Contextual Communication,
Organization and Training
Revised and Up-dated 2019!
Available at Amazon now
by Diane M. Hoffmann, ph.d.
296-page, 6 x 9 softcover,
100 ways and ideas and 15 "Tools-within-the-Tools" to improve your communication skills at work by 50-100%
But we still have problems communicating.
Why? Because of the MISSING LINK.
In just a moment, you will hear about this most important operative element that’s been ignored by most of us for as long as I’ve been fascinated with the communication business.
Hi ... This is Diane Hoffmann, author of the 296-page book Contextual Communication, Organization and Training - the book on improving your personal communication skills - verbal and non-verbal.
The world of work is loaded with true stories and examples of situations that are filled with non-communication, careless communication, indifferent communication and, mostly, out-of-context communication.
These true stories are typical of, or similar to, many other untold stories that have left and continue to leave people at all levels to make up the bulk -- 80% (and over)-- of the unhappy workers in our national workforce.
Just think how many times you are frustrated by either your boss, your peers, your spouse, your children... on a daily basis...
How many times are you misunderstood? How many times do you have to explain that you didn't mean something the way it was perceived or received by your listener?
How many times at work (or anywhere) have you been interrupted to never have had the chance to get back to that important dialogue where you wanted to clear yourself of a misunderstanding? Often, even the explanation of a misunderstanding is misunderstood or received with arguments -- sometimes angrily, sometimes silently.
How many times have you kept silent rather than risking offending someone as you would genuinely try to find out where a misunderstanding came from, or try to explain your position.
It doesn’t matter if you are an employee, a manager, an executive, a mom or dad at home, or a teenager, a leader of a non-profit organization, employed or unemployed -- everyone has some degree of frustration over miscommunication or misunderstanding. That's why we need to read Contextual Communication, Organization and Training.
Experts in communication linguistics tell us that relationships are often made, maintained and broken through talk. They study how people learn to use language with different ethnic, religious or class backgrounds -- even within male and female peculiar differences.
It is even said that a high percentage of people in prisons are there because they’ve had difficulties expressing their real feelings inside, and have been misunderstood throughout their lives.
Who doesn’t want to achieve this...
...in our personal lives:
*Greater efficiency.
*Less misunderstandings.
*Better relationships.
*Better environments.
*A better feeling about ourselves.
*Self-esteem, confidence...
...in business:
*Happier employees.
*Higher morale.
*Happier customers.
*Better productivity.
*Better corporate and personal results.
*Higher top and bottom sales and profits figures...
An insatiable quest
One of the reasons for our insatiable quest for more courses and seminars on communication is that most teachings have focused on the sender. We train the one who sends the communication to another how to do it more effectively -- BUT we don’t train the other how to receive communication.In Contextual Communication, Organization and Training I cover extensively how both parties in communication have a responsibility to transmit and interpret effectively.
We’ve been placing the responsibility on the sender-only for too long. This has disarmed the receivers to the point where senders are afraid to say anything for fear of offending them. It’s time we began to exercise programs to build our communication muscles both ways.
At last, Contextual Communication, Organization and Training is a book that brings something new to communication!
Now you can read about contextual active sending and contextual active receiving, understanding communication in a new light, and meeting the missing link.
- whether you are the party who needs to improve on communication, or one who needs to help someone else improve on communication, or one who needs to understand those who do not know how to communicate effectively, you will find every page riveting.
The first question people ask me when they hear about the book is,
"What is the missing link?"
Well, let me tell you.
It’s no big secret, nor is it magical or new. It let’s us understand in a new light, but it’s not new. It’s something that’s been there all along BUT NOBODY THINKS ABOUT IT!
And it is ineffective until we are made aware of it.
But once it’s pointed out and it is understood, IT IS SO POWERFUL that it can change our whole way of thinking -- our whole philosophy on communicating and understanding -- as it did for me -- both when we are sending and when we are receiving communication.
The missing link to current communication is the contextual part.
Being aware of the contextual part of communication is the responsibility to think before sending or receiving. It means to always bring into the picture the recognition of the immediate surrounding of a given communication.
When we’re in a difficult communication situation, the question for us to always ask is this: "What is the context of the communication situation I'm in?"
As in a book where the text is the actual group of words being read, the context is the surrounding information, the details, the story, the places, the characters, etc.
One dictionary describes "contextual" as, a "depending on or belonging to the context". And "context" as, "the parts immediately next to a specified word or passage determining its exact situation, background or environment relevant to a particular event, personality, creation etc."
Communication is never independent of context.
The context is always there. The key -- the MISSING LINK -- is to recognize this context and to be aware of it. We have been ignoring it for as long as I can remember any communication seminars I've attended.
Contextual Communication, Organization and Training shows you extensively how to recognize that most essential part of communication.
We must begin to look for and see the surroundings of our communications and the people we communicate with, if we want effective communication. The context is what determines the situation, the background, the environment of the communicators relevant to what they are communicating.
| Here are two story examples of out-of-context communication. Personal set-up: Two people met at a work station in the accounting department of a company and began to discuss a community project idea. Jane said "Let’s meet over a cup of coffee to pursue this idea further after work. Do you know the Little Café upstairs in the grocery store across the road?" "Yes, I do", Helen responded. They spent another few minutes talking and Jane wrapped up by saying, "OK, let’s met upstairs at 4:30." Helen returned to her station in the marketing department on the second floor of the building. At 4:30, Jane made her way to the Little Café upstairs in the grocery store. She waited for her friend to meet her. But Helen didn’t show up. After some time, Jane was ready to leave when Helen came running up. What had happened is, when Jane said "OK, let’s meet upstairs at 4:30", Helen thought she meant upstairs in the marketing department. After fifteen minutes of waiting, she suddenly remembered their conversation about the Café across the road, and quickly dashed over -- just on time to catch her friend! The misunderstanding happened at the moment when the two were in different context. One was under the context of "upstairs in the grocery store" and the other was under the context of "upstairs at the company". Business set-up: Two people were talking about a quality control issue. The marketing manager (the Sender) brought up a customer's complaint of a faulty switch, to the production people. The production manager (the Receiver) took a look at the switch and stated that the problem came from a certain worker's station. The production manager confided that there was a long-standing issue with this incompetent employee which was not dealt with by management. The marketing manager asked how the situation could be rectified (with the customer focus in mind). But the production manager replied that he couldn't do anything about it until the individual was terminated by top management. The focus was now switched on internal problems. The sales department needed to satisfy the customer. Customers don't care about internal problems -- they want the service or product they paid for. The argument continued, both people talking from a different point of view -- or from a different context. The key is to both communicators to stay within the same context. The context here is the customer. |
In "Contextual Communication, Organization and Training", you will find 15 Tools-within-the-Tools(c) of communication, and more than 100 ways and ideas to improve communication by 50-100 % in your business, organization or at home.
Here's the List of Content for your information...
Communication & its process.
Communication & its process.
Some of the topics discussed:
# What is communication?
# Super high-touch in super high-tech
# The missing link to current communication:
the Contextual part
# Process of communication
# Silent signs and wonders of communication
# Bits & Pieces on communication
-No rush means what?
-Do interrupt, please!
-What's in a pointing finger?
-A room without a smile is like a day without sunshine.
-What's a department for?
-An example of an out-of-context e-mail.
-An example of an out-of-context conversation.
How do we communicate now?
Some of the topics discussed:
# How do we communicate now?
# TWT #1 The 1-11 measuring scale
# TWT #2 The 2Xtremes analysis
# How ought we to communicate?
# TWT #3 The 3-D communication
# TWT #4 The Focus of argument
# One-sided communication
Beyond active Listening.
Some of the topics discussed:
# Beyond Active Listening
# TWT #5, Smart Questioning
# To probe or not to probe
# TWT#6, the LAC or WAC tool
# Confidentiality is a responsibility
Contextual Communication.
Some of the topics discussed:
# Contextual communication
# The 3-Piles Mind Management
# Assumptions, Cop-outs and Memory lapses
# TWT#7 Want/Don't Want
# TWT#8 The 360o theory
# TWT#9 The 1/99 Ratio
# TWT#10 The 80/20 Ratio
# TWT#11 The 3-3-3 Sounding
Inter-Personalities and Management Styles.
Some of the topics discussed:
# Inter-Personalities and Management Styles
# Basic Management styles
# Personalities
# TWT #12 The 4-P tool
# Development stages of Production Material
# Example story of lack of recognition and the responsibility of confidentiality
# More examples of sloppy communication
# In closing
# Communiction, Part 2, Organization and Training
Contextual Organization.
Some of the topics discussed:
# Difference between organization and contextual organization
# Visual understanding
# The DOC© six basic organizational divisions
# The DOC© five levels of line management
# Foundations for intentional job descriptions
# Discussions on the Executive organizational division Environment for effective communication
# Discussions on the Marketing organizational division
# TWT #13 Enthusiasm
# Discussions on the Production organizational division, More emphasis on face-to-face communication
# Discussions on the Finance organizational division, Figures don't lie !
# Discussions on the Administration organizational division Ratio of clerical to management activities
# Discussions on the Personnel organizational division, A company's most valuable assets are still its employees
Contextual Training.
Some of the topics discussed:
# The three most important elements in communication improvement
# Training and Contextual Training
# Continuity of job functions
# Continuous training not all-day training only
# What's a genuine mistake?
# Training within the context of levels
# Coaching and recognition
# Training in a group
# Training for results
# TWT #14, the 7-Points Problem Solving
# Training and handling temporary staff
# More bits and pieces on training
-It pays to bite your tongue and hold your pride.
-Speak of the problem not the person.
-If you care for your people.
-Tone alone can do it.
-Want to impress others?
-Huff and puff and blow the house down.
-Search a lost word.
-Don't shoot your marshals.
-On teaching adults.
-Motivate communication.
-Influence attitude.
-New person’s first days.
-The human computer.
-Stand by your staff.
-Inconsistent messages.
-Super responsibility.
-Give people tools as well as training.
-What if I don't want to.
-Everyone has his/her own strength and weakness.
-On perfection.
-There is no such thing as "a perfectionist".
-Feeding information.
-Trial and error re-cap.
-Know your people's jobs.
-General Communicator.
Specific areas of communication.
Some of the topics discussed:
# Delegating
# Customer Service
# Negotiating
# Writing is not an art, it's a responsibility
# TWT #15, The 3-Groups Letter Writing
# Reading memos and emails effectively
# A time to speed-read and a time not to
# Visual communication
# the 3 keys to Good Presentations
# The 3 keys to Good Public Speaking
# A final word
Available at Amazon now!
