Have you ever had a time in your life where you were offended by something someone implied because of the words they used? I’d also be willing to bet that there was a time when you had occasion to go back and discuss the issue with that person and found that they hadn’t meant it the way it sounded. How did you feel about having been upset with them for no reason? Did you wish you had asked for clarification and avoided months or even years of ill-will? I’ll bet you did and I’ll bet others have felt the same way about something you once said or posted. Toxic language accuses, blames and convicts. How can you detoxify your communication? *...
Phones have changed a great deal over the years. I found some fun videos that give us a little insight as to the various major changes that have taken place in our telephone history. Here is a 5 minute documenary on the introduction of women as switchboard operators. It's amazing what training these women had and the strict rules they had to observe while working for the telephone company. I thought I had it bad when I worked in customer service and was tied to the phone except for a half hour lunch and two ten-minute scheduled potty breaks! Not sure this is true, but I found one video that said, "As dial telephones were introduced - replacing operator service - instructions were shown...
We interrupt phone week for this commercial message from Word of the Week. And the word is self-talk! A while back, there was a popular book on the market called, What to Say When You Talk to Yourself. I never had that problem. I always knew what to say when I talk to myself. What I often had trouble with was what to say about WHY I talk to myself. Maybe I should write a bestselling book! Hmmm…. For me, it's a way to think things through, work things out in my head. Sometimes I work them out outside my head. Sometimes I talk to myself out loud to entertain myself as I figure things out. Sometimes I do it...
It's Phone Week! Saturday is the anniversary of the first telephone call so we are celebrating communication, the phone and technology this week here at the Communication FUNdamentals blog! Today's world is much more fast-paced than it was when I was a kid. I remember sitting on the porch with my friends, playing kickball in the street, gathering together on the corner to walk to the candy store and spend the afternoon. Now we rush from activity to activity…do not pass Go…do not collect $200! We want to do so much in such a small amount of time so we rush through things and don’t really understand them. We read part of a comment on Facebook. We think of what we are going...
Today is Dr. Seuss' birthday. He would have been 108 years old today. We've been talking about Dr. Seuss, silly words, creative fun and humor all this week. This week, I'd like to share a new movie coming out--today as a matter of fact: The Lorax. Has anyone seen a preview of this movie? It looks cute, colorful and fun, but I don't happen to remember the story. My kids are a bit old for Dr. Seuss. Would love you to share your thoughts. Sometimes the movies made from Dr. Seuss stories have a little twist to them I wasn't expecting. There was some controversy about Horton Hears a Who, which had a kangaroo who was "Pouch Schooled" which seemed to suggest the...
