Authentic Communication

Part of the Christian Worldview Integration Series Whether setting about to love our neighbor, to settle a dispute, to share in the suffering of others or to speak up on behalf of the marginalized, we inevitably must engage in communication. And what could be more natural, more human, than communication? But we all learn quickly enough that good communication is not always natural. There is much to learn from Scripture and from the academic study of human communication. Tim Muehlhoff and Todd Lewis are able guides, aiding us in understanding the broad field of human communication in Christian perspective. Here they offer readers a vital assessment of the power of words, perspective-taking, persuasion and conflict management--all in an effort to improve our abilities to communicate forgiveness and shape the world we live in for the good. Special attention is focused on the place of Christians as counterpublics--those who offer alternative perspectives to the dominant voices in society. The Christian Worldview Integration Series, edited by J. P. Moreland and Francis J. Beckwith, seeks to promote a robust personal and conceptual integration of Christian faith and learning, with textbooks focused on disciplines such as education, psychology, literature, politics, science, communications, biology, philosophy, and history.

When disagreements arise in the office, how do we express ourselves honestly without jeopardizing our career, our work relationships, or our own integrity? And how do we support the same openness in others? These are the critical questions you will explore in Authentic Communication: Transforming Difficult Conversations in the Workplace. Drawing on his many years consulting with thousands of people on every organizational level, Fred Kofman shares a wealth of skills to help us “express and elicit all perspectives in the spirit of mutual learning.”

Communication is the make or break factor for leaders, teams and organizations. In this behavior-changing workplace workbook, Work Wisdom delivers twenty concrete practices to help you and your team win with efficiency, creativity, psychological safety and joy.

Part manual, part memoir and part call to action, this book demonstrates why the core skill needed by leaders in the next decade and into the future will be authentic and effective communication. Communications based on character, integrity and values will be critical in helping leaders navigate the two mega trends of accelerated technological change and increasing demands for social change. This book is the first to marry practical advice on deepening communication skills with insight from a coaching and cognitive point of view into what techniques works and why, and to pull together the wider societal issues and the operating context for leaders. Counter-intuitive and written to provoke thought and awareness, the author looks at the psychological and emotional effects of our communications and what leaders can do to inspire and engage, guiding them through three sections: • A framework for effective communications • A toolkit, detailing what good looks like in practical situations • The authentic leader, an exploration of the changing communications landscape and why a different kind of leadership is needed C-suite executives, leaders about to take that last step into the C-suite or millennial leaders about to enter the boardroom will value this book as an advisory guide, as a handbook to be used in internal coaching and training sessions and as a manual and aide memoir for themselves.

The only language you need to know to change your results. Inside each of us is a vision of how things could be. Yet most people remain frustrated by a lack of impact, unable to connect and inspire the people they care about the most. Why? There’s a language we understand, but rarely use. A language that’s sincere. Powerful. Compelling. A language of words—and actions—that can’t be denied. Leadership Language will help you to peel back the ineffective “business speak”, so you can change the conversation. And change your results. Imagine what could happen when you replace frustration with an irresistible vision—for yourself, your team and your organization. Today’s leaders face so many challenges—employee retention, operational efficiency, culture, collaboration, leading across generations, and more—but communication is at the heart of every one of those issues. A clear message with a powerful delivery gets you halfway home. Honing in on your next conversation can drive more impact, better relationships, and greater overall effectiveness. For yourself. Your career. Your company. They say there’s nothing that can stop an idea whose time has come. So, take the lead. It’s time for you to create what’s missing. And Leadership Language will show you how. Get clear on your vision, get aligned with your story, and get others engaged with your message Connect with the people that matter most, in a way that invites innovation and new outcomes Find the courage to move forward, conquer change, and create powerful impact—while you help others do the same From student leaders to the C-suite, there is only one way for a leader to make an impact: communication. Leadership Language is your personal guide to mastering critical skills and unveiling your authentic potential.

Susan Campbell’s advice is as provocative as it is simple: stay present and get real in your relationships. Demystifying the process of becoming completely honest with your spouse, your friends, and your business associates, she provides seven key phrases that will dramatically improve your ability to communicate. In these pages, Dr. Campbell offers succinct and practical insight on how to transform your communication into a process of relating to others in a direct and positive way. The seven key phrases will show you how to: bring passion and vitality to your interactions respond authentically to mixed messages and hidden agendas deal effectively with conflict and differences transmit a powerful personal presence clear anger and resentment in a nonblaming, compassionate way keep your mind free of unfinished business and unprocessed feelings express your needs powerfully and without manipulation

Brands are everywhere. Branding is central to political campaigns and political protest movements; the alchemy of social media and self-branding creates overnight celebrities; the self-proclaimed “greening” of institutions and merchant goods is nearly universal. But while the practice of branding is typically understood as a tool of marketing, a method of attaching social meaning to a commodity as a way to make it more personally resonant with consumers, Sarah Banet-Weiser argues that in the contemporary era, brands are about culture as much as they are about economics. That, in fact, we live in a brand culture. Authentic™ maintains that branding has extended beyond a business model to become both reliant on, and reflective of, our most basic social and cultural relations. Further, these types of brand relationships have become cultural contexts for everyday living, individual identity, and personal relationships—what Banet-Weiser refers to as “brand cultures.” Distinct brand cultures, that at times overlap and compete with each other, are taken up in each chapter: the normalization of a feminized “self-brand” in social media, the brand culture of street art in urban spaces, religious brand cultures such as “New Age Spirituality” and “Prosperity Christianity,”and the culture of green branding and “shopping for change.” In a culture where graffiti artists loan their visions to both subway walls and department stores, buying a cup of “fair-trade” coffee is a political statement, and religion is mass-marketed on t-shirts, Banet-Weiser questions the distinction between what we understand as the “authentic” and branding practices. But brand cultures are also contradictory and potentially rife with unexpected possibilities, leading Authentic™ to articulate a politics of ambivalence, creating a lens through which we can see potential political possibilities within the new consumerism.