TouroCommunicationClub.blogspot.com – Meeting #139

Contents:

1. This week’s conversation - “Conspiracy Theory & Critical Thinking”

2. The next conversation – until Fall, 2011 “Your Summer Communication Lesson Plan”

3. Last week’s conversation - postponed until Fall, 2011

This Coming Week – Final program for this semester

1. The Touro Communication Club #139

Tuesday, May 24, 2011- 2:30 p- 4:00 pm – Room 223

Midtown

“Conspiracy Thinking vs. Critical Thinking”

The assassination of Osama Bin Laden on Sunday, May 1, 2011, has produced the inevitable outbreak of people who don’t believe that bin Laden still lives. In recent years it has always become a predictable “fact” that some people will deny any facts that are presented in support of an action or a position.

To be simplistic, for a change, let us group these kinds of people as “Conspiracy Theorists.” The basic pattern of this thinking is to deny any set of facts as untrue. Examples abound: .

· “The end of the earth will arrive on Saturday, May 21, 2011” is only the most recent, or

· President Obama’s birth certificate has been a favorite or

· Global Warming (or climate change as it is now called for the politically correct), or

· Was Lee Harvey Oswald President Kennedy’s killer? or

· Unidentified Flying Objects, or

· and, most dangerously, the Holocaust.

Other everyday circumstances of the denial of factual evidence show up when

· Someone calls you a liar, (Congressman Joe Wilson to President Obama) or

· Someone continues to lie despite the evidence (a current court case), or

· A student shouts at a teacher, “You’re wrong!” among others.

We will attempt to identify these and other issues which are conducive to “Conspiracy Thinking” and examine how “Critical Thinking’ can aid in understanding what and why this occurs. Perhaps a bit of Freud might help, too.

Join us in Thinking Outside the Box!

(Or Just Thinking!)

The Next Conversation – Until Fall, 2011

2. Your Summer Communication Lesson Plan

During the summer, you are on your own to develop your repertoire of communication skills. It’s a 24/7 job – if you want to sharpen your mind. “A Mind is a Terrible Thing to Waste, according to the iconic slogan of the United Negro College Fund.

Keep in mind “You cannot not communicate.” Some messages are obvious. Many are not.

There is much to “look” for with your eyes, ears and the pit of your stomach (that’s Ernest Hemingway’s ‘Crap Detector.”) Watch and listen to the language people use. Watch and listen to their gestures and body language.

Then connect the dots. What does this individual data mean? What does it mean in context? Ask yourself, “Is that the only intended meaning? Or are there other possibilities?” This is not being paranoid. This is analysis.

That was the easy part. Now do the same for what comes out YOUR mouth. Words. Gestures. Body Language. Your dress. This is more difficult because you have to be pro-active, not passive. Think before you speak. Pause a fraction of a second before reacting.

Your Communication Tool Box begins with awareness – inside and outside. As you gather data, look for patterns. Verify the patterns. Once you’ve observed the general outlines, then begin to look for nuances.

Then give your mind a rest. Until the next time.

Last Week’s Conversation – postponed until Fall, 2011

. The Touro Communication Club #138

Tuesday, May 17, 2011- 2:30 p- 4:00 pm – Room 223

Midtown

Student Showcase I – Ms. Lorinda Moore

Anyone who has been around the Midtown site will know Lorinda Moore. Officially, she is Dean Perkal’s Administrative Assistant in Room 301. But she brings a lot to the table besides her million-dollar smile and her helpful, gracious manner. Lorinda is a 2010 Touro graduate who received last year’s Special Recognition Award. She’s now working on her MBA degree at Touro. But there’s much more that you can discover about Lorinda on Tuesday when the Communication Club presents its first Student Showcase.

Discover the inspiring accomplishments of Touro students!

Hal Wicke