The Sound Barrier

Image: Speedworld by Salvatore Vuono courtesy www.freedigitalphotos.net

Hi All!

Back from a longish work related break. Not Holiday, Work, Work, Work.. but it was fun.. lots of thinking and writing and meeting new people, some experimentation.... strange hours... serendipity.. As I said ..Fun! But also lots of new material to work with... so, here we go!

Over the past few weeks had quite a bit of traveling to do. One day I found myself booking tickets over the phone: Here is one hilarious exchange -

I was giving him my name..

and he kept saying p instead of t

so I tried

t for today..

t for thiagarajan.. (what was I thinking!!)

and then a brainwave.. I said t not coffee

then he got it..

then the address came up and what do you know.. another t

again he says p instead of t

But this time he tries to be helpful

and asks 'p as in ball?' !!!

I couldn't help it.. I burst out laughing a little bit

then again the whole repeat of

t for today etc..

once again he got it at t not coffee..!!

In sub-skills of language learning there is something called 'decoding'. This term applies to converting symbols/letters into relevant sounds adding up to meaningful words. Here, the opposite was happening, sounds to letters. But the clincher was that it was happening through two different languages: English and Tamil. The person on the other end was clearly reverse decoding from Tamil, where ball and pall are scripted using the same letters. This happens with any set of languages in the world, in fact the language itself does not matter. What matters is how the early childhood symbol to sound decoding happened.

What has this got to do with professional communication you ask?

One of the many questions I got from readers is that, how can I learn to speak (a language) more fluently?

I have said this many, many times before.. and repeat it yet again here.. the best way is to listen to native speakers.

If you cannot go to Rome to learn Italian, watch Italian movies without subtitles.

So, Italian is not on your top 5 in the list of things to do this year?

Same goes for English, American, British, Australian...any flavour!

Switch off the subtitle option. Slowly, your ear will become accustomed to the sounds. Apart from relocating to Rome, or New York, or Stratford-on-Avon, this is the best and cost effective way to learn to speak a language almost like a native.

As you saw above, the earlier in life you start, the better it is. Therefore, as an adult professional you have to catch up. So choose the smart way, use technology: listen to podcasts, radio on the internet. Remember to choose subjects that interest you. Today there are many almost free options to choose from.

And of course, my favorite plan of action ---(Drum roll here).. PRACTICE..

(Did you think there could be anything else? No, right? Good to hear!)

If you are curious about that t for thiagarajan bit above.. I am not sure why I chose that sure-to- fail option.. but the best explanation is that the I was trying to get T Nagar !!

Thanks all for those who wrote in with your theme requests. Do keep them coming. My email id is at the top of the blog.

Your feedback on the pictures and new look, too, please!

Thank you for reading!

See you more often in the coming weeks!

Gayatri

Dawn.. a brand new beginning!

Tree, Sunrise, Northumberland from www.freefoto.com under Creative Common License with thanks to the artist.

Hi all!

I am very happy to be back from a longish vacation. I do this about twice a year, where I shut down all that I do and focus on just being in the present. It is a reflective time for me, where I wind down completely and take up no new tasks. It helps me to take a close look at how the things I am involved with fit into my larger view of life. As a result, I completely give up some of the activities after careful review. This blog was one of them.

The good news.. the blog stays. I was going through all your mails and comments and I find that it has helped a few people and I thought, as long as that is happening, there is value in my work. So, I am back with a new look, more pictures and more theme based posts.

Since it is the festive season, let me start by sharing some more good news.

Do you remember those pesky drills that your language teacher used to make your go through.. those declensions, and conjugations, compound sentences, active, passive and what not. If you are old enough to remember the 80s, the book of choice for those drills for teaching English Grammar was Wren and Martin. My teacher used to tell the class " Do all the exercises from pages 284, 286 287, 289-293, by Monday. There goes the weekend, unless you found somebody to join a 'group study' or take it on the chin or palm on Monday!

Well, the good news is that Jack Lynch, a professor of English at Rutgers University, has written a book called the 'Lexicographer's Dilemma'. Good for him ... you say.. but why is that good news for me, the very patient reader?

Well, according to reports, the book tells us that English grammar is an organic, growing thing. Therefore it is much more flexible than what our language teachers and text books have told us all these years. What is important is that the message be understood in the way it was intended. It is not necessary to have perfect grammar at all times!.

Whew, that is a big relief, isn't it?

I am glad that I was able to share this with you in this new revamped blog.

Keep those mails and comments coming. I would also welcome suggestions for themes and any areas you would particularly like to focus on.

See you next week, mid week.

Gayatri

Happy Diwali!

Outside in!

Hi All!

How was the pause? Do you feel refreshed? Research has shown that a good break is good for learning. To your refreshed selves, here is today's lesson!

So far I have been advocating making changes from within. Changing from within is ideal. It has a better a chance of making the change permanent.
However, not all of us are made alike. Some of us may want to take a test drive first, before making anything permanent.

That is fine, perfectly fine.

So let us imagine that you want to learn to be a good listener. As an aspiring management professional, listening well is a key skill. The internal change here is to want to know people and their feelings.
This might be an overwhelming change for many people.

The solution then, is to start with the mechanics of listening.

Listen to the message completely.
This means you have to keep your own thoughts in check until the speaker completes the point.
Next, confirm your understanding.
Ask for clarifications at this point, if you need to.
Then you respond.
When you form your response, try to see if you have any idea of the person's feelings. See if you can acknowledge that in your response.
Now, practice doing thise each time you have a serious conversation.
Then track the results.

If you see value in this behaviour, then you can make the change permanent, right?


Try this with other things that you may want to change.

Keep me posted on your progress.

See you all next week!

Gayatri

Power of the pause

Hi All,

Back again, though not a bad penny I hope!



With all the exercises that we have been going through over the last week. This week, I am taking a pause. No exercises. No thinking. Just simple fun stuff.

One of the fun things to look at before starting your work day is the quotations that pop up on igoogle. This is an addon that is available from igoogle and each day it send you somewhat humourous and sometimes satirical quotations from the famous and not so famous personalities.

Here is one that I liked today : Has the right touch of humour, the disarming kind.

"If I were two-faced, would I be wearing this one?" Abraham Lincoln

There are other sources too.

Here are a couple from elswhere.. enjoy them for a chuckle, or use them to impress.



The one below surely is a mantra for modern corporate life.. one of those aha moments..

"The greatest challenge to any thinker is stating the problem in a way that will allow a solution."
.. and this one is by Bertrand Russell.

And this .... a good one to keep in mind when walking through the maze of the corporate world.

"When you say you agree to a thing in principle you mean that you have not the slightest intention of carrying it out in practice." Bismark

Reminds me of Sir Humphrey in the Yes Minister series.


Take a deep breath, forget those exercises for the week and give your mind a rest!


See you next week

Gayatri

Listening Challenge.. phase 2

Hi All!

Here we are back again.. pushing our limits. Yes, yes.. I understand that it has been a tough couple of weeks. After all we have got a solid jolt to our confidence in the powers that be. The swine flu is one thing.. but to lose track of a CM for hours.. if it can happen to CMs what about mere mortals like us, asked a friend. She is right. We are mere mortals. Well, as the Americans say, that which does not kill us, only makes us stronger.


However, there are many things we can do for ourselves without waiting for the power that be.
So here we are at phase 2 of the challenge.

As you listened to the speaker, focus on the thought process behind the words, then try to figure out the feelings behind it.

You will find that with some imagination and a large dose of empathy, you will be able to arrive at the feeling.

Now, take courage in your hands and ask the speaker 'I see that you are feeling (sad, disappointed, happy, stressed..)'

And wait for the rewards.

What the rewards are, you will have to wait for the next phase of the challenge.

Those of you who have responded with your experience, thank you so much for sharing. Please let me know if I can publish it.
Looking forward to more of your experiences and as much detail as you are comfortable with.

See you all!


Gayatri

A Prime Speak Challenge

Hi All,



We are moving towards the more heavier skills in communication.



I thought it is time we had a challenge round.. (yeah yeah.. I too have been watching some reality TV. )



Try this experiment:



When others are talking to you. Suspend all other thoughts for atleast a minute or two and focus on the person talking.



Now don't scare them off by staring open jawed at them, I mean mentally focus.. we are not talking about hynotism here.



Don't think of a response, don't think of your next appointment or whether you had forgotten to pay a bill and most importantly don't look at your mobile.



Then when you find your attention flagging.. repeat. Remember everyone's mind wanders after a while, so just drag it back into the conversation.



Easy, right?



Here comes the tough part. For this challenge, this conversation cannot be about something that benefits you or cannot be about you. The person should be talking about something that is relevant to his or her life.



However, do practice on other types of conversations.



What say you?



Are you up to the challenge?





Send those mails.. and comments to share, I enjoy them, and so do others reading this blog.





Next week, I will share with you why this is so important. It includes promotions and leadership.... ( ha..now you are interested, eh?)





All the best!







See you next week!





Gayatri