Monday, September 25, 2017
Projection As Injection
By Donovan Baldwin
I was just listening to a speech by an expert on non-verbal communication, or, as many of us would say, body language.
Unlike many such presentations I have watched, and articles I have read, in the past, the speaker was looking at a different angle. This was not about how "the other person" is influenced by a person's body language (What I called "projection" in the title.), but, how the person is influenced by his or her own body language (What I'm called "injection".)
The talk I listened to was given in 2017 by an expert with an impressive string of degrees and professional level experience, including scientific studies.
The basic tenet is that how you act can become how you perceive yourself, the "act" eventually becoming reality.
I have been reading self-help and motivational materials since about 1960. This has been a common premise, and promise, which I have met again and again.
It CAN work.
I have used it myself.
What interests me today, is the number of people, perhaps including the speaker/researcher, who seem to believe she is presenting something "new" and perhaps exciting.
Well, it IS exciting.
Every tool we find for survival, self-improvement or excellence should be exciting.
New?
Not so sure.
Still, I guess having facts and figures is important to some.
Unlike many such presentations I have watched, and articles I have read, in the past, the speaker was looking at a different angle. This was not about how "the other person" is influenced by a person's body language (What I called "projection" in the title.), but, how the person is influenced by his or her own body language (What I'm called "injection".)
The talk I listened to was given in 2017 by an expert with an impressive string of degrees and professional level experience, including scientific studies.
The basic tenet is that how you act can become how you perceive yourself, the "act" eventually becoming reality.
I have been reading self-help and motivational materials since about 1960. This has been a common premise, and promise, which I have met again and again.
It CAN work.
I have used it myself.
What interests me today, is the number of people, perhaps including the speaker/researcher, who seem to believe she is presenting something "new" and perhaps exciting.
Well, it IS exciting.
Every tool we find for survival, self-improvement or excellence should be exciting.
New?
Not so sure.
Still, I guess having facts and figures is important to some.
Labels: body language, communication, donovan baldwin, life lesson, non-verbal communication, perceive yourself
Sunday, September 03, 2017
How Messages Come To Us
By Donovan Baldwin
Messages come to us in all kinds of ways.
We chat, text, make phone calls.
Heck! We can talk to almost anybody in the world with the technology available these days. We just have to install it and learn how to use it.
Of course, the media we use to transmit the message is never as important as the message itself.
For those of my era, I'm not trying to be Marshall McLuhan, here. "The medium is the message" was HIS message, but, I'm meandering in a slightly different direction. However, I've got to admit that the availability of the "medium" used makes the message more important, in a way.
I write.
One reason I write is because my mouth and brain are not too well connected. Get me on a phone, and you're likely to hear "er", "um", an occasional non sequitur, and just plain "I wonder why he said THAT?"
In other words, written here, I don't do well talking. I guess (See, I'm confusing myself.), that I am coming back to a common theme I have touched on before. Sometimes we have to look past the words in the message, or whatever else it contained, and look at the heart of the messenger.
If we know that love, admiration, and respect are there, and theirs, why be concerned if the words don't quite measure up? It's the thoughts, the person, and the thoughts of THAT person, that matter. Right?
We chat, text, make phone calls.
Heck! We can talk to almost anybody in the world with the technology available these days. We just have to install it and learn how to use it.
Of course, the media we use to transmit the message is never as important as the message itself.
For those of my era, I'm not trying to be Marshall McLuhan, here. "The medium is the message" was HIS message, but, I'm meandering in a slightly different direction. However, I've got to admit that the availability of the "medium" used makes the message more important, in a way.
I write.
One reason I write is because my mouth and brain are not too well connected. Get me on a phone, and you're likely to hear "er", "um", an occasional non sequitur, and just plain "I wonder why he said THAT?"
In other words, written here, I don't do well talking. I guess (See, I'm confusing myself.), that I am coming back to a common theme I have touched on before. Sometimes we have to look past the words in the message, or whatever else it contained, and look at the heart of the messenger.
If we know that love, admiration, and respect are there, and theirs, why be concerned if the words don't quite measure up? It's the thoughts, the person, and the thoughts of THAT person, that matter. Right?
Labels: chat, communicating, communication, donovan baldwin, messages, text, writing
