take on it is.

Communication Technology Doesn’t Replace Communication Skill!

How Important is Face-to-Face Communication in the Computer Age?

Influence of Texting on Communication Skills

Joseph Priestley said, “The more elaborate our means of communication, the less we communicate.” What is your experience with communication technology vs communication effectiveness?  Please share and pass this link along to others so they may share their experiences as well.

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