Lawyers and Judges and Bailiffs, oh my!

Nope, can't tell you any thing about the case but if you want to talk persuasive speakers - Lawyers are the best! The way that they can paint a picture of a situation and try to sway a jury. The way that they pick their sentences to ask the right questions. It's just amazing. I never had jury duty before, as a single parent, never had to serve. Luckily, I can now, and I mean luckily, it's so interesting!

First let's talk about the Judge. Besides the fact that he is very handsome, he had charisma to the hilt. He never talked down to anyone, he assumed that everyone in the room was intelligent, had common sense and would uphold the law, keep an open mind and deliberate respectfully. He was very nice and even made a few jokes along the way. He clearly explained the why, how, etc. of the responsibility of the jury. He also made sure that everyone understood that if you were not selected it meant only that this was not the correct case for you and it didn't mean that you were not a good person or could be a good juror in another case. Did I mention how handsome he was? ;-)

As I observed the two lawyers and their styles I noted differences in their manners, body language and speech. The first lawyer made his opening statement and he was self assured, calm, matter of fact and looked each and every juror in the eye. He had command of the jury. The second lawyer made his opening speech and he made it a point to give the power to the jury. He was softer spoken than the first and very relaxed in his demeanor, much like he was trying to be relaxed about the verdict - because he was sure it was going his way.

It will be very interesting to watch these professional speakers in action next week.

HUB 420 Human Communication

Well, we're well into the last week and the class is coming to a close. I had so much fun in this class blogging with classmates, bantering on the discussion boards and getting to know all of you in such a short amount of time!

Dr. D. I am amazed at all the work you have done working two classes at once and keeping on top of everyone's questions, blogs, Avatars, MySpace, Discussion board and faculty link! Kudos to you! You made this experience easy and fun. Thank you so much for your support.

I have made some great 'virtual' friends and hope to see you all in a future class again!

Thanks Dr. D and thanks to my classmates! Good luck to all of you in your educational and life endeavors.

Comm - Chapter 16

FEAR!
I have seen people literally sweating, getting flushed, pacing, trembling and even speechless, right before giving a speech or presentation. The fear of speaking in public is #2 after the fear of death. That says a lot about the trepidation of standing in front of your peers or strangers and delivering discourse.

There are various ways to quell your fears but the best way is to face it head on. However, let’s examine why you might fear speaking, according to the book there is:

• inadequacy or not feeling confident about your expertise in the subject matter
• the unknown – not knowing how the audience will relate or accept what you have to say
• Judgment: what will they think of me or my speech?

Whatever the fear you have prior to giving a speech, I find the only way to conquer this fear is to practice and make speeches over and over! It’s much like the first time you tried to ride a bike. You feared falling down, not being able to break in time or just running into things! After you rode your bike for a while, every day in the summer, you were a pro, riding hands-free, kicking your feet out to the side and barreling down those steep hills! Okay, so that last example was kind of silly and falling in the ice plant wasn’t pleasant but you weren’t afraid of that bike any more!

Even after giving so many presentations I still have a bit of trepidation before each presentation. However, once I get started I fall into a comfortable groove. After much practice and organization, you will find your groove as well.

Toastmasters

Okay, I admit that I could not attend a toastmasters meeting this week. However, I know someone, Dan, who is a competent communicator and a former officer of the San Diego chapter. He talked to me about how the meetings worked and the process of giving speeches and networking. It was very interesting! There are different levels of speakers and different types of speeches that you give in order to become more comfortable at speaking. You even do impromptu speaking, which is probably the most nerve wracking of all.

He did a five minute speech for me on the Battle of Thermopylae, 480 B.C. He was eloquent and interesting in his speech and pulled all of the history of pre-battle. He kept his gaze on my eyes and used appropriate hand gestures and body language. He was smooth in his speech, never stammered, said 'ah,' or paused unless it warranted a pause.

He is a very well spoken gentleman and I was pleased to be able to interview him and he was more than happy to comply with his speech!

Comm - Chapter 15

Designing and Organizing a Speech
I believe that I touched upon this a little in an earlier chapter. However, allow me to elaborate on the importance of structuring your speech.

Sally road her bike home from school. Mrs. Williams, Sally’s teacher, gave her a gold star for homework well done. Timmy and Johnny played tether ball during recess. The entire class stood to recite the pledge of allegiance. Sarah’s mom drove her to school and dropped her off.

The above paragraph, albeit very poorly written, doesn’t make sense does it? How about:

Sarah’s mom drove her to school and dropped her off. The entire class stood to recite the pledge of allegiance. Mrs. Williams, Sally’s teacher, gave her a gold star for homework well done. Timmy and Johnny played tether ball during recess. Sally road her bike home from school.

Although it’s still not very well written, at least it makes better sense. Your presentation should appear the same as the second story, in order chronologically and in order of content: Introduction, what you will be presenting, your presentation, your conclusion and summary.

I like to write very simple outlines for my presentations and then start elaborating until I have a complete speech written. Example:

• How to run an affective Meeting
• Venue
• Audio/Video equipment
• Selecting Participants
• Developing Agendas
• Opening the meeting
• Establishing ground rules
• Time management
• Evaluating your meeting
• Closing

From this outline I will start to write a little more on each topic, present a PPT with bullets add notes and prepare a paper to disseminate, if needed. Notice that the presentation also has a chronological timeline as well from beginning of the meeting to closing. Taking these steps to organize thoughts and presentations has provided me the opportunity to find gaps in my presentation.

Organization, structure and communication are all key to providing a good speech.

Comm - Chapter 14

Being an informed speaker
It is critical to conduct research on the topic you speak to. In order to effectively provide a speech that you present yourself as an expert, you should research and know any and all background information. Be prepared to answer questions and know your subject matter.

Although I have been with my company for about 11 years and run large cross-functional teams, I am not typically the expert, nor do I ever present myself to be. However, as the team lead, I present information to the sponsors and stakeholders of the project. I tend to do a lot of research, gather data, information and either bring expertise statements or subject matter experts along to field questions.

The research can be very difficult to gather at times. Sometimes the projects are so technical I find myself poring over information on the Internet, technical books and many interviews.

We also use benchmarking, industry journals, networking and utilize other company system’s information.

As the book states, it can be a tedious, long and arduous process to do the research but if validates your subject/speech matter.

All of the research information is documented, filed either electronically or traditionally. It is noted in the documents appropriately and all of the information is always readily accessible to others.

Presentation – visual aids
My most favorite part of the job is creating a pleasing, professional presentation. The conference venue is important, at times I have placed posters with vital information around the room and, if there is time, I like to create a presentation that’s fun, concise and informative. Remember, a PPT is a series of bullet points with no more that 5 to 8 words each. (and even that, in my opinion is excessive!)

There are some more points to remember, besides research, presentation and speech aids. Always expect the unexpected! I can’t tell you how many times there was technical difficulty and I went a la hardcopy! I am always prepared by having the presentation in hardcopy form, a USB drive to load up on a stationary computer (when my laptop won’t do), and I always copy everything into a folder on the laptop’s desktop. Most folks will tell you that I am well over prepared (on the verge of anal-retentive). However, I’m not delaying my meetings 15 to 20 minutes for techno reasons!

Comm - Chapter 13

The Speech & the Audience
Know your audience. Understand who you are approaching, interview some of the potential audience members, understand what they expect from your speech. Prepare your speech for your audience; you wouldn't share a presentation to the VP of Marketing with your daughter's first grade class!

Know and understand yourself
Think about your subject matter and research your own experiences. Perhaps you can make a personal analogy through your own life or experience. This makes the speech a bit more personal and pulls your audience closer to you.

Know your venue
Prepare your speech effectively by knowing where, when and how long you have to speak. Understand the gender, and education level. Also understand any other context information such as an outdoor venue, noise factor and location.

Understanding your venue, audience, yourself and your subject matter is vital to providing a good speech. Also, practice, practice and more practice!

Comm - Chapter 18

Persuasive Speaking
A persuasive speech is a form of motivational speaking. You are asking your audience to make a change in their beliefs, attitudes, or behaviors. If your audience already agrees with your argument, then your talk will not be persuasive, unless you seek to motivate them to act upon a belief or attitude.

Attitude vs. Belief
An attitude is a state of mind, a predisposition to response. Most of our attitudes or values are learned from our environment, family, religion, education, socioeconomics and culture.
A belief is confidence in the truth of something, your attitude or values are built on beliefs or everything that you believe is true.

Persuasive Strategies
Three basic strategies used in persuasion are appeal to reason, appeal to audience emotion, and appeal to audience needs. Speakers should remember their ethical responsibilities and not use dishonest or misleading persuasive appeals.

What IS communication? What are communication’s various components?

Communication:
"Any act by which one person gives to or receives from another person information about that person's needs, desires, perceptions, knowledge, or affective states. Communication may be intentional or unintentional, may involve conventional or unconventional signals, may take linguistic or nonlinguistic forms, and may occur through spoken or other modes."
(National Joint Committee for the Communicative Needs of Persons with Severe Disabilities, 1992, p. 2)

Components of Communication:

• the communicator
• the objective
• the audience
• the message
• the channel
• the treatment

Total Group Consensus

Well... I have to say that no one wanted a less desirable job, no matter what it paid. Seems that my friends and I agreed that we would rather have our dream job for less money! Although, in California, you almost need just the opposite just to pay our 'paradise' expense!

The styles in our little group varied, we have long and thoughtful thinkers who need to ask lots of questions. Then we also have the quick to respond folks, who are considered the true risk takers. We also had a long discussion about where the dream job was! That was tough; however, we all agreed that where we are today, San Diego is about the best for us!

No one persuaded us to change our opinion - we all agreed. Although we also agreed that our dream job in Paris would be the best of all worlds! lol!

Comm - Chapter 17

Informative Speaking

The purpose of informative speaking is to provide interesting, useful and/or unique information. The point is to provide a speech that is appealing to your audience.

Major types of speeches:

• Objects: People, places, animals or products
• Processes: "how to" perform a process
• Events: Things that are happening did happen or will happen
• Concepts: Beliefs, Ideas or Theories

Gather information on your topic, the more you know, the more that you will be viewed as an expert on the subject. Also, know your audience, gearing your topic to your audience is key. If you are speaking on the topic of Koalas you would have a much different speech to Zoological Society members than that of a Kindergarten class.

Organize your information
I like to create an bullet point outline for my speeches. I will also list the who, what, why, how and when in the body and include a conclusion or summary at the end. I then proceed to explaining each bullet points concisely - I will expand upon these in my speech.

I think Visual Aids are mandatory!
I also think that you should have fun with visual aids, again, depending on the audience. When I make a presentation to the Senior Team of the company, I am a bit more serious that if the audience is the general employee population.

One other tip I have learned over the years - give your speech to someone that does not understand the topic for proofing. I can not and will not proof my own work - I will always 'read into' my own material and think that it is fine!

Group Interactions

Group experience so far --- has it been easy? Challenging? Enjoyable? Meaningful?
I would have to say the group interaction has been challenging as we all have very busy and different lives to manage. However, the interaction we have had has been good. We all seem to be professional in manner and willing to do what it takes to present our information.

How would you assess the communication between your group members?
Communication has been a challenge. Coordinating times to meet and email responses have been slim.

How would assess the emotional intelligence of your colleagues? How does everyone process information? How do they handle differences of opinion? Are you able to easily reach consensus, or does every question turn into a lengthy discussion?
This I could not comment on as we have only interacted over the phone once as a group.

Talk about your group's dynamics, the different personality and communication styles, and why you think it's working - or not. If you're experiencing challenges, make some specific recommendations for improving the collaborative process.
Communication could be a little better, responses to emails and team members being a bit more engaged. I work with teams every day in my job and, I have to say, this is the reason I ditched UOP for NU...

Comm - Chapter 12

Managing Conflict
There are various ways to deal with conflict:

Avoidance: postponing, hiding your feelings, change the subject, leave the room or quit the project. Avoidance may be appropriate when the matter is small, there is a need to take time to calm down, and time is needed to gather information. Avoidance may not be appropriate when the issue is large, a quick decision is necessary, issue has a major impact, postponing may make matters worse.

Accommodation: To satisfy a need for a particular individual or group, emphasizing common parts but de-emphasize the differences. This is helpful for the group to review the common purpose but again, it is not appropriate when an issue needs to be dressed immediately.

Compromise: To be flexible with a part of your request. Compromise is mutual for everyone as everyone receives something and all give up something. This works when everyone can agree on give and take and an immediate resolution is needed. Compromise doesn't work when initial demands are too great or there is no commitment to honor the compromise.

Collaboration: Or, consensus, this happens with not all parties can agree but are willing to agree completely. This is best used when individuals respect and trust, share views, members want the best solution, individuals are willing to change their mind when more information in produced. This is not a solution when there is little time or no trust, respect or communication.

Groupthink
The practice of approaching problems or issues as matters that are best dealt with by consensus of a group rather than by individuals acting independently; conformity.
The lack of individual creativity, or of a sense of personal responsibility, that is sometimes characteristic of group intereaction.

Comm - Chapter 11

Ah, the team/group

Now you're right up my alley! As a Project Manager, this is where I work and it is my comfort zone. Managing teams can be very challenging, even small teams! Not only are different personalities represented on a team but there are different levels of skill and engagement.

Being an affective leader on a team takes skill, finesse and understanding where each and every team member is on a level of engagement. Some of your team members may be 'enthusiastic learners,' willing to take it on and learn, these folks you need to help and direct. Then there are the 'disillusioned learners,' those who have the knowledge but feel a bit overwhelmed. They need less direction but more support and acknowledgement. Then you may have the 'capable but cautious performer, who is an expert but is a bit wary of overstepping or even of their own expertise, these folks need support and some coaching along the way. Then there are the self-reliant achievers, the ones that volunteer for every project and are very self-directed that only need your support and need to feel valued. Recognizing these stages will help in a team or group situation.

I found, as a rule, I like to keep the teams focused, engaged and on track by providing structure. For the non- or low-structure folks, this may be intimidating, so introducing this technique needs to be done in a way that is not intruding. I have done this by providing the structure myself and merely interviewing the team members and keeping track using project management tools.

Another important task is to keep everyone engaged. This can be very difficult on long-range projects of 1 year or more. Priorities change, natural attrition, environment (internal and external) changes and just the mere fact that it is a long project! To help engage folks, I will have periodic meetings, lunches and off-sites to keep the project top-of-mind as well as establishing relationships. I also implement periodic updates from and to all the team members, stakeholders and sponsors.

In the long-run, we have been very successful in managing and maintaining teams. I have also found that keeping myself engaged in organizations that specifically relate to my job, like pmp.org and business networking, keeps me fresh with ideas and innovation for my teams. This class is a great example of something that I felt necessary to take to understand communication in the work environment and the team.

Group Discussions - Challenges

It is always a challenge to work with a team. There are time constraints and, in this case, there is remote and the virtual classroom. We have dropped from a team of 6 to a team of 3, although this is much more manageable for us, it also adds to the work load of the project. However, there are 3 strong people in this team and I have every confidence that we will meet, if not exceed, the expectations of the project.

We seem to all be on the same page and easily agree on everything. We all have life's challenges with work and family and I believe we are respectful of each other's time and other commitments.

There is a lot of give and take in a team, sometimes a lot more give than take. You need to be respectful, considerate, open-minded and a team player. So far all of the interactions that I have had with my classmates have been great!

Comm - Chapter 10

Person to Person Interviewing

Flash backs of fear, sweat and nerves... sure wish that I had read this chapter first!

The interview process can be very stressful for a lot of people. Will they like me? Am I dressed appropriately for the job? Do my qualifications match the job scope? What do I say, how do I answer those questions?

Typically, technical applicants will rely on their resume and credentials. Others, however, rely on education and experience. Now, there’s a catch-22 for you, what if you have a lot of experience but no degree or a fresh degree with no experience? In some cases the company will look to pay scale and/or need at the time of hiring. One might hire the more experienced, knowledgeable person if they need someone who can take the reigns and push forward. However, they may decide on the college graduate as they have the technical aptitude for the job and are willing and eager to learn and grow.

Having a great resume and cover letter helps with the job seeking process. There are many resume writers to help with this task. Sometimes it’s hard for an individual to ‘talk’ about themselves and these professionals can help. A resume should be written for the job that you are seeking. What I mean by that is, not fabricating, but looking at your experience to emphasize for the job. For example, if you are interviewing for a manager’s position and you have never had direct reports before but have run large-scale teams, emphasize the work with the teams, the coaching and responsibilities you had to the team members. If you Look at your past experiences and accomplishments, this will help with the resume and cover letter content.

I do have to say that I am glad to be with my company and I know that I will be with them for a very long time. However, I am planning on an early retirement and then consulting so I will still be in the interview process with my clients. Now, I will need to tout my abilities and ‘sell me’ to secure my clients. My clients will be essentially, interviewing me!

Great Chapter – I may have to flag this one and keep it at hand. ;-)

Avatar Communications

1. When communicating through your avatar, do you feel less inhibited and more free to say what's really on your mind? Does the anonymity that an avatar provides make you more comfortable?
   a. I do feel a little more free with the Avatar that I would otherwise. However, I'm not one who is too intimidated anyway...
   
2. How does it feel to communicate with others using your avatar? Do you feel authentic, or is your avatar a "character" for you?
   a. I do feel that the Avatar is a character; however, most folks will create the Avatar in the image that they either see themselves or wish to see themselves. Mine is representative of who I am.
   
3. Do you identify with your avatar? Do you feel as though it's an extension of you? Why / why not?
   a. I definitely identify with my Avatar as I trained in martial arts for 10 years, I live near the beach and take my beautiful black lab to dog beach a lot. I don't think it is an extension of me or who I am; I am much more than an animated version of self.
   
4. What, in your opinion, is the value of having an avatar (if any) and why do you think they're becoming so popular in the world of online communication?
   a. The value of the Avatar is that it allows you to communicate without inhibitions, you are free to express yourself in ways you would not in person. You can be anything or anyone that you want - even an animal! They are popular because they are fun and a virtual 'mask

Comm - Chapter 9

Friends

As in my post about Chapter 8, you can nearly mirror the progression of friendship with the progression of a lover, without the intimacy. Even the breakup is very similar, no communication, less interaction and then just dissolving the relationship.

It appears to me that more and more people are not willing to work on a relationship, whether an intimate or a friendship. Why is that? Doesn’t it seem that more people are becoming loners, willing to do things on their own than ever before? Or is it just my perception of my own circle of friends?

Another observation is the need of a friend. There is an innate sociological need to have friends outside the circle of your immediate family. What void do these friends fill? What is it that makes the friends nearly more important, at times, than family?

Is it the ‘tribe’ affect?

We seem to need close relationships in all aspects of our lives; family, friends, associates, groups, etc.

Feelings

Another hot topic when it comes to relationships. Expressing or suppressing, which do you exhibit in a particular relationship? Some folks say that they are emotional around their family while others suppress. We will suppress our emotions at work most of the time, which is where some of us build up a lot of stress! Then there are those that are emotional all the time and others that will never show emotion. I believe that both of these are unbalanced personalities.

What do you think?

Comm - Chapter 8

Interpersonal Relationships

One of the more complex of communications is interpersonal relationships. Whether it is with your immediate family, a lover, work associates or friends, relationships can be varied and full of misconceptions. Have you ever experienced someone asking "why did you give me that look?" When you didn't even know it was a look or why? Then an argument ensues and after a while, you don't even remember what you were fighting about but you do know that you were right!

What interested me was the stages of relationships: from beginning to end to beginning...

Initiating:
First contact, the flirting, discovery an onset of hope.

Experimentation:
In this stage there is small talk, light conversation, perhaps an acknowledgement that there is common threads on which to build a relationship.

Intensifying
Bonding, sharing and more in depth conversation. This is the stage where relationships make two people act as one.

Integrating
Allowing relationships to include individualism. Now there is joint companionship and a strong bond, a feeling of being one and not being whole without the other.

Bonding
Commitment, a phase where you are building a solid base for a couple's future

Differentiating
Going back to the 'me' stage, finding an identity within a relationship

Circumscribing
Decreasing conversation, topics that are skirted, a mental withdrawal from communication

Stagnating
Silence is not golden, not at this stage, however, there is feeling of no communication is better at this point.

Termination
Ending the relationship. A mutual agreement that communication and the relationship has stopped and is better in separation.

Depending on what stage a relationship is in, there is still a process of reinitializing the relationship, although at some stages it is more difficult than others.

Communication on the Internet

Well, I've been 'blogging' and using MySpace now for two weeks. I haven't really met anyone online (interesting or not) but I've chatted on the phone with interesting people from my class! I am enjoying our classroom discussions, they are insightful and beautifully written, what an awesome class!

On MySpace, I have had to delete requests for friends as they are from sites with which I would not typically associate. I haven't had any conflicts as yet. My social network is still good and intact and my sons have contributed to my sites, very supportive!

I am having a blast in this class! At first I thought that using the Internet to communicate was going to be challenging and just crazy but I now know that it is what you make of it. It is certainly an interesting experience but it sure is a lot of work! ;-)

Now, if I can just get others to answer my blogs... (hint, hint)

How has your experience been?

Group C Project

Greetings Team!

Here are my notes from our conference call today:

We will be creating a 10 - 12 page PowerPoint presentation (includes cover, Agenda and summary) on diversity training. Our company is a medium sized marketing firm in San Diego county that provides services county-wide as well as our border neighbor, Mexico.

Our objective is: Train on diverse cultures within the workforce and customer base.

Topics of discussion:
People (workforce)
Community
Suppliers

We'll each do 3 slides, collaborate on the cover, Agenda and Summary. The summary will include information on how we measure our success.

URLS
http://www.diversityinc.com
http://www.diversityjobs.com/node/977242
http://equalopportunity.bet.monster.com/articles/retain/
I know there's more!

Let me know if I missed anything! Great Chating with you!

Chatting with Bea!

Today I had the pleasure of interviewing Bea.

It was a great conversation! Since Bea is a teacher, I interviewed her to come and teach my kids. Her answers were great well thought out and she provided me with her background in Spain and her recent job history in the U.S. teaching part time. She is at National completing her requirements to be certified to teach full-time. Bea is a Spanish teacher but she is very interested in continuing her Masters program to become a History teacher! Go Bea!

When I asked about her future endeavors post the degree she stated that, beyond, teaching, she is keeping her options open for anything that comes along that is interesting! Great answer!

Bea is very interesting and I was excited to be able to speak with her and get to know her better.

And I love her accent! I said she was hired - ;-)

Communication Assessment

Identify the types of communication in the workplace. Under each heading, identify the significance of each. Evaluate these types of communication in your own organization. How would you rate your company’s communication practices? What is done well? What should be improved? How would you recommend improving these practices?

1. Internal Communication:
Overall, we do a really good job of communicating! However, since we are a very large company, headquartered in the south and with operations in select areas of the country, we have a challenge with internal communications. As noted in Chapter 7 there is a top-down filtering process of information. There is also a challenge with horizontal communication; we could use a stronger cross-functional development of end-to-end process communication.

Significance: A way of providing company information about the company progress, benefits, etc.

Improvement: A central communication source - the Intranet, a common repository for all communications.

2. Downward Communication:
Noted above - this is filtered, miscommunication occurs frequently. Our Senior Team tries to deliver messages personally throughout our business, either via face-to-face or electronically as in our video announcements, email, Intranet, etc. There are many different groups and all receive information differently so we need to be cognizant of the delivery methods used.

Significance: A way of providing company information about the company progress, benefits, etc.
Improvement: Again, a central communication source - the Intranet, a common repository for all communications.

3. Communication in Meetings:
I have to say we do a great job communicating, listening and coming to full agreement or consensus in meetings. We are a company that values communication and strives to be better always.

Significance: To socialize ideas and information to be assured that we are working cohesively

Improvement: More folks could learn to actively listen

4. Feedback:
We have many opportunities to provide feedback, surveys, email, Intranet, Internet and an open-door policy. The feedback is heard and paraphrased in company meetings and noted with suggestions and resolutions.

Significance: providing everyone to have a voice in the company. Some of our best ideas come from our employees

Improvement: Keep encouraging the active participation of all.

5. External Communications:
We have a Public Relations and Legal team that reviews everything. They also work with the marketing team to facilitate our public communications are accurate.

Significance: Marketing/Sales, branding

Improvement: We're good with this one... ;-)

6. Cultural/Gender Communications:
As a company that embraces diversity, many of our CEOs sit on the council and communicate and educate.

Significance: To understand that diversity in the workplace. Understanding other cultures and values helps us communication better.

Improvement: We are currently creating a comprehensive training program

7. Electronic Communication
The company utilizes video conferencing, email, the Intranet, video mail, IM and much more. True, funny story - we had someone doing a presentation for about 20 people. He was using his PC with the overhead Proxima, displaying the PowerPoint on the screen. In the middle of the presentation we see an IM that says "I Love You." He had forgotten to turn off his IM for the presentation - he turned beat red!

Significance: We are an electronic world - we need to learn how to communication effectively by the written word.

Improvement: In the past we have done some business writing courses and continue to offer these to employees.

8. Nonverbal Communication:
We have posters all over the business about our goals, ethics, values, charities that we sponsor. We also have information on the teams and on-going projects on the posters. There is a lot of information on the company Intranet, company newsletter and even the way our General Manager walks through and smiles, and wears business casual clothes, makes a nice comfortable statement.

Significance: To keep communication on the forefront, keep the employees informed and excited

Improvement: We need to switch it up, keep the posters fresh by changing up the color and design!

9. Written Communication:
I think that I have covered a lot of that above. Although, we value face-to-face more, we do have many avenues of written communication.
Significance: Again, we are an electronic world - we need to learn how to communication effectively by the written word.
Improvement: We offer a lot of educational courses to our employees including business writing classes.

10. Interpersonal Communication

We have many off-site activities, charities that we sponsor, Habitat for Humanity, ball games, etc. Where folks feel at ease and can socialize with each other.

Significance: Camaraderie is so important in the work place, we need to work effectively and having the off-sites and/or activities is important for moral and state of mind!

Improvement: We do these often - and they're always different, keeps our employees engaged.

11. Visual Communication
I believe I have covered this as well but I will add that the way an office looks reflects how we will behave. We allow our employees to personalize their cubes with personal items and have many interesting items to talk about when we approach someone! It also provides some insight to who they are and may give a glimpse of something in common with you!

Significance: Happy employees are more productive!

Imrprovement: We are in the process of restructuring areas now to foster better cross-functional communication by locating input/output groups together as much as possible.

Comm - Chapter 7

Listening and Communicating

Here is something I think everyone can do better, listening. I remember my mother yelling at us that we are 'hearing but not listening.' I never understood that phrase until I started to work in the corporate world. When I first started college (pre-kids) I worked as a waitress, the only listening skill I needed was rote memory, write the order, send the order, pick up the order, and deliver the order. Was I really listening? I don't think so.

Lately, I have found myself really trying to actively listen. This is certainly a learned skill and one that is not easy to accomplish! There is a lot of noise that you have to filter through in order to affectively and actively listen. In my office we are all in cubes, only VPs and Directors have offices - this is by design. So, as managers, we sit in these cubes along side our teams. The distractions are many, not only the conversations that the customer service reps are having with customers, but other conversations in other cubes, cooler conversations, meetings, printers, faxes, phones ringing, laughter, wind, the air-conditioner, paper shuffling, coughing, sneezing, the hum of the florescent lights, and many more. You would think that I work in an awfully noisy environment but just close your eyes and listen to the noise that surrounds you - really listen.

Other noise consists of my own thoughts, breathing, and any part of me that may be sore; maybe I’m not feeling well, allergies, even the thoughts of what we might respond with when the speaker has paused. Other distractions, even though you don’t literally think about them are home life, did I unplug the curling iron, is the dog okay, was it trash day today!

There is so much noise to shift through in order to be an affective listener. You really need to concentrate and paraphrase the sender’s message, keep eye contact, acknowledge and respond. This has been the most difficult to learn for me as I always have so much going on in my life my brain is forever processing information, dates, times and the like and, ok, I confess, I’m very controlling.

Listening on the Internet, comprehending a senders message, is entirely different; there is no inflection, body language or context for the sender or receiver to utilize. Therefore, most of our written communications can come off very differently. What would you think if your boss typed an email that simply stated “Come see me,” what would you think? Am I in trouble, did I get that report wrong, what did I do? Hey, it may be that long deserved bonus! You have to be very descriptive over electronic communications; I have incorporated some humor in my emails when communicating with my teams. If there is no humor from Jo – it must be a serious communications but I don’t send many of those serious ones! ;-)

What style do you use when you listen?

Group C Project

Group C is scheduled to chat tomorrow @ 6 pm. We have had some drops so we'll need to disseminate the work between the 4 of us. No worries - we can handle it!

I'll chat with all you lovely folks tomorrow!

Comm - Chapter 6

Ah... non-verbal communication. What does this picture say to you?

Oh, okay so I just wanted to get my grand daughter on my blog.




How about this one, what was I doing? What mood was I in? Where do you suppose I was and what was going on?






Non-verbal communication can say a lot about who we are - in someone else's perception. I walk very tall and straight, keeping my head held high, even when talking to someone shorter than me (I'm 5'8"). This is sometimes perceived as pompous, stiff, haughty, and even rude! However, I was taught to always walk straight and my posture is very straight, martial arts and yoga also helps with posture. I am relaxed but being very tall anyway - it just makes me appear to be taller. I try to approach everyone with a large smile and appear more approachable. I have been told that, when I am focused, I look mad! That's interesting - I'm just focused, so I force myself to smile when focused. I am a very easy going, friendly person - but my appearance says otherwise.

Here's another fun experiment - smile very broadly all the time. What results did you get?

"What is it we really fear?"

When we cluster in groups or "tribes" why do we exclude? What is it about others that we fear? Philosophically, we typically hold our fears of the unexplainable, the unknown and the differences that we just don't understand. We assume answers to quell our fears to keep ourselves safe but safe from what? What do we fear about others and their differences?

I can understand that prehistoric man would fear as he could not communicate with other tribes, thus fearing the loss of precious possessions. As they observed animal behavior, one may think that they assumed that other tribes would act like the 'tribes' within the animal kingdom and fight to take food. But, we can communicate today and still have fear of differences. We wage war out of fear, we discriminate out of fear and we create our own truths out of fear.

Take, for example, death and what we think might happen after our physical body expires. What happens to that energy or sole? People fear death - they consider we have after-lives, a kingdom in heaven, a rebirth into another living being whether that is human, animal or vegetation or maybe we are just in another dimension? Fear of the unknown, untested, intangible. This is a common fear.

Now, fear of another people, culture or difference, this is a unnatural fear. Why do we fear others? Is it a fear of a change from our already designed comfort zone? Let's make it simple, you are in your high school click, you are all jocks and talk of nothing but sports. A math wiz joins your discussion, how do you react? Typically, jocks would tease and harass the poor math wiz and/or say that they are not a fit in their click. Why is that? What is it the jocks fear from the math wiz? Why can't they accept the difference in their group?

How many times have we witnessed a mentally challenge person that loves everyone and is happy all the time? What were your first thoughts? Perhaps your thoughts are that they are simplistic, they just don't know, they don't understand what they should fear? Why do we think this way, and not, hey they accept everyone for who and what they are, why can't we be like that? I think we are all challenged in the way we perceive the world and the people on the planet - again, I say embrace the difference, accept and celebrate who we all are without assimilating or making everyone the same as you. We are challenged by our society and the way that we were raised, live, work and play.

What do you think?

Tribal Nature

Tribal Nature Impacts on verbal and nonverbal levels

Verbal:Each tribe has their own verbal communication, from the prehistoric era to today. Check out your own friends and relatives, is there acknowledgement of your own language? I know that my boys and I are famous for quoting movie script in certain situations (check out MySpace!). Hence the reason we have so many languages, dialects, etc. Even in the U.S., the southern language is much different than California, New York, Minnesota! There is even a difference in L.A vs. San Diego!

Nonverbal:Speaking of L.A. vs. San Diego, check out the L.A. city scene, very black and white - clothing that is! While in San Diego, we have adopted a much more relaxed business-casual dress in much lighter colors! There is also the way we walk, react, think and process. What do you think of when I state the word dope? Did you process it to be drugs, a silly person or a dwarf? lol! Okay, had to throw in a Disney reference!

In conclusion, the impact to our communication with 'other tribes' are very different. Where I may call my gal friends 'you guys' in the south, this would be offensive to a group of ladies. If I were to walk up and hug my Korean friend - they would take offense, this is not the way they great.

When you think about tribes - think about the different sections of work groups - how different are they? The I.T. group, finance, the front-line service group?
Interesting...

Emotional IQ Test

Okay - just finished week #2 task: Emotional IQ Test. It's a long one and, apparently, I'm an emotional mess!

According to your self-report answers, your emotional intelligence is somewhat poor. People who score like you may at times feel that they have trouble dealing with their own emotions and those of others. They sometimes struggle to overcome difficulties in their lives and they are not always able to control their moods. It may be hard for them to understand how best to motivate themselves to overcome obstacles and reach their goals. In addition, they find social interactions difficult at times, for several reasons. They may have trouble allowing themselves to get close with others, finding it difficult to be vulnerable enough to establish intimacy or perhaps lacking understanding of, or comfort with, social interactions. Perhaps by working on your problem areas, you can become more confident in dealing with your own emotions and those of others.
Did I really just post this on the Internet? Yikes!

How did you rate?

Avatar

Avatar: Wikipedia:
An avatar (abbreviations include AV, ava, avv and avvy) is an Internet user's representation of himself or herself, whether in the form of a three-dimensional model used in computer games,[1] a two-dimensional icon used on Internet forums and other communities,[2][3] or a text construct found on early systems such as MUDs. The term "avatar" can also refer to the personality connected with the screen name, or handle, of an Internet user.[4]

Avatar: Hindu pholosphy:
In Hindu philosophy, an avatar, avatara or avataram (Sanskrit: अवतार, avatāra), most commonly refers to the incarnation (bodily manifestation) of a higher being (deva), or the Supreme Being (God) onto planet Earth. The Sanskrit word avatāra- literally means "descent" (avatarati) and usually implies a deliberate descent into lower realms of existence for special purposes. The term is used primarily in Hinduism, for incarnations of Vishnu whom many Hindus worship as God. Shiva and Ganesha are also described as descending in the form of avatars, with the Ganesha Purana and the Mudgala Purana detailing Ganesha's avatars specifically.

The word has also been used by extension to refer to the incarnations of God or highly influential teachers in other religions, especially by adherents to dharmic traditions when explaining figures such as Jesus or Muhammad.

Avatar: Web Answer:
An Avatar is a small image used in Forums, Mobile Phones, Instant Messenger programs (IMs), PDAs etc. to identify yourself or your contacts.In Forums Avatars, are usually displayed to the left of your post, directly beneath your Username.In IMs, Mobile Phones, PDAs etc. Avatars are used to show your caller a graphical representation of who they are talking to and/or, as part of the phonebook/address entry.

Check out the description on "The Avatar Site"
http://www.avatara.org/essay.html

Comm - Chapter 5

Cultural Communication
Here's a story that will make you laugh! When I was working in Alabama, I was in an office with a young lady who is an Alabama native. She had very thick southern accent and used southern slang so often that I didn't know what she was talking about at all! Sometimes I had to have her spell the words for me! Don't be offended - we both laughed about it a lot. I soon was used to her slang and her accent - without our local interpreter! Truth! Someone in the office used to tell me what she said all the time. It was literally gut-busting funny. However, I respected her language and slang enough to learn it so that I could 'speak her language.' I think that's what made our work relationship so much fun. Neither of us tried to change the other, we accepted our differences and became great friends.

Meaning: Miscommunications:
When I worked in Atlanta, I would get very upset and offended when I was called sweetie or sugar, honey, etc. Coming from California I had a very different view of how people were addressed and these terms were known as degrading to women. I had to take a couple of steps back and realize that this is the way the south addresses everyone and it is not meant to degrade. I also had to get used to the very relaxed lifestyle of the south. You just don't run into a grocery store and 'grab-n-go.' No, you socialize, talk, chat - take a breath! So much for the laid-back California style - it is nothing like the south!

You know what they say... when in Rome ;-)

How about you - any stories about your adventures in languag and communication with other cultures?

Group Project: Diversity planning session

GROUP C: Diversity planning session In this presentation, your group is a team of organizational development and human resources professionals who are charged with the task of developing an effective diversity planning training program for your company. What are your objectives? What topics will you cover? Why? What learning exercises and methodologies will you use? How will you measure the efficacy of your program? Your group should demonstrate the ability to work together to support one another's objectives. Document your session on video, audio, through photos and Power Points, your My Space account, YouTube, or via an iLinc session. iLinc sessions must be schedule with me no later than Monday, April 23.

I can start the ball rolling with some objectves - if no one objects... ;-)

1. Developing a cohesive environment
2. Enhance cross-cultural understanding
3. Increas awaremess of reasonable accomodation
4. Effectively manage a diverse workforce

• Effective training can enhance understanding and team building.
• Networking groups can break down barriers.
• Mentoring partnerships can help new staff acclimate.

Comm - Chapter 4

Gender and Perception
This topic really stuck out for me. As we are raised very differently (for the most part) we perceived, ingest and respond very differently.

Is your past following you?
Again - this one was very interesting. I do believe that the past molds who we become, regardless of the paths we take, we have an ingrained sense of who we are from birth. I fought back when people told me I was organized and structured for the longest time. I have a creative side to me so I really didn't believe that I was so structured (and a control freak!). However, I distinctly remembered my mom buying me a large bag of M&Ms when I was about 8. I used to separate all of the colors and eat only one color first - usually the dark chocolate first and I always left the yellow for last as they are my favorite. And... if anyone came and took my M&Ms, messed them up or mixed them up it would stress me out and make me cry! Okay I don't cry any more, but I still separate them... lol!

Funny how you can look back and see who you really are from suttle experiences.

How about you? What can you remember from your past that speaks to the person you are or personality that you have today?

Comm - Chapter 3

I was very interested in the Pygmalion effect from The People - self-fulfilling prophecy.

The idea is that you will see what you want to see - the way you treat others will affect the way they respond to you. We could get very philosophical with this one! I remember the adage "you life is what you make it to be." It is also true in the way we perceive others. I have kind of a Pollyanna view of the world, I see everyone as a friend without any faults, and they are honest and kind until proven otherwise! Like I stated in my last blog - the only one that I found to be dishonest - I divorced! lol!

Oops - I digress...

Here's an experiment: Go to work and be totally different that you normally might be. If you're structured and a work-aholic (like me), try going to work business-casual, if you can, go out to lunch instead of working at your desk and smile at everyone you see and meet - make an effort to say hi to everyone. When you enter into an elevator - don't stare at the door or the numbers over the door, stand and look at the back of the elevator at all the people and just smile.

How does this change the way you feel about others?
How did this change the way others view you?
Let me know how this works for you... :-)

Comm - Chapter 2

We have a very multi-cultural company and we embrace those cultures and differences. Communicating with different cultures can be difficult if you don't understand their culture. I was interviewing a Chinese student for a scholarship program last week. When she left, she never turned her back to us and she bowed a least 3 or 4 times. She was also very sweet and very nervous!

An interesting question in this chapter: Can you provide an example of how your culture has influenced your view of events?

I'm going to step out of the box here and say that I believe we get a skewed version of world events from our own government. I also believe that each government provides a view that they want their people to see. It's like the corporate view vs. the front line manager view.

What do you think?

Comm - Chapter 1

How much noise do you have in the course of a day?
I know that I have a lot, not only my own noise: thoughts, stress, aches, worries, constant thought about all the other projects, besides the one I am meeting on! There is the air conditioner, my 'cube' mates, phones, printers, copiers, faxes, meetings, wind... boy; I could list a lot more. How do we all cope with so much noise? There is even 'white noise' to drown out the 'cube' mate’s noise. What are we doing to ourselves and our environment and how do we filter out the noise to makes sense of anything?

It's funny that I see joggers and walkers on mobile music devices, even on nature hikes in the mountains. Are we so used to the noise around us that we can't function without it? I know that I like to hike and listen for nature, birds, wind, the footsteps of my dog, the rustle of the leaves. It's good to let the mind and the ears rest now and then.

Feedback
In my line of work it is essential that there is feedback on communications. However, how do you really know that someone has heard you or that you understand the other person? Paraphrasing is always best - repeating the person's statement in your own words, this helps me also with remembering the conversation. It's also good to know that someone has received your communication, whether it's an email, memo, blog... etc. It's just common courtesy to send a 'gotcha.' I know a lot of folks who simply just send a smiley face - that's great! At least I know they received and acknowledged.

Question: How do you know that you have heard and understood the other communicator and how do you know they have heard and understand you?

HUB 420: Selection Criteria

How will you select whom you will allow in your network? What criteria do you use? I typically would not place filters on an Internet site, except if it was abusive or invasive behaviour. I'm a very open-minded and adventursome person and I truly believe that everyone has good in them - until they prove me wrong - and some have (like the ex) LOL!

Do you knowingly/unknowingly applying filters and judgments to people who contact you?
Great question - if you are speaking of the Internet accounts - I would say no. However, if you are speaking of personal contact - I would say yes. People can get very guarded around others for various reasons. Take, for example, if two teenagers are talking in a school hallway about their weekend plans and a teacher enters the hallway, they are going to either shift their conversation or speak in lower tones. I engage executives on a different level that I engage a peer or direct reports - the conversations are very different at times. Conversations with the executives will be filtered in a verticle conversation.

Do you assess and/or judge others based upon the way they communicate with you?
To be honest, I used to. Then I started to understand that everyone has their redeeming qualities and when you expose those qualities, they can really shine. There are other considerations in the way people communicate, culture, religious beliefs, environment, etc.

Chatting with Sonya!

Sonya and I 'met' on the phone tonight. We were online as well trying to figure out MySpace! Except for the apparent age differnce (I think I'm younger - just kidding!) we have kids in common. We love kids, we have kids, mine are grown, married having kids and Sonyas are 4 and 1 year old. Spend time with them - they grow up so fast... :-)

I thought the conversation flowed well, seemed to be easy to me. I'll need to read Sonya's post to see if she felt different. We chatted a lot, played on the computer with MySpace and laughed about the kids - they sounded so cute! Then my big dog started to nose my arm - my dog was jealous that I wasn't paying attention to her, just like a kid.

The barriers to conversation was, family, pets and the fact that my computer battery started to die quickly and I needed to retrieve my power cord from the other room.

My impression of Sonya is that she seems like a very sweet girl. She's a TA in a Kindergarten class and works in an after school program. Very cool.

The call was fun! Thanks Sonya!

Hey all you lucky NU students!

Let's chat!

I was never one to have a blog or any other Internet chat device - funny too, since I used to program web sites. Check out www.cox.com or www.kenyons.com or www.ctamsocal.com, all creations of mine and/or teams that I managed!

Leave a posting - let's communicate!

Jo