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Custom Cards Now Available

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Featured Columnist:
Steve Adubato, PhD.

Steve Adubato, PhD., has enjoyed a distinguished career as a broadcaster, author, university professor, and motivational speaker. His book with Theresa Foy DiGeronimo is called "Speak from the Heart: Be Yourself and Get Results" and demonstrates that being a great communicator is about making an authentic connection with people, it is not simply about being "a good talker." What follows is an excerpt from from his book.

Speak from the Heart: Chapter 2 – Lecture Less; Engage More

What comes to your mind when you hear the word “lecture”? Probably nothing pleasant. Parents lecture. College professors lecture. And bosses often lecture. To me, lecture means: “I talk; you listen. I am the expert. You’ll get everything you need to know if you just shut up, pay attention, and don’t interrupt me.” Rather than speaking with you, the lecturer speaks at you, and it is rarely effective. That’s why lecturing is a communication tool you rarely, if ever, want to use.

Now I imagine that many of you may already be saying, “I don’t lecture.” We know lecturing has a bad connotation and we don’t want to be accused of being boring. But think about your last speech or presentation or even a recent conversation. Who did all the talking? If the answer is you, then sorry to say, you’ve fallen into the habit of one-way communication, and that’s a lecture.

But there is an easy way out of the lecture trap: Learn how to engage your audience. Engage has a very positive connotation (except perhaps to those who are deathly afraid of getting married!). It means connecting with: Engage me; talk with me not at me. Have a conversation with me. Dictionaries say that “engage” means to draw into, involve, to take part or be active in. That’s my definition of good communication. To be effective, communication has to be an active, two-way experience.

If saying “Any questions?” at the end of your speech is your style of engagement, it’s time to rethink your communication style.

From SPEAK FROM THE HEART by Steve Adubato. Copyright (c) 2002 by Steve Adubato. Published by arrangement with The Free Press, a division of Simon & Schuster, Inc., NY.

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Member Spotlight:
NJBiz

NJBiz strives to be the leading provider of business news and information about New Jersey companies and the New Jersey economy. The company publishes a weekly newspaper and also distributes information through books, Internet site and other media.

NJBiz provides comprehensive columns, features and lists in relation to New Jersey real estate, health care, technology, banking and finance. NJBiz is also the premier resource for press releases, business links and area events at which attendees and sponsors are able to meet and network with New Jersey's top companies' executives and area business professionals.

The online site of NJBiz allows you to access stories, area happenings, and archived information originally included in the print edition released weekly.

Available in electronic format for download each week, the NJBiz Virtual Edition is a digital version of the print publication New Jersey business people have come to rely on each week. Now that same business news, interesting features and valuable insight is in a format that replicates the look and feel of the print edition.Get a jump on the competition by having NJBiz delivered right to your computer

To learn more about NJBiz, sponsored events, industry links and more, visit www.njbiz.com.

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Artist Spotlight
Aljira, a Center for Contemporary Art

Twenty years ago, artist Victor L. Davson and Carl E. Hazlewood envisioned Aljira, a Center for Contemporary Art as a place, which would embody the essence of its etymological roots. By selecting the name Aljira, the Australian Aboriginal word for dreamtime, the founders defined the heart of Aljira’s mission, a mission that embraces the concepts of timelessness and open possibilities—ideas inherent in the creative process.

Aljira, a Center for Contemporary Art, fosters excellence in the visual arts through exhibitions and educational programs that serve as catalysts for inclusiveness and diversity, promote cross-cultural dialog, and enable us to better understand the time in which we live. Public understanding and support of the visual arts are strengthened through collaboration and community-based educational programming. Aljira seeks out the work of emerging and under-represented artists and brings the work of more established artists to our community. Through the visual arts Aljira bridges racial, cultural and ethnic divides and enriches the lives of individuals.

At Aljira's core is the exhibition of the work of emerging and under-represented artists. This includes the promotion of art perceived as problematic by mainstream institutions. The current exhibition space at 591 Broad Street in Newark, New Jersey has revitalized Aljira's ability to exhibit such work.

Aljira opens possibilities and plays an integral role in the professional life of many artists.

For more information about Aljira, its featured artists and exhibits, please visit http://www.aljira.org.

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