Wednesday, January 12, 2011

IS ANYBODY HOME OUT THERE? …or death of a planet


I delight in seeing the light-bulbs go off as discussions open mental doors that communication is a skill that can be and must be developed. The conversation always gets personal then professional – “Wow, my mate and I need this or my team could use some help!”  Communication is the major factor in how we are experiencing life and those around us. For 5 plus years, I have engaged in co-building an institute dedicated to the skills of effective communication. Everyday I continue to introduce, share and grow the Human Communication Institute, LLC (HCI). The most common initial question I am asked is “What do you mean human communication?” It’s one of those questions you welcome but also makes you wince when you hear it. I usually succinctly answer, “The research and training of effective interaction between people. What we are doing right now.”
The focus here is that so many, so very many are unaware that communication is the key to how and what they are experiencing in life. It is with amazement that most people approach our practitioners remarking, “Can you really make money doing that!”
Riddle: What can create a computer chip, is as invisible but more visible than the wind and able to defeat dynasties in a single dose?

COMMUNICATION!

 I sit here in the recent after-math of: U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Gifford’s shooting and mass killing in Arizona, the latest fatal school shooting in Omaha, Nebraska, stalled and violent elections in Republic of Côte d'Ivoire, headless murders in Acapulco, Mexico, Southern Sudan’s possible succession, global terrorism and the list remains endless, all the while being questioned daily about the “importance” of communication training.
Is anybody home out there?

About a decade ago, it began to dawn on me that there was something vastly missing in the socialization processes – “growing up” was missing a vital tool of instruction that most of my eager college students came to class greatly unaware of.  Countless “older” students were experiencing the information in the Human Communication classes as “never heard of, where has this been” information important to life! Classes on self-talk, interpersonal conflict, empathetic listening, small group effectiveness, cross-cultural communication, nonverbal communication, the list goes on. All of these tools were locked up behind the walls of academia. These “adults” already well on their way to LIFE wanted to know why they were just learning these tools vital to a good marriage, healthy childrearing, personal and professional success? Surely, their caretakers must have understood the important role of communication in preparing them for life – all of it!
In 2005, the Human Communication Institute, LLC was born to answer this need. So you may be wondering why I have time to write these blogs/articles and chew the fat with you while the world is going to “hell in a hand basket”?  
MY SENTIMENTS EXACTLY!
P.S. Perkins, Founder
Human Communication Institute, LLC
www.hci-global.com