Mar
1
2009
by admin on March 1, 2009
Today we are going to talk about Shalom Schwartz ‘s The Theory of Basic Human Values. Shalom Schwartz is a Social Psychologist and cross-cultural researcher in the fields of inter-group conflict and basic human values. What the theory states is that there are 10 basic human values that are displayed in all societies and that these values interact with each other to form a circular structure based on the inherent conflict or compatibility of the underlying motivations that we discussed in our earlier post. The picture to the right illustrates the structure we are talking about… The reason that they [...]
Mar
1
2009
by admin on March 1, 2009
In the recent past values were considered one of the key ingredients to a successful attempt at persuasion. If you knew and understood what someone’s values were, you could simply package your communication around them and presto… you had their button pushed. It would be great if that were so, but unfortunately (or maybe fortunately depending on how you look at it) the human brain is not so simple. The reality of the matter is that it takes quite a bit more to successfully persuade someone. That being said, values are an important, powerful and integral part to being able [...]
Feb
27
2009
by admin on February 27, 2009
To begin wrapping up our five part miniseries on questions, I am going to give you some examples of each type of questions that we defined in post #3 and then illustrate a scenario where they can be used to further the progress of the communication. Now in rooting around the internet you will find a ton of “types” of questions. I want you to understand that although some of the noted researchers, academics and philosophers of the world may have coined some of the more popular “types”, there is no formally accepted universal grouping of question sets. Some examples [...]
Feb
27
2009
by admin on February 27, 2009
I think it is safe to say that the human race generally doesn’t like to be TOLD what to do. Why can’t you just “tell” someone what to do? Well, in some cases you can… If whatever you are proposing makes blatantly logical sense to both parties and there is equal benefit to both of them, then simply telling the other person what to do does work. The reality of the matter is that not all “scenarios” are created equal. What makes complete sense to one party on the first communication pass-through usually doesn’t make the same sense to the [...]
Feb
26
2009
by admin on February 26, 2009
Questions are one of the most powerful forms of verbal communication that a person has at their disposal. When you are in situations where you want or need to persuade someone, the saying really is true “you get more flies with sugar”. Well, in the delivery section of your communication tool box, questions really are the proverbial “sugar”. Gentle, tactful and skillful persuasion via questioning is MUCH more effective than anything other method available to you. What about flattery you ask? What we are speaking about in this post is structure and form, not content. Flattery is content… But since [...]
Feb
19
2009
by admin on February 19, 2009
If you are going to effectively communicate with someone it is imperative that you ensure that they are both hearing and understanding what it is that you are saying. Unfortunately this is very difficult to know for two important reasons: 1. We have developed incredibly powerful subconscious and automatic social mechanisms that help us to facilitate the flow of conversation. Head nods, “uh-huhs” and “mmm’s” are a few of the automatic and more often than not, meaningless recognition gestures that we use. These types of gestures are generally for the purpose of buying time and keeping rapport while communication is [...]
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