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Why ‘reading the air’ is essential in Japan
In Japan the expression ‘kuuki yomenai’ (literally, someone unable to read the air) was added to the national lexicon a few years ago, perhaps in response to the influx of international company executives who were singularly unable to do so. Reading the air means to...
Careless talk costs time. Who’s in control?
Is the preference for texting over talking causing a decrease in interpersonal communication skills on the phone and face-to-face? What has happened to the art of conversation? A recent article by BBC Technology1 features the concerns of several experts who warn that...
Paranoia strikes
At first I thought it was my imagination. Then of course, I took it personally: ‘What did I do?’ Or conversely, ‘What didn’t I do?’ Had I been abandoned and relegated to the bottom of the friendship league? Next, I attempted to resuscitate the art of conversation by...
It’s So Funny How We Don’t Talk Anymore
In the immortal words of Cliff Richard (1979), it really seems that we aren’t talking anymore, at least not on the phone. We always had so much to say! One of my over-riding memories of the 1970s is always having so much to say. My father was forever complaining about...