1. Verbal Communication Skills Chapter 6

2. The Power of Words
I love you!
You can do it!
I believe in you!
Although we live in an ocean of words, we rarely acknowledge their power to uplift or put down, to inspire or discourage, to help or hurt.
-Hal Urban

3. One of the most important words…
Thoughts
beliefs
Handle tough times
Treat other people
Where to live
Character
Choice
Values
Worldview
Friends
Attitude
Can you believe it? By the time we are 18 years old, it is estimated we have been put down 100,000 times.
Words

4. What do you picture and feel when you think of these words…
ugly
Hate
Stupid
Idiot
Murder
Useless
depressed
kill
Fat

5. What do you picture and feel when you think of these words…
I Love you
Fun
Party
Thanks
Happy
Hope
Weekend
You Rock!
Awesome

6. Affirming Words “Affirming”
looking for and finding good in others, building others up, encouraging them, finding reasons for praise, reinforcing what people do well, nurturing and being support, giving people reasons to celebrate

7. Understanding How Words Work
Symbols- a word, sound or visual device that represents a though, concept or object.
Referent- the things that a symbol represents
Thought- is the mental process of creating a category, idea or image triggers by a the referent or symbol.
Denotative meaning- restrictive, literal.
Connotative meaning- personal/subjective. p

8. Recognizing the Power of Words
Words are…
Symbols (Symbolic Interaction)
Arbitrary
Context bound
Culturally bound p
Words create perceptions
Words Influence thoughts
Words Shape and Reflect Culture
Linguistic determinism
Linguistic relativity
Sapir-Whorf hypothesis
Words Affect the Quality of Our Interpersonal Relationships p

9. Barriers and Supportive Words
How do people experience your use of words?
All-ness
Static evaluation –labels
Polarization
Biased/demean, sexist
Ethnic/racial
Indexing
Describe own feelings “I”
Solve vs. control
Genuine vs. manipulative
Empathize vs. detached
Flexible vs. Rigid
Equal vs. superior
Apology
Assertive (Five Steps) p p
What we call each other ultimately becomes what we think of each other, and it matters.
-Jeanne Kirkpatrick

10. Mid-term Essay Power of Words
Think about a current or past relationship and discuss the following aspects of your communication;
Describe the quality of the words and communication during the beginning of the relationship?
Can you identify any of the word type barriers in this relationship specifically- Allness, Static Evaluation, Demeaning and Polarization?
What specific insights from “Using words to Support others” do you use or want to use? **
Using the five steps to behaving assertively, assess your assertiveness skills?