Christian Communication Training
I pray you have been blessed so far by this year’s Video Countdown to CHRISTmas. This is the second year on the countdown for Enya’s hauntingly beautiful version of O Come, O Come Emmanuel. Enjoy!
Music videos are a powerful form of communication. They appeal to several of your senses and are fun. For more information on fun ways to learn communication skills for preschoolers through adults, visit Art of Eloquence.com!
This is the second time on the countdown for George Winston’s The Carol of the Bells. I found this last year!
Music is a powerful form of communication. It uses several of your senses and it’s fun. For more information on fun ways to learn communication skills for preschoolers through adults, visit Art of Eloquence.com!
Always a favorite here on the countdown is Celtic Woman’s Silent Night.
Music is a powerful form of communication. It uses several of your senses and it’s fun. For more information on fun ways to learn communication skills for preschoolers through adults, visit Art of Eloquence.com!
see more funny videos
Gee, you only had to pay a quarter in the old days! Things sure “our” getting expensive!
For more communication fun, visit Art of Eloquence.com!
For the past several weeks, I’ve been talking about misused words. Some have been misused on purpose in order to deceive and some have been misused by accident due to the complexities of the English language. Today, I’d like to talk to you about the words that are misused on purpose for humor or for effect.
Shakespeare was famous for inventing or coining words. Many of the words we use today are words he created. I’ve dabbled in the creation of words here and there in order to entertain and to make a point. But is there a point at which intentionally misusing words becomes confusing and counterproductive? Indeed there is.
I’d like to start off by citing a few words that have been coined, created, made up. I’ll share some research I found about each of them and whether or not they are considered acceptable and understood.
1. Ginormous
The first use of Ginormous was in 1948 as British “military forces’ slang”. It’s a blend of gigantic and enormous and refers to something extremely large or gigantic in size. Ginormous is a word that is currently acceptable to use, but only in informal conversation. It is considered a bit too childish a word to use in formal or business settings.
2. Frugal
Frugal was one of the thousands of words created by William Shakespeare. It’s first use was in 1598 in The Merry Wives of Windsor and has become part of the common English terms. I don’t think I have to tell you its meaning.
3. Chillax
Chillax was first used in about 1996 by teens to mean a combination of chill and relax. It’s usually only acceptable if you are somewhere between 14 and 20 and, then, only when not directed toward a parent!
4. Nucular
Nucular is actually a mispronunciation of the word Nuclear. It appears to have been brought into the limelight by former President George W. Bush, but I have been told that it is pronounced this way by some Southerners. Nucular is not an acceptable way to pronounce nuclear as evidenced by the numerous times former President Bush was chastised for it.
5. Irregardless
Now here’s a word that has been misused by the general public since at least 1874! It is thought to be a combination of irrespective and regardless. “Irregardless” of its widespread misuse for more than 130 years, it has not endeared itself to the dictionary powers that be! Thus it is considered just plain wrong.
I have been known to create a word here and there as well. You may have read my monthly FIMM column where I report his misadventures for your amusement and “confusement!” Additionally, you might have read my recent communication article, My Reasons vs Your Excuses, where I talk about “reascuses” being a blurring of reasons and excuses.
Making up your own words can be fun and entertaining, but as I said before, it can also be confusing. Here are some tips for using “unwords.”
1. Use quotes.
When using a word you have made up, put quotes around it to offset it from the sentence allowing your reader to understand that this is something unusual.
2. Have them make sense.
The reader should have little trouble gaining the meaning of your new word from the context of the sentence. Making your reader struggle and strain (“strainuggle?”) to decipher your communication is frustrating at best.
3. Don’t over do it!
Having “muchomany” “unwords” in your sentence, even if “everyonebody” can follow your line of “rethinking,” can be quite cumbersome and perhaps even “megasupericiously” “confusicating!”
This concludes your lesson on when it is “okey smokey” to “use-ify” “unwords.” I now return you to your regularly scheduled blog!
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JoJo Tabares holds a degree in Speech Communication. Her Christian and humorous approach to communication skills has made her a sought after speaker. JoJo’s articles have appeared in various homeschool magazines and websites such as Dr. Laura.com. Her Say What You Mean curricula is endorsed by The Old Schoolhouse Magazine and her eBook, Say What You Mean When You’re in Business, has been used by direct sales leaders and small business owners alike. For more information, please visit http://www.ArtofEloquence.com
If you weren’t already aware, Art of Eloquence has a fan page over on Facebook. We’ve been having such a fun time over there that I thought I’d share it with everyone so you could come on over and join us for some upcoming Art of Eloquence Communication FUN. Aside from all the fun links, videos, funny pictures and sayings posted weekly, here are two reasons you’ll want to join us…
1. Communication BINGO starts Sept. 1st!
I have a list of 75 communication terms posted on a secret link on the Art of Eloquence website just for our Facebook fan page members. Choose 25 of the terms, email them in to me before Sept. 1st and play along to win one of 8 prizes! Each of the first 8 winners will get a free Art of Eloquence product!
The idea is to watch for the terms I call out each day and cross them off your list. Each day I’ll not only post a term or two from the list, but a fun link, picture, joke or saying that goes along with it. When all of your terms are called off, email me to claim BINGO! After each win is verified with my email copy sent in, I’ll award each of the first 8 to call BINGO with a free Art of Eloquence eProduct!
If you aren’t yet a member of the Art of Eloquence Facebook page, come on over and “Like” us! Then click our Events tab to find more details about our upcoming Communication BINGO!
2. Free copy of my very first JoJoisms eBook!
If you weren’t an Art of Eloquence newsletter subscriber last week, you probably didn’t get a free copy of my very first JoJoisms eBook, the very first in the eSeries! Not to worry, because if you are a member of our Facebook fan page when we reach 1000 members, you’ll have another chance! We have somewhere around 950 members. When we reach 1000, I’m going to make a link available for ALL Art of Eloquence Facebook fan page members to claim their own free copy of my very first illustrated JoJoisms eBook with my insightful and humorous quotes on communication!
Don’t let us start without YOU!
If you “Like” us, I think you’ll really like us!
This is one of the most hilarious I Love Lucy episodes where they discuss communication. It’s about how difficult the English language is, especially in comparison to Spanish. I can relate as I’m a red head married to a Spanish speaking man myself. Check this out and have a giggle on us!
For more Communication FUN, check out Art of Eloquence.com!
For almost 8 years I’ve been talking about the incredible power of speech communication. Words are powerful things. After all, God spoke the world into existence! “God said let there be light and there was. For years I’ve been telling you about the power of words and now I can show you just how powerful words can be…
This sign demonstrates the unbelievable power of words…to forbid dying…at least right there! LOL
For more fun with communication, visit Art of Eloquence.com!
So far in my article series, “A Question of Homeschooling,” I’ve shared four of the most common questions homeschoolers are asked: Why do you homeschool?, Is homeschooling legal?, What about socialization? and Do you KNOW anything?. This week I want to share something that happened to me recently.
My son has been taking a gymnastics class once a week this year. Since they had no classes during the middle of the day, they were willing to allow homeschoolers a significant discount. My son loves it. His favorite thing is the trampoline.
They had two full classes during the school year. Unfortunately, most of the kids were taking the summer off so they reluctantly combined the two classes which ended up including just three students: my son and two brothers.
So on the way out two weeks ago, the coach was aggressively trying to recruit the moms to contact any homeschoolers they knew who might be interested. However, since most of the moms came from one homeschool group where everyone already knew about the class, he wasn’t having much luck.
After telling the coach that I didn’t know of anyone who would be interested either he asked, “How about you? Would you want your son to add a second class? I would guess homeschoolers don’t have very many activities going on. Why not have him come twice a week?” After running ragged through all his activities this year, I was actually looking forward to not having to be out so often during the summer when my dd is home from college. I chuckled a bit and told him that I was most definitely NOT looking for more activities. So then he looked me innocently in the eyes and said, “Oh, really? I guess I just don’t know what homeschoolers do. How many activities did he have? What do you do all day?”
Here it is. The stereotype of what some think homeschoolers do all day. We teach. We sew our own clothes. We teach. We read. We teach. We engage in wholesome creative play with two tin cans and a string. We teach. We bake. We clean. We teach.
I have run into more people in my 10 years of homeschooling who think homeschoolers have no outside interests whatsoever. He asked; so I told him what we do all day. We school in the morning and typically have 4-5 outside activities each week. He was shocked. He said he didn’t think there were that many things for homeschoolers to do and he was curious as to what kinds of activities we did other than church activities. He asked, so I told him what activities my son had done just this year: golf, fencing, theater, Young Marines, track, choir, chess, PE day, and, of course, gymnastics.
He stood there dumbfounded and then suddenly he had a thought. He was sure we were an exception the the rule and asked about other homeschoolers. He was amazed (and somewhat disappointed) to find that most homeschoolers have 4-5 outside activities while most public schooled children have only about 2-3. I shared with him that most homeschoolers were swamped with community and family events in the summer that they were simply too busy for some of their regular classes, which is precisely the reason many of them took the summer off from gymnastics!
Why do some have the mistaken believe that homeschoolers don’t do anything all day long and have no fun? Well, it comes from two places:
1. The idea that homeschoolers are ONLY interested in academics and church and believe anything that isn’t educational or church related is a waste of time.
2. The belief that homeschooled kids are in desperate need of socialization because they are home all day with nothing to do and aren’t allowed to ‘mingle’ with non homeschoolers in extra curricular activities like karate or dance.
The most effective way to answer the question that boils down to, “What do you do all day?” is to calmly, and as quickly as possible, rattle off all the activities your child has done this year! For extra effect, it’s always a nice touch to stare into their eyes and say something like, “And boy are my arms tired!”
By the way, my son is the Young Marine in the picture with Jan Brewer, Governor of Arizona. He’s the one kneeling down just to the right of her. His squad worked the Memorial Day event, where she spoke, handing out bottled water and programs to all those in attendance. Things like this…are what we do all day!
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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, including Say What You Mean Defending the Faith. You can also find JoJo on web sites such as Crosswalk.com and Dr.Laura.com and hosting her weekly podcast, Communication Comedy Network. For more information on communication FUNdamentals and Christian-based communication skills for the whole family, please visit http://www.ArtofEloquence.com
Stay tuned next Monday for more in my article series, “A Question of Homeschooling” when I will share another answer to a typical question homeschoolers are asked.
If you have a question you are frequently asked and would like me to include it in my blog series, please post a comment here or email me at jojo @ artofeloquence.com
It’s Friday Funnies here on Communication FUNdamentals and time for fun with words. This week I bring you some not so famous dog breeds:
Collapso: part Collie and part Lhasa Apso. A dog that folds up for easy transporting!
Peekasso: part Pekingnese and part Lhasa Apso. An abstract dog.
Terribull: part Terrier and part Bulldog. A dog that makes awful mistakes.
Blabrador: Bloodhound + Labrador. A dog that barks incessantly
Moot Point: Malamute and Pointer. Owned by … oh, well, it doesn’t matter anyway
Commute: Collie and Malamute. A dog that travels to work with you
Pointsetter: Pointer and Setter. A traditional Christmas pet
For more fun with communication, visit Art of Eloquence.com!
