Details

<p>Foreword <i>Les Brown</i> xi</p> <p>Acknowledgments xiii</p> <p>Introduction xv</p> <p>The Communication Staircase xvii</p> <p>In the Beginning Is Your Word . . . xviii</p> <p>Jill’s Professional Destiny? xxii</p> <p><b>Chapter 1 </b><b>Step One: Intrapersonal Communication 1</b></p> <p>Self-Sabotage or Self-Fulfillment? 2</p> <p>Discipline of the Mind 3</p> <p>Dive into Your Life! 5</p> <p>Where Did That Thought Come From? 7</p> <p>Creating Our Self-Image at Work 8</p> <p>Growing Up “Different” 10</p> <p>Writing a New Script 13</p> <p>Taking Ownership 14</p> <p>Jill’s Day 18</p> <p>Waking Up to YOUR Day! 19</p> <p>Conquering the First Step 20</p> <p>First Things First! 20</p> <p><b>Chapter 2 </b><b>Step Two: Nonverbal Communication 29</b></p> <p>The Functions of Nonverbal Communication 29</p> <p>Your Professional Appearance 32</p> <p>Your Professional Voice 37</p> <p>Actions Do Speak Louder Than Words! 40</p> <p>It’s about Time! 42</p> <p>Keep Your Distance! 45</p> <p>Sometimes When We Touch 48</p> <p>Do You Smell Something? 50</p> <p><b>Chapter 3 </b><b>Step Three: Interpersonal Communication 55</b></p> <p>Five Keys to Positive, Healthy Work Relationships 55</p> <p>Interpersonal Conflict 73</p> <p>Supportive versus Defensive Communication 75</p> <p><b>Chapter 4 </b><b>Step Four: Small-Group/Organizational Communication 91</b></p> <p>To Group or Not to Group . . . That Is the Question 91</p> <p>Jill’s Day 92</p> <p>I versus We: The Cultural Paradox 93</p> <p>Co-Opetition Model of Advancement 95</p> <p>Making Room for the Group Reality 97</p> <p>Leadership Communication 98</p> <p>Constructive Conflict 101</p> <p>The Communication Climate 102</p> <p>Small-Group Membership and Facilitation 106</p> <p><b>Chapter 5 </b><b>Step Five: Public Communication 111</b></p> <p>The Common Denominator 111</p> <p>Moving beyond the Fear! 112</p> <p>Communication Apprehension 114</p> <p>Confidence and Composure 115</p> <p>Your Language 119</p> <p>Don’t Make Excuses 120</p> <p>Your Public Presentational Style 121</p> <p>You and Your Audience 125</p> <p>The Art of Impromptu/Conversational Speaking 127</p> <p><b>Chapter 6 </b><b>Step Six: Mass Communication 135</b></p> <p>Influencing the Masses 135</p> <p>Persuasion Is about Perspective 136</p> <p>Are You a Walking Billboard? 138</p> <p>Persuasion and the World of Work 140</p> <p>Jill’s Day 142</p> <p>Using Persuasion as a Tool of Influence 143</p> <p>As Simple as One, Two, Three 144</p> <p>Persuasive Messages and You 148</p> <p><b>Chapter 7 </b><b>Step Seven: Intercultural Communication 155</b></p> <p>We CAN All Get Along! 155</p> <p>What Makes Us Unique 156</p> <p>We Are ALL Prejudiced! 159</p> <p>Understanding Perception 160</p> <p>Culture and Values That Impact the Workplace 162</p> <p>Nonverbal Communication Is Culturally Bound 169</p> <p>Global Community 169</p> <p>Diversity and the Workplace 170</p> <p>The “Other” in the Workplace 172</p> <p>Jill’s Day 174</p> <p>Inclusion in the Workplace 175</p> <p>Becoming a Cross-Cultural Bridge through Cultural Competency 175</p> <p><b>Epilogue </b>New Beginnings 181</p> <p>Index 185</p>

<i>"...a new slant on communications that is readily accessible to new and more seasoned readers alike."</i> (Edge, October, 2008)

<p><b>P.S. PERKINS</b> is founder and CEO of the Human Communication Institute, LLC, and a graduate of the communication schools of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and New York University. She has been training, lecturing, and developing communications curricula for more than twenty years. She is currently a featured writer for the magazines <i>Personal Development</i> and <i>Diversity Works!,</i> talk show host of <i>InWORD OutWORD: Conversations About Communication</i>, and a featured practitioner in the motivational film, <i>Pass It On!</i>

<p>Effective communication is the foundation of personal and professional success. The better you are at expressing yourself and understanding others determines where you'll go in life. <i>The Art and Science of Communication</i> introduces you to a new way of understanding and using communication in the workplace to achieve better results and greater professional success. <p>Communication specialist P.S. Perkins uses her exclusive Communication Staircase Model^™ to bring together the seven arenas of communication that everyone engages in on a daily basis—intrapersonal, nonverbal, interpersonal, group, public, mass, and intercultural communications. Using this model, as well as practical techniques, analogies, and formulas, Perkins teaches you how to become a more effective communicator in any setting, circumstance, or situation. <p>Mental preparation is an extremely important part of effective communication. Here you'll learn to improve and regulate your own messages and more accurately interpret the messages of others. In addition, you'll learn how to think and talk to yourself in a positive manner, enabling you to both convey the same positivity to others and receive it back from them. <p>Perkins merges the science of communication with practical, everyday communication occurrences within the workplace in an understandable, useful, and inspiring way. You'll master effective communication practices that achieve real results—the results you want. Mastering the correct rules of effective communication among employees, employers, and coworkers will create success professionally and personally. <p>Everything we do or gain in life and all of our successes are, in reality, based on the quality and kind of communication we engage in with ourselves and others. Good communication creates a good life. Inspiring and motivational, <i>The Art and Science of Communication</i> holds the ultimate key to true success. This is an invaluable guide for anyone who wants to master the art and science of communication for a more passionate, positive, and successful life.

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