Communication Research

http://www.housesittingjobs.com/blog/12-secrets-for-maintaining-a-happy-marriage-after-kids/ Here's an interesting list of advice for a happier relationship after children, much of it useful communication advice. My concern is the post's limitation to "marriage." Are these "12 secrets" not applicable to domestic partnerships or other relationship types? It's a good example of how marginalized "non-marriage" relationships are.  

  An old television game show from the 1950s, Name that Tune , pitted 2 contestants against each other. The objective was for one contestant to name the tune the orchestra would play in fewer notes than could the other contestant. In this exercise, the objective is similar; it�s to find reliable information most efficiently, in as few mouse clicks or in as short a time as possible. For example, you might count the number of mouse clicks (or touches of a touch screen) as one point each. [Typing words into a search engine would be free and wouldn�t cost any points.] The more clicks you use, the less efficient your search. Another measure of research efficiency and one that would be easier to use in the classroom would be the time it takes to find the answer.   The learning objective here is for students to acquire efficient research strategies to find reliable information in an interesting and active way, in a way that will engage them rather than put them to sleep�as most ...

Here�s an interesting little piece ( http://www.nanny.net/blog/10-ways-to-make-a-first-date-the-best-date-ever/ ), offering ten suggestions, for making the first date a memorable one. Among the suggestions are �be your best self,� �live in the moment,� �don�t apply too much pressure,� �keep your schedule flexible,� and�perhaps most important��have a conversation, don�t perform a monologue.� Asking students to identify the characteristics of a great first date and then comparing them to this list would make a great introduction to the discussion of interpersonal relationships.

An interesting interview with Brenda S. Sprague, the State Department�s deputy assistant secretary for passport services in Sunday�s New York Times (February 3, 2013), Travel, p. 3 provides lots of insights for intercultural communication and useful tips for the traveler. Most useful is the suggestion to visit the website www.travel.state.gov . It provides a wealth of information on specific countries along with travel warnings. Today�s warnings, for example, were for the Philippines, Afghanistan, and El Salvador. Another useful tip is to enroll in STEP (Smart Travel Enrollment Program). This will provide you with information on the places you plan to visit as well as travel warnings and weather alerts. I learned two other things from this interview. First, your health insurance will usually not cover you in a foreign country, nor will Medicare. And even if you will get reimbursed from your insurance company, foreign hospitals generally want payment upfront. In special cases, the gover...

Here's a great little piece on politeness for children http://www.hireananny.org/blog/proper-etiquette-rules-for-any-child-perhaps-yours sent to me by the marketing department of "Hire a Nanny." Discussed here are politeness suggestions for dining, phone etiquette, conversation, using politeness expressions, talking "nicely," and showing gratitude. Not surprisingly, these are the same topics discussed for politeness in general.

Leading Questions about Leadership Here is a brief but very clever excerpt from a new book by Teri and Mike Gamble, Leading with Communication (Sage, 2013). What is leadership? Who is a leader? Do you have what it takes to be a leader? Though questions like these are asked over and over again, many of us remain confused about leadership�s nature and our own potential for leadership. For example, where do you stand when it comes to answering this question: Can we all exercise leadership, or is it reserved only for those �special� persons at an organization�s top? Because of our society�s �culture of celebrity� many of us regard leaders as being special people�extremely attractive, charismatic, and personable individuals who others find themselves attracted to and decide to follow. Such a perception makes Ashton Kutcher and Lady Gaga leaders. After all, millions of people have chosen to follow each of them on Twitter. We need only point to the number of citizens who vote for candidates ...

Here is a brief list of things to do to help a child who is bullied. As you'll see it revoles largely around communication and can easily be applied to other age groups in other situations. Bullying is not limited to the school yard.   http://www.gonannies.com/blog/2013/how-to-help-a-child-who-is-being-bullied/

Here is a great collection of blogs addressing the general area of dealing with difficult people. There seems to be something here for everyone--we all seem to have to deal with difficult people at one time or another. 30 Blogs on How to Handle Difficult People | Nanny Service

Here's a wonderful post on bullying sent to me by the author. http://www.needtoknowit.org/selfdefense/school-bullying It contains practical how-to advice.

  In a recent article of The Ethicist in the NYTimes ( http://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/23/magazine/laptop-prop.html?ref=theethicist&_r=0 ) a question was raised about the ethics of laptops being positioned in front of television newscasters if they are there to convey the impression of being up-to-the-minute (but not for actual use). It�s an interesting example of artifactual communication being used to influence credibility.             A second part of the question concerned the ethics of displaying the computer company logo. Is this advertising (product placement), the writer asked, ethical for a news show? In the answer to this question Chuck Klosterman, the ethicist, says that the display of a logo or the mention of a particular designer�s name does not constitute advertisement if there is no payment and if the person has no intention of advertising. This, it seems to me, is true from only one point of view, that of th...

Speech Rehearsal Often we advise students to rehearse their speeches five or six times which often seems to students to be a lot. In a recent NYTimes ( http://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/23/magazine/jerry-seinfeld-intends-to-die-standing-up.html ) article, it noted that Seinfeld (a communication major from Queens College, btw) rehearsed his five-minute set for the Tonight Show 200 times. Now, that�s a lot.  

Words of 2012 The New York Times annually identifies new words of the year. Invariably there are several communication terms: Dox Eastwooding MOOC Nomophobia Sway Unskew Dox = an abeviated form of "documents" or "to document" Eastwooding = talking to a chair MOOC = an acronymn for Massive Open Online Course Nomophobia = fear of being without a cell phone Sway = an attitude of confidence and style Unskew = to rework data to suit particular beliefs

  Here is a guest post written by Leah DeCesare. Leah DeCesare is a writer and blogger ( www.MothersCircle.net)  writing about perspectives on parenting from a mother of three, educator and doula. She is a certified birth and postpartum doula as well as childbirth educator and Certified Lactation Counselor, serving families in Rhode Island. Leah is currently conducting the Mother�s Circle Young Women�s Birth Survey open to 18-26 year olds ( https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/youngwomensbirthsurvey .) She is the Co-Founder and Co-President of Doulas of Rhode Island, a past DONA International Northeast Regional Director and she volunteers with Families First RI.   Meta Description: I like to talk. I talk to connect and get closer to people. Most people like to talk. Connecting is human, talking is still our most genuine way of connecting. I like to talk. I talk to connect and get closer to people. What I�ve realized is most people like to talk - and talk a lot. People talk...

Strategies for Power Here is a discussion of the communication of power which I wrote for my 50 Communication Strategies book and that I thought might be of interest to a wide variety of readers.   Power is the ability of one person to influence what another person thinks or does. You have power over another person to the extent that you can influence what this person thinks or what this person does. And, conversely, another person has power over you to the extent that he or she can influence what you think or do. Perhaps the most important aspect of power to recognize is that power is asymmetrical : If one person has greater power, the other person must have less. If you are stronger than another person, then this person is weaker than you. If you are richer, then the other person must be poorer. In any one area�for example, strength or financial wealth�one person has more and, inevitably and by definition, the other person has less (is weaker or poorer).   The varied type...