Touro Communication Club Notes #68

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Communication Quote of the Week

“What you do speaks so loudly, I cannot hear what you are saying.”

Ralph.Waldo Emerson. 19^th century American essayist, poet and philosopher

Wednesday, April 1, 2009

Room 223 - Midtown

What’s Happening to Communication II Pressures & Technology

Led by James Millner

As always in our Communication Club meetings, everyone has so much to say that often we barely scratch the surface of the topic. The process is important: everyone gets a chance to be heard – hopefully. With a second discussion we need to focus on some of the factors that affect how we communicate. We’ll try to nail down a few influences.

ALERT: The Club will be on “hiatus” on Wednesday, April 8, and April 15 because NYSCAS is on spring vacation.

Dear Communicators:

Strategy: Think Globally, Act locally.

Theme: Communicating from bottom to top to create a tipping point.

What do you do when you disagree with your boss? Or your teacher? Or your parents? Do you shut up and say nothing? Do you make a sarcastic remark? Do you gossip behind their back?

You CAN say anything, can’t you? After all, you have “free speech”? It says so in the Constitution. Then shoot off your mouth. Who cares about consequences? But have you thought of finding productive ways to use that free speech to express your disagreement?

In many organizations, there is often dissatisfaction with the choices that the leadership makes. Look at eight years of President Bush. Look at the broadside attacks President Obama is getting.

What then does an individual do with his/her dissatisfaction? Call him Joe the Plumber (for old times’ sake).

Joe has several options:

• He can remain silent and do or say nothing.
• He can hold his anger, let it build up and then explode at a little old lady for bumping into him.
• He can complain about the decision behind the backs of the leaders.
• He can put blinders on and narrow the focus on his job to focus on what is in front of him and ignore the context in which he is working.
• He can begin to slack off on his job because he doesn’t think his superiors won’t listen to him.
• He can write a letter to his boss. (See “Dear A.I.G., I quit!” Op-Ed page New York Times, Wednesday, March 26, 2009. It’s a beauty!)
• He can get accidentally interviewed by Candidate Obama and become an instant celebrity representing the little guy.

Consider another option? Could Joe the Plumber begin to think about ways that he can make small changes in his larger organization. In the 60’s, now enshrined in warm memories, there was a concept called, “Think Globally, Act Locally.” Take the larger concepts of a mission of change and apply them to the situation you are in.

Sounds pretty vague, doesn’t it? Perhaps. But figure out what is bugging you. (Now that’s a job for a lifetime!) Talk to others to clarify your ideas. Formulate a plan. Remember the self-help bromide, “Inch by inch is a cinch; yard by yard is hard.”

Change starts with your beliefs. The beliefs of every individual do matter. When these beliefs are turned into a series of small productive actions, the climate is set for change. The build-up continues until it reaches a tipping point. Malcolm Gladwell has written a highly popular book, "The Tipping Point," which documents how change occurs.

Change begins with communication. The nature of communication is to reach out to others, particularly to those with whom you disagree. Reaching out is the mantra of an effective Communicator. You meet new people. You learn new things. You get exposed to different beliefs. You begin to see commonalities. The “comm” in “Communication” refers to “common,”“community,” “communion.” Finding a thread that transcends differences and brings people and ideas together.

Is this foolish idealism? Perhaps, for those who have never tried to “Communicate.” But for those of us whose interest in Communication is more than party small talk, this idealism is merely a mission statement toward creating a productive reality.

As motivational writer Napoleon Hill has written, “What you conceive, and believe, you can achieve.” Change may be slow, but tenacious persistence transforms dreams into reality. Hang in there. Keep your eye on the prize.

UPCOMING CONVERSATIONS:

Wednesday, April 22, 2009

Politics & Communication II

Wednesday, April 29, 2009

7^th Speech Contest

What happened on Wednesday, Wednesday, March 25, 2009 – Theatre IV – Using Your Voice Effectively

This week’s intrepid group Carlisle Yearwood, Charles Mason, James Millner, Lorinda Moore, and Hal Wicke.

Hal made the observation that this session was “training” rather than ‘education.” Where our typical discussions about ideas which people have about a topic, this session focused on specific skills useful for the voice.

Hal described how the voice was placed forward in the mouth when English was spoken. Then he listed the various types of vowel and consonant sounds. Next the group followed Richard Green’s ESL handout explaining when consonants were in the medial (middle) and final positions of a word and were dropped

Then the instruction focused on the breath (excitor), vocal cords/larynx (vibrator) and resonators of the mouth, throat and nasal passages. The six articulators were then identified – tongue, tips, teeth, hard palate, soft palate and alvealor (gum) ridge. The group demonstrated various sounds which were accurate when properly articulated and what happened to the sound when it wasn’t.

The next section was amusing for the group when they worked on various tongue twisters designed to highlight the importance of articulation. “Rubber Baby Buggy Bumpers.” “Theophilus thistle the successful thistle sifter…’ “Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers.

Finally, the group focused on a Department handout on the various aspects of vocal production Volume, Rate, Pitch, Timbre and Variety.

The group energy began to flag after a serious 90 minutes of concentration. There is much more to build on in the development on the voice, particularly in breathing. Now that the group has a basic skill vocabulary, we can explore a number of other vocal areas.

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Let’s not forget Carlisle Yearwood’s IDEA several weeks ago. He suggested we develop a 3x4 index card with basic Touro information on it. We’ll talk more about this in the future.

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

Hal Wicke