Email is the number one preferred method of communication these days, but is our email communication effective? What renders it ineffective? What could strengthen it and make it more persuasive? When would it be best to just pick up the phone? These are the issues I'm going to be covering in a new article series I'm writing exclusively for my newsletter subscribers over the next several months. If you are not currently receiving our newsletter, you can subscribe here. It started with this month's newsletter article and continued with a discussion I had with my dad last week, but I believe most of the misunderstandings now take place over the internet. Email, texting, social media and Yahoo groups are immensely...
It's that time of year again when people make New Year's Resolutions and don't keep them. "Lose 20 pounds by July." ....."Start a new business and become independently wealthy." ......................................"Organize my closet alphabetically and color code." ........................................................................................................."Quit smoking, again." I'm poking a little fun here, but these are all admirable goals. The problem isn't that they cannot be accomplished, but that we aren't always serious when we make them. And sometimes we aren't always making New Year's Resolutions about the things which are the most important to our lives. First, most of us want things, but we are not always that willing to do what it takes in order to accomplish them. We want to lose weight as long as...
Ok so it's December 1st, 2009. Wasn't it just January? Come to think of it...wasn't it just 1995...about two years ago? The older I get, the faster time goes by. As my father always says, "Tempus certainly does fugit!" They say time flies when you're having fun, but I don't remember having THAT much fun! So how does this happen? How do you go from being a young girl without a care in the world one moment to a 47 year old mother of a college girl and a homeschooled 10 y/o son the next? As Lucy used to say, "Whahappen?" So Christmas must be around 2 oclock today and 2010 is probably being held on Friday! Are you ready?...
My dh took our son to CVS pharmacy to get his sports physical the other day. I was shocked to hear the questions she asked him. It was like Child Protective Services questions asked of a child suspected of being abused. They asked him if he felt safe at home and does he always wear a seatbelt, does he feel anxious or nervous. I thought...is this customary for drs to ask here in Arizona? According to friends and neighbors...IT IS! My dh filled out the form saying he was homeschooled. Do you think this had anything to do with the line of questioning? I would have thought Arizona was less inclined to do things like this than California, but he...
What's in a name? I think the thing that is most frustrating in communicating with someone is when you mess up their name. Folks don't mind too much of you mess up the town they live in or the name of their car, the school they went to, but their name is personal and I think folks feel like you are messing with them when you mispronounce or misspell their name. Now my given name is Joanne. Not very unusual, but I guess the way I pronounce it over the phone with my accent made it sound like something else. I would often have to say it three times and then get, "Oh hello Jillian!" UGH! And don't get me...
