SMART PHONES IMPROVE COMMUNICATION?

Recently, it took me two days to travel from Belgium to Vancouver, Washington, thanks to late airline departures and mechanical problems. At the time, I was livid that my smart phone would not connect once I was in the United States. However, something interesting happened; I started talking to people instead of fussing with my smart phone.

At JFK International Airport, a couple was sitting next to me—the woman was fast asleep. I said to the man, “Where are you going?” He replied, “I can’t tell you.” A fascinating, mysterious reply. Then he whispered, “We’re going to Italy. It is my wife’s birthday and she doesn’t know where we are going.”

He quietly went on to explain that they are from Alaska and that it was the first time they had ever left Alaska in the summer. She awakened, and I asked her how she felt about being on a journey and not knowing the destination. She smiled and said, “I trust him completely.”

They went out for lunch, and when they came back she was smiling broadly. He had given her the travel journal for Italy so she could read it on the overseas flight.

My plane was delayed and I missed my connecting flight. Fortunately, I received a hotel voucher. Once again, I found myself sitting on a bench next to a couple. The man said, “What hotel are you going to?” I told him, and he said, “I have a hint for you. Be sure to ask them for a refurbished room, for some of them are older and musty smelling.”

Once I arrived at the hotel, I said to the clerk, “There is word on the street that some of the rooms have a musty smell, and I’m allergic to mold.” She said, “Well, we can’t have that. Let me find you a good room.” Soon I found myself in a room on the newly remodeled executive floor, complete with a flat screen television and wonderful view.

Now are these two incidents significant in the realm of everyday life? Maybe not; however, both made my adventure more interesting. One of them was a great example of a couple caring about one another. The other conversation enhanced my physical comfort on a long journey.

I am convinced that if I had been engrossed in my smart phone I would have missed both of these conversations. On my final leg of the trip, I watched as people sat silently engrossed in their own smart phones. What interesting conversations were they missing with their fellow travelers?

Sign up for “Weekly Wisdom,” a positive way to start your week at http://www.kathycondon.info

SKYPE IS IMPROVING COMMUNICATION

A fascinating aspect has changed in my life. Gone are the days that I can work at home and forget the makeup and fixing my hair when I have a day to work at home.

Living in a higher end condo complex means that the residents maintain their appearance when they leave their own unit. My girlfriend jokes that when we go shopping how often I will say, “This will be great for wearing around the house”. Rules such as no bathing suits with no cover-up on the way to the pool are strictly prohibited.

The attire I wear in the complex is not the issue. Skype is the real change agent for me for each morning, it runs through my mind, and “Who will be calling me on Skype today?” I know you can turn it off and I do that on occasion. However, if you had a daughter with a new grandchild living in Belgium with a time difference of nine hours, would you risk missing the moment when your daughter has time to jump on for a few minutes?

It is with this in mind, the shower is taken early, hair fixed and makeup applied as soon as I have had my coffee and read the local newspaper. Yes, I read the newspaper, besides receiving my news online. I teach networking. You would be amazed and what you can pick up in ads and little tidbits tucked away in obscure locations on the pages.

Skype means we are visually available at any given moment if we stay online. Do I consider this a bad aspect of the technology? Not at all. I have never stayed in my jammies and bunny slippers all day. Now I just prepare for the day more deliberately and sooner.

Skype is changing our world and is improving communications. At last we can visually see a person’s body language, which is 55 percent of communication. Changing my morning routine is a small price to pay for the benefits Skype brings to my world.

Professional Pictures Improve your Image

After an eight-month stint working in Palm Springs, CA, my appearance had changed. My hair was lighter, for one thing. The fun factor seemed to pop out much more frequently, too, as it’s easy to become more of a free spirit when you have bright sunshine every day.

Once I returned home, I noticed that my professional picture seemed so structured and dark. It had been two years since I’d had one taken. Because I was preparing my new website, it seemed to be the perfect time to take the leap and have a new photo taken.

It was time to find the “right” photographer…

The first person I asked was Brandie Kajino http://www.sohosolutionist.com/ She replied with a big smile and said, “You have to use Kate Singh of Aevum Images http://www.aevumimages.com —she’s terrific.” Since Brandie and I are in a mastermind group, I knew she was looking out for my welfare.

I contacted Kate through Facebook. Shortly thereafter, I got a call from her and we proceeded to interview each other. We set the date and location. We planned to get the pictures taken at the Grant House here in Vancouver, WA, on the veranda—trusting that it would be a sunny day.

Kate asked me to bring different sets of clothing, and she reminded me not to wear anything that would clash with the color of my website. Never would have thought of that on my own.

I made an appointment to get my makeup done at Nordstrom http://www.vancwa.com/ I contacted a girlfriend, who is an artist, and asked her to come along for the shoot. I knew she would keep my hair, clothing and everything else nice and neat through it all.

The sun shone brightly on the morning of the photo shoot. Perfect, for I was determined not to have a usual background—I’m not known for following the rules.

It took a village to get the new photograph on the top. I’m thinking it has a little more personality than the one below it. How about you?