Communication Skills - Blog Posts
Verbal Judo
The other day I heard this on the radio while driving:
I was very intrigued by this as I have been a student of "Verbal Judo" for some years now. I work with people a lot, mostly when they are not at their best (I work with the very ill and those who care for them). Also being I am an introvert and that I can be ironically, um, very vocal, having some insight on how to structure speaking with others when I and/or they are not at their best is super helpful. And truly it has been! I prefer the audiobook by the way and listen to it a lot when jogging, driving, or whatever. Whoever they got to read it I thought was the author reading his own book so it is a very good listen.
Anyway, back to the intrigue of the podcast. When I heard this piece I wondered if this helped shape or influence Mr. Thompson's passion to create a learnable structure for better communication especially in stressful moments ("Verbal Judo").
I'm going to give this podcast a listen and let you know what I learn. If you have listened, no spoilers please!
“The greatest victory is that which requires no battle.” ― Sun Tzu, The Art of War
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What is a realistic target?
TOEIC. Japanese companies continue to use it as a measuring stick for English progress. I previously posted about the problems with TOEIC and how it falls short as a true measuring stick for English growth but without it, how does a company measure their staff's growth? If you have any ideas please feel free to put in the comments below!
What this means is that we will often be asked to support a company lesson that uses TOEIC to measure the training program's effectiveness in communication training. Though I will tell them that TOEIC is not an effective measuring stick, I still have to strategize around this hurdle. You see, a communication-based lesson focuses on different (and arguably more practical) skills than a TOEIC lesson. TOEIC is about building vocabulary through a strong reliance on listening or reading. We teach little traps students need to be aware of, or ways to improve the efficiency with which you complete the test (most students are unable to complete the entire test).
The sticky point is that a company will set a target or a bar for the students to achieve. I've seen a 70 point increase target, which I felt was reasonable in a year, but the next year I have seen that grow to 100 points. Sometimes setting the bar too high is de-motivating, in contrast if a student feels their target is more attainable, they might make a stronger effort. In my recent experience working in a company, I saw a 40-70 point growth as a positive result and rarely saw students see a 100 point increase. I have always tried to make English enjoyable and in some ways, self motivating, so I know that we can set a stricter training regimen, but I think the truly realistic bar is 70. If a company sets a 100 point jump over a year, they need to be open minded and possibly set up a secondary interview-based test to measure areas like response time, accuracy, comprehension, the ability to ask for repetition or the students' ability to make long answers.
This is my take on the situation, if anyone reads this and has another opinion, please let me know!