Emotional power

When we are communicating, the role of emotion is a vital one. People respond readily to emotions, and many of us remember an emotional impact long after we’ve forgotten the words that were said. It means that to get a message across, we can employ emotion to support our words. Facial expression is all-important. A smile can light up a message, a frown cast it down. Storytelling is so terribly important. And humour. And it seems that this has now been proven by research, according to this article. High emotion contributes to great opera. It does not, however, serve us well when making judgments about others. This is the argument advanced in "Feeling and Believing: The Influence of Emotion on Trust," a new paper by Maurice E. Schweitzer, Wharton professor of operations and information management, and PhD student Jennifer Dunn. The two researchers show how incidental emotions -- emotions from one situation that influence judgment in a following, unrelated situation -- affect our willingness to trust others, and thus our responses in certain business and social contexts. As Schweitzer puts it: "Did you give someone a big contract because of his reputation for dependability or because he told you a funny, uplifting story prior to making the deal?" You can read more at this site. And if you want to learn more about using emotion in your communications to make them more effective, visit an ITC club.

Conversation starters

Are you trying to improve your personal communication skills? Want to network more effectively? Or are you faced with a room full of prople? Where will you start? The simplest way to start a conversation is to ask a question. When a simple YES/NO answer of just a few words is sufficient, questions usually begin with ARE, DO, WHO, WHAT, WHEN, WHERE, WHICH. When further elaboration is required, the questions usually begin with HOW, WHY,IN WHAT,WHAT. So next time you are challenged with establishing a conversation, this is one tip to remember. For more communication success tips and articles, subscribe to our ezine, The Communication Edge.

Reading for all seasons

Hello, Not many posts lately, as I’ve been busy preparing awards to be presented at ITC convention (Baltimore). If you are in the northern hemisphere you will be in summer mode, with days by the pool or the beach, and holidays – plenty of relaxed time for reading. If, on the other hand, you live in the southern hemisphere with me, you will be snuggling by the fire in a comfortable chair with a good book. Either way, it seems, reading accompanies any season. Looking for some good reads? Here are some websites that will help. 1. Beach Bag of Books. Brought to us by Bookreporter.com. Their comment? “It wouldn't be summer without sun, surf and sizzling reading. You supply the beach chair and the sunblock, and we'll provide the fantastic fiction.” Each week they publish a fiction selection. There are reviews, author biographies, interviews, and book excerpts. 2. Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh: Adult Summer Reading Book Lists You can choose from Renaissance, Medieval, Best Beach Reads, For Mystery lovers, and Mostly for guys. While you’re there you can use their Ask their Librarian. 3 National Public Radio Choices from personalities involved in this medium, reviewers and listeners. Includes reviews, excerpts and alternatives for children. 4. From the Guardian Unlimited Reviews and recommendations from authors. Fiction and non-fiction. Airport books, cookbooks, and selections. Books for children and teenagers as well as genre lists. The members of your local ITC club would love to hear a review of the book you choose. Choose an ITC club near you.

Use your body language to support your speech

Your body language - the way you use your face, gestures and stance - can make or break your speaking presentation. It needs to support and add to you message; certainly not detract ... or distract ... from it. If you want your audience to receive your message, understand it and respond to it, then you have to keep their attention and you have to be believable. The image is one of sincerity, confidence and authority. Use your face, gestures and stance to support that image. More in future posts ... In the meantime, check out an ITC club where you can practice your body language in a secure environment, with positive feedback and training.

Effective listening

Successful listening would have to be one of the most vital contributions to successful communication, so it was nice to see this excellent article from Kellie Fowler of Mind Tools She titled it Listen Up: Remove the Barriers; Hear the Words... She points out that there are several levels of communication: 1. Facts 2. Thoughts/Beliefs 3. Feelings/Emotions and that sometimes we choose to listen at the wrong level. She continues ...While seemingly elementary, there are quick and easy steps you can take to ensure that you hear the words, factor in the situation and even consider the sender’s motivation and desirable outcome. These include: · First and foremost, stop talking! It is difficult to listen and speak at the same time. · Put the other person at ease. Give them space and time and "permission" to speak their piece. How we look at them, how we stand or sit, makes a huge difference: Relax, and let them relax as well. · Show the other person that you want to hear them. Look at them. Nod when you can agree, ask them to explain further if you don't understand. Listen to understand them and their words, rather than just for your turn. · Remove distractions. Good listening means being willing to turn off the TV, close a door, stop returning emails or reading your mail. Give the speaker your full attention, and let them know they are getting your full attention. · Empathize with the other person. Especially if they are telling you something personal or painful, or something you intensely disagree with, take a moment to stand in their shoes, to look at the situation from their point of view. · Be patient. Some people take longer to find the right word, to make a point or clarify an issue. Give the speaker time to get it all out before you jump in with your reply. · Watch your own emotions. If what they are saying creates an emotional response in you, be extra careful to listen carefully, with attention to the intent and full meaning of their words. When we are angry, frightened or upset, we often miss critical parts of what is being said to us. · Be very slow to disagree, criticize or argue. Even if you disagree, let them have their point of view. If you respond in a way that makes the other person defensive, even if you "win" the argument, you may lose something far more valuable! · Ask lots of questions. Ask the speaker to clarify, to say more, give an example, or explain further. It will help them speak more precisely and it will help you hear and understand them more accurately. · STOP TALKING! This is both the first and the last point, because all other tools depend on it. Nature gave us two ears and only one tongue, which is a gentle hint that we should listen twice as much as we talk. This article is from the Mind Tools newsletter. You can subscribe here.

Excellent Training in Communication at council meeting

The ITC clubs to which I belong, are part of a group of clubs called Council Seven. The next meeting is on the Gold Coast, on 2nd July, and the programme has some excellent training. Major education sessions are "There is a magic button", "listening Skills and "EQ in Leadership". I'm looking forward to sitting back and enjoying what looks like a gret training meeting. My only role will be preparing the delegates for the business meeting.

Word Count

I have just discovered this fascinating website. If you are interested in words and how we use them, then click on the heading and explore.   WordCount™ is an artistic experiment in the way we use language. It presents the 86,800 most frequently used English words, ranked in order of commonness. Each word is scaled to reflect its frequency relative to the words that precede and follow it, giving a visual barometer of relevance. The larger the word, the more we use it. The smaller the word, the more uncommon it is.  The goal is for the user to feel embedded in the language, sifting through words like an archaeologist through sand, awaiting the unexpected find. Observing closely ranked words tells us a great deal about our culture. For instance, “God” is one word from “began”, two words from “start”, and six words from “war”. Another sequence is "America ensure oil opportunity". Conspiracists unite! As ever, the more one explores, the more is revealed. Some of the best sequences people have sent me are here.  NEW! WordCount tracks the way we use language. QueryCount tracks the way we use WordCount. Take a look.   #2 in the popular series "Fun with WordCount", we introduce the 1970's Movie Character Name Game!!!!