Pragmatic Communication

rhetoric (rĕt’ər-ĭk) n. the art or study of using language effectively and persuasively.

I love words – reading, writing, speaking, listening and, most importantly, meaning and understanding. Words can edify and connect us, but if we’re not mindful when we use them, words can be a divisive weapon that separates us. Below is a compilation of thoughts, pet peeves, cool vocabulary words, suggestions and observations about how we communicate with each other in our personal and professional relationships.

pragmatic communication

It Doesn’t Matter if You CAN. It matters if you DO.

Lots of people CAN do something. Not everyone does. There's opportunity in that. If you have a talent, be a ...
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Who Sent the Stronger Message at the 2018 Tony Awards? De Niro? Orin Wolf? or the Audience?

Some might say De Niro sent the strongest message. From the looks of the internet on June 11th, he got ...
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duplicity. duplicity everywhere.
whenever words and actions conflict, the actions carry the stronger – truer – message.

The following excerpt came to me via private message a few weeks before the 2016 presidential election: "I enjoy a ...
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People talking without speaking. People hearing without listening.
Why would anyone want to engage in conversation with someone who thinks they are stupid?

January 20th [2017]. I should NOT have gone on facebook. So. much. hate. contemptuous mocking. sarcasm. ridicule. Not just for ...
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“But there ain’t no point in talking when there’s nobody listening so we just ran away.”

It was facebook's "On This Day" feature that prompted me. Browsing through all my facebook posts on January 16th from ...
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step outside your comfort zone.

Some of you know I serve as a career coach. Just last week I found myself in a Panera Bread ...
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Bill Nye. Regular Guy.

Confession. Every time I read or hear something Bill Nye says, I have an instant flashback to this 1990s video ...
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the 1% rule. a minority with too much free time? or representative of the 99%?

Something has bothered me for a while. When someone says that a certain group of people "thinks" this or "says" ...
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the most divisive word of all: “THEY”

After the events of the last few days, my resilience is worn-down. I can't read another post or comment by ...
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a lesson in humility. and a reminder.

Dr. Doofenshmirtz might call the first part of this post my "backstory." ~ I'm a firstborn and an ISTP (67%) ...
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say what you mean. don’t be mean when you say it.

I cut waaay back on facebook over the last few months. Derisive sarcasm and hate were saturating my news feed, ...
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#edify: profanity

The first curse word each of my children heard came out of my mother's mouth. Let's just say it wasn't ...
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negativity. flip it or zip it.

Note to Self: Every time you began to say something negative, stop. and consider two other options: flip it or ...
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Happy atheists don’t care if Christians pray. They just don’t.

This morning, I followed a link in my facebook news feed to an article about a family who was praying ...
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seasoned with salt.

If you profess Christianity, please be careful in your discussions about controversial issues today. Please don't be arrogant. You're never ...
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say what you mean, but don’t be mean when you say it.

I've been saying that for years. To my kids, to students and to myself, whenever the situation calls for it ...
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sarcasm: religious and political poison.

Reading too much on the internet today and keep thinking one thing: Sarcasm is an ineffective persuasive technique. It's condescending, ...
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the positive impact of negative feedback.

I've known for a very long time that I'm different. Not "better" different. Because, really, "better" is relative. Better than ...
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“Christ-centered Church.” I do not think it means what you think it means.

This is the 9th post of a series. CLICK HERE to view a page listing all the posts in the ...
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Jesus said turn the other cheek. He didn’t say I had to stand within smack radius.

"so, have you spoken to them about their behavior?" That was the question I was asked after publishing my post ...
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you see the big hat too . . . right?

Ever try to describe the behavior of a passive-aggressive person to someone else? Inevitably, you come off sounding petty. And ...
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I’m going to stop being discouraged and be awesome instead. True Story.

I haven't exactly been sad. But I'll admit. For the last few weeks, I've been discouraged. I found myself in ...
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step away from the puppy.

Warning: Sometimes, emotional bullies wear puppy suits. wounded puppy suits. And when you pay attention to them, the whimpering doesn't ...
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desensitized.

I'm not one to avoid conflict. I've found that, much too often, constant unanimous agreement results in substandard ideas and ...
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