You can't have a friendship unless you communicate with each other.  Good friendships require good communication skills.


A friendly reminder from Art of Eloquence.com, the Communication FUNdamentals!

Insects are little pests in our homes.  They don't really belong there and they just annoy us as we have to deal with them either one at a time or, heaven forbid, in swarms! 

Unnecessary words are the same way in our communication.  Ever talk to someone who takes the long way around a conversation?  Someone who walks around the block a bit before he finally spits out what he wants to say?  Ever in a hurry and need an answer to a question quickly but the person you happened to ask has swallowed a dictionary?  Does it BUG you?  LOL

Sometimes we need a "Just the facts ma'am" moment, but we live in a "let me tell you all about it" world.  FDR once said "Be sincere; be brief; be seated."   Sometimes a good idea for more than making speeches. ;D

A friendly reminder from Art of Eloquence.com, the Communication FUNdamentals!

Sometimes while on Summer Vacation we are so busy having fun that we get lax in our daily routines.  We sleep in a little longer.  We stay up a little later.  We text a little more and we pay attention a little less.  Make sure you're careful in your communication this summer.  A good friend is a terrible thing to lose! 


A friendly reminder from Art of Eloquence.com, the Communication FUNdamentals!

Just the other day there was another child drowning so I just wanted to put out a friendly reminder to make sure that you communicate effectively for water safety! 

Sometimes we think our husbands are watching the little ones when they think we are!  Make extra sure to gain verbal confirmation when you step out leaving your little ones with someone else.  Water can be fun for kids splashing and getting wet.  But it so easily can turn into disaster.  PLEASE make sure you're clear on who is watching the little ones! 

A friendly reminder from Art of Eloquence.com, the Communication FUNdamentals!

Our Founding Fathers fought and died for our right to various freedoms including freedom of speech.  The First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution states:

"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances."

Most Americans remember the first part where "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion" but precious few (and fewer each year) remember or understand the second part where they also may not make a law "prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech..."

On October 7th 1801 in a letter to President Thomas Jefferson by the Danbury Baptist Association in Connecticut, concerns were stated that the government should not intrude on the religious rights of the people.  President Jefferson believed that religion was an individual choice and should not be controlled by the government.  In his reply, he was careful not to answer their question of the state's involvement, but was very clear that there should be a "wall of separation between church and state" so as not to allow the congress to do anything that might establish a religion.  In other words, President Jefferson and the Danbury Association were both concerned that government might intrude upon the religious freedoms of its people.

Since then many have come to eroneousely believe that "separation of church and state is written into the Constitution and that it was put there to keep religion from intruding upon the government.  In recent years there have been many cases in which the rights of those of faith, particularly the Christian faith, have been violated in the name of "separation of church and state."  Yet if we examine the speech of our Founding Fathers we find that they were not advocating that religion be kept out of the government at all. 

"Can the liberties of a nation be sure when we remove their only firm basis, a conviction in the minds of the people, that these liberties are a gift from God?" -Thomas Jefferson 

"Our constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other." -John Adams

Since those who believe that religion should be taken out of society are quite vocal and articulate, many laws have been passed and traditions altered that make it difficult for Christians to have true freedom of speech.  This is why it is so vitally important that Christians learn to speak up and speak out in grace and with respect in order to articulately present our case as President Jefferson stated in his letter.  This takes more communication skill these days as this has become a controversial and emotionally charged topic. 

This Independence Day, let's do something that will help us speak up for our beliefs in a more effective and persuasive way.  Let's teach our children to speak up and speak out in grace!  It's actually easier than you think!  Check out all the creative and fun eStudies for all ages at Art of Eloquence.com! 

Free speech isn't always free!  It takes preparation and hard work to speak in a way that will be effective in today's society. Start preparing today.  Your children's freedom of speech will depend upon what you teach them today!

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JoJo Tabares holds a degree in Speech Communication, but it is her humorous approach to communication skills which has made her a highly sought-after Christian speaker and writer.  Her articles appear in homeschool publications, such as Homeschool Enrichment Magazine and The Old Schoolhouse Magazine, which also endorses her Say What You Mean curricula.  You can also find JoJo on web sites such as Crosswalk.com and Dr.Laura.com.  For more information on communication FUNdamentals and Christian-based communication skills for the whole family, please visit http://www.ArtofEloquence.com

Most homeschoolers take the summers off of formal schooling.  So it's a great time to pick up some fun learning of things you may not have had time for during the year!  Communication skills are always the last to be addressed but during the summer you just want to have fun, so why not do both? 

Art of Eloquence has a bunch of fun studies that teach communication skills, but we have a few that are just so much pure fun, your kids won't even know they're learning! 

The Play Book has games, activities and crafts for all ages that teach communication skills!

FIMMology 101 is the Study of the Humorous Sins of Our Mouths and contains all of the best episodes of FIMM: Foot in Mouth Man!  Just read each episode and laugh along with your kids and then discuss FIMM's Faux Pas and learn how NOT to communicate! 

How about some fun ePuzzles for the little ones with a scripture or funny famous quote? 

Check out all the fun ways to teach your kids communication skills this summer in just a few creative lessons! 

Have fun this summer learning one of the most important communication skills that the Lord talks about HUNDREDS of times in His Word!

This Father's Day, instead of giving Dad a tie or a soap on a rope, why not give him the gift of appreciation?  Why not communicate with him and tell him how much you love him and what he has done all these years that has made you who you are?  Why not share who you are with him and make him feel special. 

I bet he'll think it is the best gift you ever gave him!  Even taking into account the year you made him a tie with your own tie dye!!  And, especially in this economy, it's affordable too!!

Want a unique and special gift for Dad this year?  Tell exactly what he means to you! 

Words...it's what's for Father's Day this year!

For more help learning to express yourself, visit Art of Eloquence.com!

I didn't post last week due to a little problem so this week I thought I'd combine the two topics.  I must warn you that I'm stretching a wee bit.  Although almost everything we do in life involves communication in some way, most of these topics require quite a bit of creativity to bring them around to the skills required. 

The topic was what do we save and get rid of as it relates to our home and school (school work, clothes, books).  But I want to bring your attention to the "how" of our homes and school.  How requires good communication skills because how requires that we talk with one another. 

So what should we keep when we communicate with one another about these tasks?
* Grace
* Humility
* Patience
* Respect
* Love
* Honesty
* Appreciation

And what should we get rid of when we communicate with one another?
* Pride
* Judgment
* Impatience
* Disrespect
* Frustration
* Disgust

I purge my old clothes and my son's old toys and schoolwork about every six months.  Junk just always seems to accumulate.  The same is true of our communication.  Have you ever made a New Year's Resolution to be nicer, friendlier, more helpful to others?  How long did it last?  Didn't you have to keep reminding yourself not to be short with your family or to offer help even when you were busy or to approach each conversation with your husband in a kinder, gentler way instead of with sarcasm? 

As we think about what to save and what to throw away while we are going through our things, we should stop and take inventory of what communication behaviors we should save or get rid of as well.  Just as our homes have no space to save all the junk we accumulate, our relationships have no place to save all the junk we sometimes accumulate. 

What happens when your garage gets too full of junk?  It forces you out!  It requires you to begin storing it in other parts of your house. But pretty soon you plum run out of room in all your house.  The same is true of a relationship.  Once you accumulate a certain amount of "junk" with respect to a certain topic, (say you and a relative don't agree on homeschooling) you begin to dump the junk words on another subject (like...vaccinations)!  Pretty soon there is no room for your friendship! 

Take inventory every once in a while of the way in which you communicate with others.  Is it Godly?  Does it inspire?  After all, you can always clean up the junk in your house, but you cannot always clean up the junk that comes between you and a friendship! 

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JoJo Tabares holds a degree in Speech Communication, but it is her humorous approach to communication skills which has made her a highly sought-after Christian speaker and writer.  Her articles appear in homeschool publications, such as Homeschool Enrichment Magazine and The Old Schoolhouse Magazine, which also endorses her Say What You Mean curricula.  You can also find JoJo on web sites such as Crosswalk.com and Dr.Laura.com.  For more information on communication FUNdamentals and Christian-based communication skills for the whole family, please visit http://www.ArtofEloquence.com

Are you are taking the summer off from formal schooling, but would love some opportunities for your children to have fun this summer while they learn some new skills? 

Art of Eloquence has some great ideas for you! 


 
Foot in Mouth Man is Art of Eloquence's mascot and resident MIScommunicator!  His hilarious monthly MISadventures entertain and educat e the finer points of how NOT to communicate well. 

Grace Talk Soup Join us every Thursday morning 8am PST/11am EST on Grace Talk Soup for I Love Language, starring Lucy Linguist and Ethel the Editor. Laugh along with these two crazy compadres of Communication FUNdamentals, one spoken and one written, while gaining valuable knowledge and important tips on improving your business, your family and your life, simply by refining your everyday communication skills. Have your teens chat with us either on the phone or on air!  A fabulous way to hone their communication skills!



Check out my Blog, Communication FUNdamentals, for my daily creative and fun way of sharing my thoughts on communication skills relating mostly to homeschooling and sharing and defending the faith. It also reveals a bit about how the Lord took this shy Agnostic girl and allowed her to find her voice and her purpose, a zany voice to the Christian community with insight as to what unbelievers need to hear about Christ Jesus.  I post articles, fun quotes, tips, funny pictures and sayings that teach communication skills in a fun way. 

Sign up for our weekly newsletter, What's New at Art of Eloquence for our exclusive offers, articles, tips and freebies we put together JUST for our newsletter subscribers! 

Also if you want to do a fun study during the summer, check out the Art of Eloquence catalog of creative and fun communication studies that teach with humor and God's Word!

 

Come have fun this summer with Art of Eloquence!

Art of Eloquence would like to thank military men and women both past and present. 

We offer a military discount to military families who would like to improve their communication skills.  If you are a military family, please contact us at info@artofeloquence.com for this month's voucher discount code for military families. 

May God bless our military and their families for the sacrifice they make each and every day to help keep us safe at home!

JoJo Tabares
Founder, Art of Eloquence
http://www.ArtofEloquence.com

This week's theme is testing and, while this isn't the kind of testing homeschoolers generally talk about, it's the only kind of testing I could think of that fit my topic.  Call it poetic license. 

I wrote a fun article a while back that helps you test you CEQ: Communication Effectiveness Quotient.  You'll find the article here.  Check it out and see if you are Silver Tongued, a Tongue in Training, Tongue Impaired or Tongue Tied!

Each month Art of Eloquence offers a free gift or exclusive special to our newsletter subscribers.  These are free gifts or specials that are offered ONLY to those on our What's New at Art of Eloquence weekly newsletter.  We are giving away a precious gift for all you moms out there this year. It's called God's Word on Motherhood! For details and to subscribe to What's New at Art of Eloquence, click here! Happy Mother's Day everyone...from Art of Eloquence.com

Where else can you spend three days with your children on an educational field trip listening to fabulous speakers, doing creative and fun activities without leaving your house or costing you ANY money?  Why the Say What You Mean Convention of course!  In fact, if you miss the live events you can listen in to the audio at your convenience ALL YEAR LONG! 

Growing a garden is a lot like honing your communication skills.  We need to cultivate good habits like listening, knowing our audience, tact, persuasiveness, boldness, respect, confidence, presentation...  These are the flowers of your communication garden.  However, there are some weeds that need to be pulled from our communication garden. 

Sometimes we speak too quickly, are too bold and offend others.  Unlike the vegetable garden, you cannot pull these weeds after they grow.  They must be pulled before they grow.  In the Bible, angels have said Fear Not.  I think the motto for pulling the weeds of our communication garden, before they are allowed to grow, is...

Speak Not!

“Tis better to be thought a fool, than open one’s mouth and remove all doubt.” -Abraham Lincoln

Ecclesiastes 3:1 tells us “To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven:” a time to speak and a time to…NOT!  Our society values information and we assign value to the person who shares it.  In his quest for acceptance and to rise to that level of value, man attempts to share what he knows, even if he isn’t sure he knows it.

It isn’t a crime to be ignorant.  All intelligent and knowlegable men are ignorant of SOMETHING.  Great is the man who shares his knowledge with others, but far greater still is the man who possesses the ability to keep silent when he knows not.
Every parent knows the value of the sound of silence.  lol  Sometimes the most intelligent thing to say is…nothing.

For more communication tips and insights, freebies and exclusive offers, subscribe to What’s New at Art of Eloquence!

This week's topic is the Joy in Homeschool Book Fairs.  I don't really go to homeschool book fairs and I wasn't sure how to relate my topic to them other than the fact that you can't go anywhere without communicating something to someone.  Which reminded me that I took a little impromptu poll over on Twitter and Facebook and it seems that folks are interested in reading some of my most inspired quotes about communication so I thought I’d post this one:

“While you may manage to live your entire life without making a speech, you will not get through one day without communicating something to someone!” -little old me

If you’re on Facebook or Twitter, I’ll be posting one of my sayings per day.  I may come back to my blog and post one or two and expand on it as I wax poetic about a particular communication issue.

In the meantime, connect with me on Facebook and Twitter!  My “handle” is JoJo Tabares.  Bet ya never would have guessed! 

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JoJo Tabares holds a degree in Speech Communication, but it is her humorous approach to communication skills which has made her a highly sought-after Christian speaker and writer.  Her articles appear in homeschool publications, such as Homeschool Enrichment Magazine and The Old Schoolhouse Magazine, which also endorses her Say What You Mean curricula.  You can also find JoJo on web sites such as Crosswalk.com and Dr.Laura.com.  For more information on communication FUNdamentals and Christian-based communication skills for the whole family, please visit http://www.ArtofEloquence.com

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