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This month's e-Newsletter highlights:
The Marketing Co-op's e-Newsletter is produced by Breeze Hill Publishing. This
month's edition is presented by: Featured
Columnist:
Speak from the Heart: Chapter 9 – Small Talk Pays Big Dividends It’s interesting that we’ve come to describe casual conversation as “small talk” “chitchat” “idle conversation.” I don’t see it that way. The way we talk about “small” things can pay big dividends. The ability to comfortably and easily converse with different people in a variety of settings is a communication tool that can’t be ignored because it deeply affect the quality of our interactions with family, peers, colleagues, and customers. Conversation is a major piece of the communication equation. Many people believe that they “just aren’t good conversationalists.” They’re convinced that being able to make easy small talk and keep a conversation going and interesting is something that comes naturally to a select group of lucky people. I don’t buy it. Unless you’re painfully shy (which accounts for a very small percentage of the population), this feeling grows largely from the insecurity of not knowing exactly how to do it. We think the ability to make “idle” conversation in social or business situations is a gift, when in fact it is a skill. I’ve worked hard at becoming a better conversationalist and have found that sometimes it’s a tough thing to do. Think of someone in your family or business who is a good conversationalist. What are the qualities and skills that make this person stand out? If that person is truly good he or she knows how to make other people feel an equal part of the conversation. He or she knows how and when to ask open- or closed-ended questions. He or she knows how to listen and how to disagree but keep the conversation going. A good conversationalist is usually a genuinely curious person. Someone who wants to know more. Someone who doesn’t think he or she already has all the answers. Someone who is aware of some of the subtle but powerful things that open others up or shut them down (like the body language of crossing your arms across your chest while another person is talking). Someone who has good eye contact and who leans forward occasionally to let the person he or she is talking to feel that he or she truly is interested. A good conversationalist is also someone who doesn’t need to hog the spotlight and isn’t seduced by the sound of his or her own voice. This is an important point that is often misunderstood. Some of the worst conversationalists talk a lot, but that doesn’t make a good conversation. Big talkers often don’t know how to listen, and they don’t know how to make other people feel engaged and involved. In a good conversation there’s a balance between listening and talking, between how much you talk and how much the other person talks. Once you gain the tools necessary to become a better conversationalist, you will see immediate benefits in all areas of your life—in the quality of your relationships, in your professional life, and in your ability to grow as a person. From SPEAK FROM THE HEART by Steve Adubuto. Copyright (c) 2002 by Steve Adubuto. Published by arrangement with The Free Press, a division of Simon & Schuster, Inc., NY. Click here to return to the top of the page Member
Spotlight:
COMMSULT Communications is an industry leading technology consulting organization offering a comprehensive portfolio of services. At one end of the spectrum, COMMSULT provides Project & Technology Management which coordinates both the construction and technological functions of any design / build project. The company's experience provides the necessary structure ensuring that the necessary checks and balances are in place to deliver a cost effective and coordinated project. Completing the portfolio of services are the project components of telephony, data networking, cabling, facility wide networks, local and wide area networks and video network integration systems. Incorporated into each portfolio of services, COMMSULT maintains a structured approach that breaks large complicated projects into well-defined and manageable phases with associated tasks to ensure timely completion of deliverables. When a company has outgrown its present environment and is contemplating the multitude of choices, COMMSULT offers a "single point of contact" as a service provider and strategic partner to companies with multi-vendor and multi-site networks. COMMSULT Communications is superbly qualified to assist clients in minimizing the risk of making difficult IT decisions. Investment in technology properly managed, designed and deployed stimulates business growth increasing market share and boosting profitability through improved productivity and reduced costs. COMMSULT Communications can be found on the web at: www.commsult.com Click here to return to the top of the page
Artist Spotlight
Based in Lincoln, Nebraska, Mikasen has exhibited regionally, nationally and internationally. Her work was recently included in the Museum of Nebraska Art’s contemporary art invitational RSVP/MONA, honoring significant artists in the state. Mikasen is very enthusiastic about using The Marketing Co-op to promote an upcoming touring exhibition that will feature two of her works. NEW MATH: Contemporary Art and the Mathematical Instinct, curated by Peter Spooner, is organized by the Tweed Museum of Art at the University of Minnesota Duluth. The show runs from November 4, 2003 - January 11, 2004 at the Tweed Museum then travels to Rutgers University, Camden, NJ, February 2 - March 27, 2004, and the University of Richmond Museum, Richmond, Virginia, October - December 2004. The exhibition will include Mikasen’s painting The Aleph, which is featured on The Marketing Co-op’s December Artistic Impressions postcard. More about Marjorie Mikasen, her paintings and artistic experience can be found at http://chem-mgriep2.unl.edu/Hardedge.html. Click here to return to the top of the page Click here to return to the main Newsletter Archive page to access other newsletter issues. |
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