A Perception Reminder...for Myself!

This coming Saturday, November 1st, I am celebrating a tradition.  For the past three Halloweens, my husband, friend Sarah, and her husband Steve, and I have all gone to ValleyScare. The four of us love Halloween and getting spooked.  We thought we would do something different this year, so we are going to Scream Town (here's the site). I'm really excited! But there is one part that has me nervous. One of the attractions has you walking though an unlit forest where monsters and things jump out at you. I'm partially night blind, so that makes me extra-sensative to stuff like that.  I'm thinking I'll have to do some perception-checks with myself; I'll have to continually remind myself that it isn't real...over and over. I'm thinking I will survive okay.

If anyone reading this has done Scream Town in the Cities, please let me know if you have any advice or suggestions for making the best of it!

Still confused on envy vs. jealousy?

This is a really tough topic.  For most of us, we've been using the word "jealous" incorrectly our WHOLE LIVES.  As a review, envy is wanting something you don't have.  You may envy someone's car, job, clothes, happiness, grade, etc.  Jealousy is an extreme and even aggressive or violent fear related to losing someone that you see as "yours."  You may became jealous of a significant other or friend if he/she suddenly starts spending more time with someone else or gives someone else more attention than you.  People may get emotionally charged and do something crazy when they are jealous (think of all the psycho exboyfriends or exgirlfriends in movies). That emotionally charged reaction doesn't happen with envy. 

Here's how another girl puts it:

Blue Man Group

This blog post was inspired by one of Jonathan's blogs.  He recently saw Blue Man Group, and he commented on how great they are at nonverbal communication. I completely agree! I saw Blue Man Group in Las Vegas a number of years ago when they performed at the Luxor.  They are awesome at communicating without saying a word, much like Mr. Bean. Here's a great example of them communicating nonverbally:

Cardio Kick Boxing

One of my favorite things about Mondays is my Cardio Kick Boxing class.  Due to conferences and coronation, I haven't been able to for for a few weeks; I missed it! There were about five more people in the class than usual, which made the room a little tighter than usual.  The room has a wooden floor, and two of the four walls are made of mirrors.  The new members in the class were sending all kinds of nonverbal communication through their body movements and facial expressions.  You could tell when they were getting frustrated, exhausted, and ready to give up.  I tried to toss an encouraging smile when I could, but I was working pretty hard myself.  That class really makes me sweat, but I love the release it gives, too. 

Not my class, but similar.  Source: http://www.montclair.edu/web_gallery/data/original/Cardio_Kickboxing_15.JPG

Power Talk!

Zac Delventhal came in and spoke to our class today about communication and effective listening.  There were a couple things he talked about that really stuck out to me.

1)  First, he talked about mimicking people to increase your likeability.  This is something I could have applied a few of nights ago at Parent/Teacher Conferences. I know that sometimes I get excited and start talking quickly; this could be really off-putting for a parent that goes at a slower pace in life or doesn't get excited about the same things I do.  In the future, I'll be more aware of how others present themselves verbally and nonverbally so I can mimic it to make the other person feel more comfortable.

2)  Zac also made a good point about smiles and how those smiles can make others feel more comfortable and even liked.  I can list a couple students in each class who are really good about smiling and nodding heads to assure me they are both listening and understanding.  If I feel that I'm losing the attention or focus of the class as a whole, I'll often go back to my smilers and head-nodders to see if they are still with me for reassurance.  A smile is a powerful thing.  Nonverbal signals that communicate effective listening are powerful, too.

So, that's what stood out to me from Zac's presentation. What stood out to you? 

Even cartoons do it...

My 10th grade English class is currently preparing for their persuasive essays. Today was focused on talking about internal citations and works cited pages.  As part of the preparation, we watch a few videos. I've been using the video below for years, but after after talking about paralanguage earlier today, I really noticed how much both characters use it.  Which character do you think expresses more?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=he7vaf1UKPY&feature=related

Ethics Survey Results

Today in class I posted an Ethics Survey to give students a chance to think about the words they use (or don't use) when their morals are being tested.  After the students were finished, it was requested that I complete the survey too, so I did.  Out of the 10 questions, I had 4 As and 6 Bs, so almost an even split.  This doesn't surprise me too much. When it comes to the people I care about, I will go for the A response every time so that I am doing what is in their best interests. When the consequences to my actions don't affect those who are close to me or a part of my daily life, then I gravitated toward the B responses.  I suspect that if I took this same ethics survey while in college, there would have been less A responses.  As a high school student, I would have most likely had one or two more A responses, or I would have had the same results as today.  How I can use this as a communicator is to simply think about the consequences to my words and actions before I respond to any situation; it's not easy, but it is important to successful communication.