October 30, 2015 Communication
A misconception many of us have is that listening is not important. If we are the listener in a conversation we often feel we are fulfilling the least important role. Nothing could be further from the truth. People share with…
Read more
September 18, 2015 Communication
The difficulty with communication in the world today seems largely a matter of how to maintain our privacy when so much of our interaction is open to the public. Technology has caused our most private moments to often be conducted…
Read more
When a relationship starts to die the confusion its demise causes hangs on in the lives of both parties. There is hardly ever an instant recognition of what is happening. Often the end drags on and each person questions what…
Read more
Taking financial advantage of an elderly person is as offensive a crime as abusing a child. As the elderly become more infirm they become vulnerable to those who would attempt to strip them of their autonomy and prey on their…
Read more
April 13, 2015 Friends and Peers
Toxic friendships are often difficult to identify. We find we’ve known someone so long that we hardly notice the affect they are having on our life. However, a truly toxic friendship has the capability of causing a dangerous and troubled…
Read more
April 13, 2015 Friends and Peers
Fair-weather friends are those who come and go and are not to be relied on if and when your going gets tough. They may come around when their going gets tough but when you have similar tough times they are…
Read more
February 28, 2015 Communication
Expressing our opinions is the cornerstone of conducting discussion. However, at times we feel so passionately about our own stand on something that we may take on a more antagonistic tone. This approach leaves no room for anyone else’s input. Rather…
Read more
February 28, 2015 Communication
If you are someone who finds your level of conversation with others to be of low quality, consider becoming more interested in what the other person has to say. Put more of your focus on others and ask questions to…
Read more
February 28, 2015 Communication
No one escapes life without having been humiliated at least once. For most of us we can recollect a few times that we’ve felt small and diminished as others witnessed. These moments may stay with us and run through our psyches…
Read more
February 27, 2015 Communication
In the realm of bizarre elements of communication, the art of up talking is one of the most fascinating. Up talking is a communication practice found primarily in the southern United States. It is an outgrowth of a culture that preferred…
Read more
February 17, 2015 Communication
Neighbors are said to be some of the strongest influences in our life simply because of close proximity. Therefore the simplest deviation from normal day to day neighborliness seems to cause an almost unrealistic reaction. If we’re snubbed by a…
Read more
We live in a world so noisy we don’t even know what silence means. Is there ever a moment when sound, often categorized as noise, isn’t present? Perhaps this is why silence can be so startling. With our need to…
Read more
As more and more families become estranged by distance, many of our elderly are living by themselves. These once very independent people naturally don’t want to give up their homes and change their living situations. But living alone presents other problems…
Read more
December 4, 2014 Communication
At work, we spend upwards of eight hours a day interacting people that we might otherwise have nothing to do with. In this close proximity, anyone’s behavior that steps over the imaginary line of propriety or invades others’ personal space…
Read more
December 4, 2014 Communication
Consideration of what it takes to overcome someone’s passive aggressive behavior seems to set up an adversarial relationship. Overcoming sounds as if we’re attempting to conquer a behavior that is extremely complicated. At best we may only be able to…
Read more
Most businesses have strict no tolerance policies regarding sexual harassment as do colleges and universities. Sexual harassment training and/or orientation programs are in place in many organizations. Therefore when an individual crosses the line, particularly now when awareness about harassment…
Read more
What is shyness? Is it actually something we now call social anxiety disorder or social phobia and is treated with medication? Is it timidity and introversion as opposed to assertiveness and extroversion? Shyness may include all of these identifiers depending…
Read more
The need to share one’s feelings has been promoted for many years as a way to enhance interpersonal communication. If we’re angry we shouldn’t hold it in, if we’re taking issue with someone’s actions we should find a way to…
Read more
Developing long-term relationships with anyone is a painstaking emotional effort of trust. We share ourselves with others in good faith that they will remain in our lives, enhance our lives and compliment our lives just as we will compliment theirs….
Read more
In the early 1970s, the Foxfire books were published as part of an ongoing project at the Rabun Gap Nacoochee School in Georgia. The books consisted of articles the students of teacher, Eliot Wigginton, wrote by conducting ethnographic histories with…
Read more