Touro Communication Club Notes #54

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This Week: Wednesday, December 10, 2008 – 2 pm - Room 223

Theatre Workshop: Improvisation Technique

Ordinary mortals can learn a lot about communication from actor training. We worked on breathing last time. This time we will experiment with improvisation. What the actor does in a scene and what the ordinary mortal does is similar. When we communicate, we are improvising all the time. We rarely know what the exact words or gestures are going to occur when we talk to our friends. Actor training takes what we do everyday and adds a few layers to make the contrived exchange more interesting for an audience. The possibilities are endless – and entertaining as well.

Communication lessons from current events:

If you’ve been paying attention to the news, you know that President-elect Obama has been announcing members of his cabinet in the last week or so. First came his transition team and chief of staff and some key assistants; then came the financial team followed this week by his foreign policy and national security team. All these announcements are well- ahead of his inauguration on January 20, 2009.

Does that sound unusual? Perhaps not, if you don’t remember what happened in previous Presidential transitions. But, judging from what Presidential historians are saying, Obama is well-ahead of schedule. Just think: We might get the impression that he knows what he’s doing. Gosh, that feels like a change after 8 years. In his press conferences, Obama rolls off the names as if he’s being doing this kind of stuff for years. Oh, yes, w e remember that he’s known as “No Drama Obama.” Calm, cool, collected, articulate, controlled, yet with his easy, flashing smile.

But, in this corner, this week Obama wrote a brand-new page in American history. No previous President has summoned the governors from the 50 states to a pre-inauguration meeting. By doing so, Obama sets the tone of the Washington/state relationship agenda. He solicits cooperation from these governors who have been historically ignored by Washington. Instantly, he gains 50 ambassadors from both parties to be partners – allies - in arriving at a united attempt to restore a common American vision. And, finally, in this tactic, Obama moves to minimize potential negativity from people who disagree with his agenda. This writer believes Obama’s meeting with the governors is a singularly brilliant political stroke. Obama establishes a communication structure never done before!

When a transparent communication structure is in place and is maintained, a President (or any leader) can promote dialogue from all quarters. This action, in turn, energizes all parties to transcend petty differences to find common ground on the avalanche of issues that face this nation – and the world. Obama expands Lincoln’s legacy of a “team of rivals” into a coordinated movement to change the direction of America.

This is the promise of what Obama has done so far. We have to wait until January 20^th to see if he can begin to walk his talk.

In the meantime - Bravo! Bravissimo! One small step for humankind!

Our upcoming schedule is:

Wednesday, December 17, 2008 - 2 pm - Room 223 - Midtown– Theatre Workshop – Improvisation Technique (see top)

Wednesday, December 17, 2008 – 2 pm – Room 610 @ 50 West 23^rd St. - Communication Club Holiday Potluck Gathering.

The price of admission is a food offering for three people if you plan to join us. Please be aware the food must be kosher. (Call the Communication office for guidelines.) The Communication department will provide the plates, napkins, cups, beverages and utensils.

A stern word about this potluck gathering: Like everything we do in the Club, having a gathering with food is an experiment, a different test of our ability to communicate.

A potluck meal is a special occasion for breaking bread with people who share a common interest. The food you bring is to share with others. If you don’t bring an offering, you won’t have anything to share. You will be a taker, instead of a sharer. And from a Communication point of view, I don’t think you want to send the kind of message that is not representative of your best self.

The Club has no budget and the success of this first potluck party depends on people not assuming there are going to get free food. If you don’t bring food for three, please don’t plan to join us. And doesn’t everyone buy a box of Enteman cookies!

Wednesday, January 7, 2009 – Debate 3 SPAR Debate – Room 223 – Midtown. After the holidays, we need to tune up our brains to prepare for finals and the new semester. For those who’ve never participated, SPAR debate stands for SPontaneous Argumentation. We learn to think on our feet, developing a line of reasoning about a silly topic.

What happened on Wednesday, December 3, 2003, at the Negotiation Workshop?

Participants included, Amina Bibi, Drani Gabu. Geovanny Leon, Charles Mason, James Milner, Lorinda Moore, Denise Santos, Carlisle Yearwood and Hal Wicke.

The 2 ½ hour session – as usual – started slowly and then turned into an exciting exchange with a surprise story at the end that turn the entire discussion inside out.

Hal put the following on the board, hoping to have some semblance of a boring discussion:

Negotiation Workshop - Purpose of negotiations is to find common ground

Questions:

1) Do you negotiate anything in your life? Examples
2) What is the usual result of your negotiations?
3) Do you know how you negotiate?
4) What tools (strategies/tactics) do you use?
5) Do you prepare for a negotiation? How?

Areas Where You Negotiate

1) Values (an internal negotiation precedes an external negotiation)
2) Product Price

3) Real Estate

4) Pre-nuptial agreements

5. Jobs – promotion, salary

6) Other?

Condition s For A Negotiation To Be Successful

1) Emotions have to be under control

2) The needs and requirements of all parties need to be acknowledged.

3) Once to negotiation is completed and agreed to, all parties abide by its conditions.

The discussion started in an academic way with definitions, but, as soon as other people joined the group. the formal class-like atmosphere was transformed into a lively series of questions, statements and sharing of experiences.

Part of the discussion centered on marital arrangements, particularly arranged marriages. The issue of love in a marriage is a relatively recently phenomenon. As we can observe by the 50% divorce rate, maybe “love” should be reconsidered as the major criterion for marriage. Ah, but that’s another discussion.

A microanalysis of a job interview occupied much attention. Strategies for composing resumes and cover letters, how to conduct yourself in an interview, the goals of both the interviewer and applicant were discussed. The question of lying and inflating your resume was explored.

Then one student revealed a powerful strategy where this student gained of first class job experience in the financial field at a first class salary for nearly a decade before being laid off recently. All without a college degree. The student shared the six years of preparation that was undertaken before applying for the first job.

Everyone was riveted and pummeled this student with countless questions. The student was calm and clear in the explanation. Survival was the motivation coupled with a determination to work at the level of this student’s competency and not below it. The student was now at Touro for personal reasons.

We were all astounded and overwhelmed by this student’s story. The story raises so many other questions as we look ourselves in the mirror. What is motivation? How does motivation focus our thinking? What is the role of motivation in our choices? How clearly do we know what to do to succeed? What can we learn from this student’s experience? Can the experience of this student be taught to others? And on and on.

The discussion was an incredible benchmark in the brief history of the Communication Club. As we explore the various aspects of Communication, we begin to discover how much we can learn from each other. If this session is any indication of future excitement, we are in for an incredible New Year!

These sessions are always open for everyone to attend. Bring a friend and join in the excitement. See you next time.

Hal Wicke