I’ve been listening to a lot of speech’s recently.
Today, I listened to someone speak about speech’s and speechwriting. In 1989 & again in 1998 I spent some time working as a speechwriter. It was part of my job as Assistant to the female President of a hugely successful NJ real estate company. I learned a lot about a lot, and I’m grateful for that job experience. During that time, I was also learning how to deliver speech’s myself.
There is No Substitute for good communication skills, regardless of gender, education, intellect, socio/economic class, religion, or anything else. And yet, it has obviously not been a priority in our culture….. either for the masses, public officials, and don’t even get me started on the level of communication skills within our established medical/legal communities!! For this reason alone I applaud Barack Obama, regardless of whatever he does or does not do.
As a graduate of NLP, I feel a certain responsibility to practice conscious, effective, and clear communications as often as possible and to teach/train others to improve their communication skills with others. In my yoga classes I have often guided the students thru what is called Co-Listening. I learned & practiced many variations of this technique at Kripalu Center in the Berkshires. (1994 – 2008.) The combination of NLP techniques with yoga philosophy & practices is quite effective when skillfully applied…..at least in my experience.
This century has challenged us to learn how to communicate thru technological mediums. The internet has indeed changed everything and some are being left behind. However, for those out here in the blogosphere with me, it’s vital that we all remember that these are just words on a screen. There is no substitute for human-to-human contact. Sounds, smell, touch, sight, movement, gesture, are also parts of the whole of communication.
Here’s a cardinal rule to follow.
We are all, as individuals, responsible for what we say & what we hear. When you ask a question and do not get the response you anticipate, ask again, differently. If you have an emotional response to something you’ve heard….seek clarification to make sure that what you heard was what the speaker intended to say. Defense mechanisms have deep roots and we are all responsible for pruning back what no longer works. (I feel a rant coming on here so that’s a good time to sign off.)
Mercury is still retrograde and will remain so until January 31. A good time to re-consider how to improve your communication skills.
Have a nice day.
I was cleaning out an old file drawer the other day and came across the award certificates I received during winter/spring 1993. For, me these pieces of paper symbolize a few of my most heart-felt achievements. I won three Toastmaster’s Speech Contests in a row, qualifying me to compete in a state event. It was quite an experience and the memory of it continues to provide me with confidence and courage in speaking my truth.