speech communication

5 Political Reasons to Learn Effective Communication Skills

September 3, 2009 by Art of Eloquence

I’m often asked why communication skills are so important. I hear so many say things like: “After all, with cell phones, email and the internet we are the most connected society who ever lived.”; “The only people who really need to learn effective communication are lawyers and politicians.”; “Most people know what I mean.” and “So I’m not Ronald Reagan!”

Statistics show that 87% of what you and I do all day long is communication related. You communicate when you talk to friends, when you discipline your kids, when you share ideas at work, when you share your faith. I hear some of you out there though thinking, “What’s so important? So I don’t get along that well with Aunt Millie!” While studies show that effective communicators are more successful in their careers and in their relationships, I want to talk to you today about another vital reason to learn effective communication skills. 5 political reasons to be exact.

1. If you are a conservative…

The current administration is implementing liberal plans for the country. If you feel this is wrong, you will want to voice your opposition.

2. If you are a Christian…

There are certain policies you might object to on religious grounds. Let your voice be heard.

3. If you are Pro Life…

Here is one of those religious issues. If you are Pro Life, you’ll want to share your opinions with the powers that be.

4. If you are against the current health care bill…

You will want to join the thousands of voices sharing their views against the proposed bill.

5. If you are concerned about the direction the economy is going…

You should speak up for what you believe in so your thoughts and needs will be heard.

Christian conservatives are waking up to the fact that we cannot remain silent any longer. We need to speak up and voice our side, but we cannot just throw rhetoric and ideas around and hope they stick. We need to be thoughtful, respectful, gracious and articulate. And it isn’t enough that we are armed with the truth; we need to be armed with the skill to share our ideas in a manner that befits an articulate servant of Christ.

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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

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Filed Under: Communication Articles Tagged With: Christian, Conservative, economy, health care, politics, Pro Life, speak out, speak up, speech communication

Grace Talk Soup Contest!

May 4, 2009 by Art of Eloquence

May Grace Talk Soup Contest:

Help us promote this show by posting it to Twitter, Facebook, your blog, newsletter, website, Yahoo group, etc. Then email gts@artofeloquence.com and give us the link or tell us where you posted it and we will enter you in this week’s contest for a chance to win a prize: Say What You Mean Defending the Faith! Just in time for our mini series this month!

What’s Grace Talk Soup all about?

Are you confident that you are being understood when speaking to your child’s doctor? Are you sure that they know exactly what you need when you finally get to the right menu option at your mortgage company? Do you know why your small business isn’t going where you feel it should? Is it possibly because you aren’t communicating skillfully and efficiently?

If it is . . . or if it even might be, you need to join us every Thursday morning on Grace Talk Soup for I Love Language, starring Lucy Linguist and Ethel the Editor. Laugh along with these two crazy compadres of Communication FUNdamentals, one spoken and one written, while gaining valuable knowledge and important tips on improving your business, your family and your life, simply by refining your everyday communication skills.

WHEN: Every Thursday, 11AM Eastern, 8AM Pacific Time
WHERE: http://www.talkshoe.com/tc/19736
WHY?: Because you cannot get through ONE DAY of your life without communicating something to someone!

Life is simply too precious to waste one more moment being misunderstood. Learn how to say it and write it right the first time. So if you are missing out because of miscommunication or not being taken seriously. . . or whether you simply love words, you will positively adore I Love Language every Thursday, same talk time, same talk channel! Bring your kids, bring your husband, bring your friends. Laugh and learn along with us! We’ll be waiting for you on Grace Talk Soup. You can join us on the phone, in the chat room or both!

Remember: Life can get a little spicy sometimes. Just add a generous helping of grace, a dash of humor and Enjoy the Grace Talk Soup!

MINI SERIES May!

This month is our very first mini series! On the Menu: For the entire month of May, we will be discussing how to answer 4 of the most common questions and misunderstandings people have about Christianity from my eBook, Say What You Mean Defending the Faith!

To join the call live (8am PST/11am EST) via your computer:
http://www.talkshoe.com/tc/19736

To join the call live (8am PST/11am EST) via phone:
(724) 444-7444 Call ID: 19736

Can’t join us live? Listen to the audio:
http://www.talkshoe.com/tc/19736

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Filed Under: Contests Tagged With: contest, Grace Talk Soup, speech communication, Talk Shoe

HSLDA Recomends Art of Eloquence Studies!

April 23, 2009 by Art of Eloquence

The other day my friend, editor and co host, Carla Ives, called to tell me that she just read HSLDA’s Weekly Update and found that they had recommended two of Art of Eloquence’s speech communication studies!

“3. Public Speaking for High Schoolers

Good public speaking skills are essential for your teen. Family, friends, and neighbors make great audiences, and your teen will be more motivated to do his best when he knows others will benefit from his presentation. “

“For help in teaching public speaking see these other resources:

‘Say What You Mean for Teens’

http://www.hslda.org/elink.asp?id=6425

‘Know Your Audience’

http://www.hslda.org/elink.asp?id=6426″

I had received their update, but had not yet read it! What an honor to have an organization like the Home School Legal Defense Association recommend my speech communication studies!

Art of Eloquence has been so blessed to have received such positive feedback over the years and from some major homeschooling organizations like The Old Schoolhouse Magazine.

I think our studies have resonated with so many because speech communication skills can be so initmidating for shy kids or seem boring to others. I was a painfully shy child and the only way you could get me to study speech communication was at gunpoint! So while studying the subject in college, I discovered that, if it is presented in a fun way, even SPEECH can be a fun course to take!

Communication skills are something the Lord talks about hundreds of times in His Word. It’s a vital subject for every day life with family as well as in our careers. If you would like to see what all the FUN’s about, check out our full line of creative Christian-based, speech communication studies as well as all our free resources at Art of Eloquence.com.

Even shy children love our speech course!

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Filed Under: Art of Eloquence News Tagged With: Carla Ives, HSLDA, Public speaking, Speech, speech communication

Short Quiz

April 16, 2009 by Art of Eloquence

Are you one of the few people who does not need to hone your communication skills? Take this short quiz to find out:

1. Are you breathing?

If you answered “no” to ANY of these questions, further study on effective communication skills is not necessary for your success.

The rest of you join me over at Art of Eloquence and let’s have some fun with speech communication skills!

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Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: effective communication, quiz, speech communication, Subscribe Here!

Yankee Pledge of Doodle

April 10, 2009 by Art of Eloquence

Today’s Friday Funny is actually a fun activity I use in my communication studies to drive home the point that you cannot talk and listen at the same time. Most of the kids in my classes have so much fun with this one but they are so busy laughing, they don’t notice they are learning! Here’s how it works:

Have one of your children sing Yankee Doodle while the other recites the Pledge of Allegiance. See how long you can go without messing up…or …cracking up! Really try to listen to the other person as you recite your part. Get’s kind of difficult now doesn’t it? lol

If your child knows the song too well, here is a more advanced version:

Have one of your children read from a book that your children are not very familiar with. A newspaper will do just as well. Have the other child read from another. See how long you can go as you try to listen to what the other is saying. After about a minute or two, tell the other what you heard them say. See how much detail you caught.

Illustrates the saying: “God gave us two ears and only one mouth that we might listen twice as much as we speak.”

Active listening is a vital part of communication. Most people are too busy thinking about what they want to say next to really hear what the other is saying.

swm-k-thumbnail1 swmtthumbnail1

This is one of the activities in Say What You Mean for Kids (and also Say What You Mean for Teens). For more engaging communication activities, please check out the Say What You Mean series of communication studies from Art of Eloquence.

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Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: communication activity, friday funny, Pledge of Allegience, Speech, speech communication, Yankie Doodle

Foot in Mouth Disease

February 24, 2009 by Art of Eloquence

You’ve all heard the expression, “Open mouth; insert foot!” I call it Foot in Mouth Disease and feet are the delicacy of FIMM: Foot in Mouth Man. But FIMM is so funny precisely because we all can relate. We have all been FIMMpersonators at one time or another. It’s just that FIMM sticks his foot in his mouth so often he has Athlete’s Tongue!

There is a story floating around the internet that the Arizona Republic was supposed to have reported. I cannot find the original story, but that is not unusual as I have been known to search Google for “pickles” and end up with information on juice boxes!

The story is about a man named Terry Mikel who was reportedly pulled over for speeding while heading to Tuscon. The officer gave him a warning and told him to “drive safe”. Mr. Mikel just couldn’t help himself. He was apparently a card carrying member of the “Conversation Correction Patrol.” He told the officer that he should have said, “slow down and drive safely” at which point the officer handed him a $72 speeding ticket!

I don’t know if there really is a Terry Mikel or if he really received a speeding ticket exactly this way, but I am sure of one thing. Human beings find it exceedingly difficult to hold their tongues!

“Set a watch, O LORD, before my mouth; keep the door of my lips.” -Psalm 141:3

Not having the discipline to keep the door of your lips will cost you! But, if you think $72 is costly, think again at how much more trouble our mouths have gotten us into!

How much would it cost you if you didn’t keep the door of your lips with your customer? Your employee? Your BOSS? What price would you put on a friendship? On your marriage? On your relationship with your children?

Keeping watch over our tongues and our mouths takes skill and practice. Is it ever fully achieved? No!

“But the tongue can no man tame; it is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison.” -James 3:8

But there are many lessons in God’s Word that teach us to attempt to control our mouths and others that tell us of the blessings we can bring forth with it.

“Pleasant words are as an honeycomb, sweet to the soul, and health to the bones.” -Proverbs 16:24

The Bible is full of hundreds of scriptures that teach us about the importance of how we communicate with each other. If the Lord felt it important enough to put in His Word hundreds of times, it’s a subject He must want us to study! Amen?

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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
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Filed Under: Communication Articles Tagged With: Bible, Chrsitian communication, mouth, scrpture, speech communication, tongue

The Lost Art of Civility: The Civility Project

February 14, 2009 by Art of Eloquence

FINALLY! Somebody gets it! In this fascinating article by the Jerry Falwell Ministries, Jonathan Falwell points out a growing concern I have had about our society for many years.

“In 2007 on the Fox News Channel, Bill O’Reilly and Geraldo Rivera went head-to-head in a debate over the deaths of two Virginia Beach girls, the result of them being hit by a drunk driver who was an illegal alien. The confrontation between the two men is now legendary as they heatedly shouted down each other with fingers aimed in faces.

This example, I believe, is indicative of a growing problem in our nation. We have grown so divided and so suspicious of those who are on “the other side,” that we have largely lost focus of the issues, centering more on inconsiderate taunts or the belittling of our adversaries. Terms such as “left-wing whacko” or “right-wing fascist” have become commonplace, and they ultimately get us nowhere in terms of achieving real social/political resolutions.

This is not the way people should be behaving in a civil society.”

In fact, I had blogged about a few other Bill O’Reilly interviews where he had approached the other party in an abrasive and disrespectful way. One of those interviews was with Barney Frank. As sometimes happens with interviewers, Mr. O’Reilly spent a monologue asking him a question and then never let him answer. Though I don’t agree with Barney Frank, I did sympathize with him in this instance. Mr. Frank did it right. He was, for the most part, respectful and gracious. This makes you look good and the other party appear to be the aggressor who is out for blood.

One man is taking a stand and organizing a response: The Civility Project.

“The Civility Project is not a call for people to surrender their personal beliefs or convictions, nor is it a call to limit free speech. It is simply an appeal to reason and respectful behavior among conservatives, liberals, moderates and all those in between as we debate and deliberate on the issues that face our nation.

If you are tired of the hostile and often petty social/political environment in which we find ourselves today, I encourage you to join me in taking the Civility Pledge by visiting this website: http://www.civilityproject.org.”

Though I have read the Bible cover to cover many times, and I have seen hundreds of scriptures where the Lord tells us how to communicate with one another, I have never seen anywhere where He tells us to shout others down the way society believes it is entitled to do these days.

“Let your conversation always be full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.” Colossians 4:6

Shouting your adversary down does not change his mind or anyone else’s who might be watching. It’s akin to what I call “Screaming in a Deaf Man’s Ear”. He has no idea what you are talking about, but he knows one thing for sure: you are making him angry!

It takes much more skill to be an effective communicator these days. That’s because we have allowed ourselves to lose sight of what the Lord tells us HUNDREDS of times in His Word. How we speak to each other is of vital importance, even over the words we use! The lost art of civility is only one in a long line of lost communication skills over the years.
Communication is the key to understanding each other and without that, we are reduced to a bunch of Screaming Mimi’s who affect no change but make valiant efforts at Screaming in a Deaf Man’s Ear!

Will you join me in bringing civility back to the world? Will you learn the communication skills necessary to share your thoughts effectively? If you don’t know where to begin, Art of Eloquence can help!

From JoJo’s Purple Crayon
Learning Speech Communication Skills
can ALSO be fun with Art of Eloquence!

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Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: civility, communication, Jerry Falwell, scripture, speech communication, The Civility Project

Reorganizing my life at the request of my husband…

February 11, 2009 by Art of Eloquence

This week has been an exciting week and a week of changes here at Art of Eloquence. You may notice that today’s newsletter had a face lift of sorts! We pray this will make it easier for you to find the information you wish to read more about.

The Say What You Mean Convention was a huge hit. The feedback is that everyone had such fun! We had 9 contests, 18 live events, 29 hours of instruction, 40+ audios still available, gave away over 400 ePackets of extra gifts to our registrants, and had over 1500 participants! There are a few links to the right where you will find all of the audios and convention info. If you have any feedback on the SWMConvention, please email us at jojo@artofeloquence.com

Art of Eloquence will be discontinuing a few things this month. Over the last few years, I had built up quite a ministry which included a weekly podcast, a daily blog, 4 weekly newsletters, several Yahoo groups, weekly Foot in Mouth Man episodes, 3 annual online events, one HUGE annual online convention to name a few. At the request of my husband, I will be downsizing and simplifying many of these responsibilities in order to spend more time with my family. I will continue to host the annual Say What You Mean Convention and my weekly podcast, however others will be done at longer intervals or will be eliminated.

To that end, the What’s New at Art of Eloquence newsletter will be the only one we put out. I will be incorporating elements of each of our 4 newsletters back into one weekly newsletter that will come out each Tuesday morning. The newsletter will include a weekly column or article and links to various things I feel you would find enlightening: news items affecting the freedom of speech for Christians, a Friday Funny from my blog, etc.

Foot in Mouth Man will go from weekly to monthly episodes and only the newest episodes and a hand full of past episodes will be available on his page on the Art of Eloquence website. We have created a brand new eBook that is the greatest of FIMM in our new FIMMology 101: The Study of the Humorous Sins of Our Mouths. You can read more about it by following the link on the right side under New Products. See also our newest Online Classes!

Lastly, Art of Eloquence will not continue selling hard copy titles after our current inventory runs out. We will eventually be turning each of the following hard copy studies into an eBook version. We are having a 35% off sale in order to clear our shelves.

Art of Eloquence Hard Copy Sale!

35% OFF SALE!

Art of Eloquence will not be replacing our hard copy studies after our current inventory runs out. We have a limited supply left of each title (one title has only two!) and we are offering 35% off each of them until they are gone. Just order as usual and use voucher code 502093535 at checkout and it will automatically take off 35% from your order!

Say What You Mean for Preschoolers

Say What You Mean for Kids (SOLD OUT)

Say What You Mean for Teens (SOLD OUT)

Know Your Audience (SOLD OUT)

Say What You Mean: An Advanced Speech Course

We are currently working to replace them as eBooks, but it will take us some time. There may be a lag time where some studies will not be available in either format.

JoJo

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Filed Under: Art of Eloquence News Tagged With: sale, speech communication, Subscribe Here!

5 Political Reasons to Learn Effective Communication Skills

Grace Talk Soup Contest!

HSLDA Recomends Art of Eloquence Studies!

Short Quiz

Yankee Pledge of Doodle

Foot in Mouth Disease

The Lost Art of Civility: The Civility Project

Reorganizing my life at the request of my husband…

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