Here at Art of Eloquence, we have always been about family. Better communication means happier families so, when an opportunity presented itself to team up with Grape Stuff.net in support of families, it was a perfect fit! Grape Stuff is a new company with a mission to provide great (grape) products in support of families. It's first product, the Grape Grill Buddy BBQ Grill Mat helps families by allowing them to get together outdoors without technology (that often gets in the way of real communication) and just be with each other, making memories. Grape Stuff recently had a blog article about how doctors now prescribing the Great Outdoors for what ails us. Art of Eloquence has long been prescribing old fashioned communication for...
It's not as much a lack of training these days that gives way to communication issues; it's currently a lack of interest! I'd be willing to bet that 95% of the people who see this article (or any other article or blog post, or Facebook post or ...you get the picture) will just scroll past it without giving it a second thought. I'd be willing to go one step further and say that almost the same amount of people will do so even if the topic is of great interest. I'd also be willing to bet that at least 75% of people don't take the time to really listen when a friend or family member speaks and that about the...
Have you ever been asked a question that you had a hard time answering? Not because you were trying to deceive, but because you were trying to be honest. The truth is that the truth isn't relative, but it is conditional. Case in point... When people ask me where I'm from, I have a difficult time ascertaining if they mean where I was born, where I spent most of my childhood or where I just moved from. For you, this might be just a case of semantics, but for me, it provides a completely different answer. I was born in Colorado, but only lived there for two weeks. While I am currently living in Indiana, I just moved here from Arizona. However,...
Do you avoid potentially enjoyable or even profitable situations because you're uncomfortable relating to people? Does your child feel self-conscious, left out or lonely? Do social events scare or intimidate you? Does your heart ache for your child who dreads school events or parties? Does this sound like you or a loved one? You're not alone. Polls indicate that 40% of people consider themselves shy, but I have great news. You may not be shy at all! Everyone has something to say, something that only they can share, something others really need to hear. Don't let shyness keep you from it! Most people believe that you are born shy and there is nothing you can do about it. HOGWASH! And I'm...
I've been writing and speaking about communication skills for the last 12 years with Art of Eloquence. I treasure my experiences and I pray I've made a difference both inside and outside the homeschooling community. That being said, I feel it's time to move on to a new adventure. I can be a bit dense so it's taken me a while to see God's leading, especially since I had so much invested in this website and its ministry. Back in October of 2013, I declared that 2014 would be The Year of Faith. And it has been, but not the way I thought it would be. You see, I had plans to write a weekly newsletter with tips and insight...