WOW Word of the Week: Persiflage

Summary:  Meander through my musings to learn a holiday word about, well, words...

This week is like a personal springtime. I'm feeling myself slowly coming back to life like a seedling unfurling into a flower.

Last week, after trekking around the Midwest the week before to spend the Thanksgiving holiday with family, I found myself with some unwelcome symptoms: a fever (most dreaded), aches, chills, congestion and worst of all a sore throat—something no communications coach ever wants, especially going into a full week of coaching sessions. I tried to offer phone sessions to my clients to keep the germs to myself and the communication rolling, but it was murder on my voice and throat. I scrapped that short-lived solution and went to the doctor. Diagnosis: strep throat.

My holiday vacation was suddenly extended by way of infection. And my intent to blog was prolonged as I spent most days rescheduling clients from the couch.

Does all this sickness talk seem like persiflage to you? If so, I made my point: Traveling the day before Thanksgiving, my husband and I listened to old recordings of Jean Shepherd's radio show—Shepherd of "A Christmas Story" fame. What a writer! Of the many vocabulary words to choose from in his rhetorical radio ramblings, the one that caught my attention the most was the word about words ... specifically about filler words that mean little and say lots, persiflage.

It's defined as frivolous banter. Shepherd's usage was "little brother persiflage" to describe his brother's dinner conversation; not as important as his own childhood dialogue on what he wanted for Christmas.
 
Look up persiflage here. And pardon mine, please. Let's blame it on the lingering infection.

© KiKi Productions, Inc. 2012

WOW Word of the Week: Laymanize

Summary: Forgot the buzzwords. Use real, reader-submitted words and laymanize it!

 Are you feeling overwhelmed by all the recent tweets and blog posts about industry speak and buzzwords? Laymanize it!

Just for fun, today I visited the open dictionary at Merriam-Webster.com—the section on the website where visitors like you and me can add our own words (and, yes, I have accepted the invitation to add my own words in the past). Have you added the words you use everyday? If not, visit the list for yourself and see what's missing that you can contribute: New Words & Slang Open Dictionary.

One word that jumped out at me from the "recently added" list was laymanize, defined by the adder as "to simplify a statement; to state in layman's terms." A sample sentence might be, "Doctor, instead of using medical jargon to answer my health questions, could you laymanize your answers?" ... Your doctor may or may not appreciate this request.

The etymology of this word? Well, that we'll have to come up with together in the true spirit of open dictionaries. First known usage on record would be 2012; and I'd wager the word stems from the English noun layman, meaning non-expert. Layman derives from the adjective lay (originating from the German Gothic lagjan, to put or to place) and the noun man (an ancient word stemming from multiple language roots, most recently meaning human being or person). To put something into layman's terms is to re-word it in language that's understandable to all. In other words, laymanize it!

© KiKi Productions, Inc. 2012

Summary: Welcome back to the Beyond Talk blog! Read today's post to learn more about last week's mini-blog tweet of the word granular as an industry buzzword.

Do you follow me on Twitter (@KealahParkinson)? If so, you've been getting mini-blog posts on WOW Words of the Week—industry buzzword terms like last week's granular.

Granular (GRAN - yeh - LEHR) – Its basic definition is something grainy or seemingly consisting of grains, such as sugar or sand; but in business-speak, it means finely detailed. In other words, it's getting down to the nitty-gritty. Sample sentence: "The client was pleased that Sue's proposal was granularly focused on the service schedule of our project." Etymology: This word entered the English language in the late 1700s from the Latin granule, a diminutive of the Latin word granum for grain or seed. Related word: Granola—which, when used colloquially to mean nature-oriented and/or modern-day-hippie, is decidedly un-business-oriented!

© KiKi Productions, Inc. 2012

WOW Word of the Week: SOFT SKILLS

Summary: Do you have the soft skills it takes to compete—and win—in today's business world? Find out what soft skills are and how to get them today.

This week's WOW is really a POW—a Phrase of the Week: soft skills.

 According to its Wikipedia definition, soft skills refers to a specific set of abilities that are often innate, but can be learned.

Let me repeat that: these skills can be learned. They just may take more time to learn than your traditional hard job skills.

What's the difference between "hard skills" and "soft skills"? Great question! So glad you asked.

Hard skills are things like typing, data input, computer programming, computer program usage, even memorizing sales scripts. They're the day-to-day duties you list in your résumé that help you land the job—or the ones you learned and practiced while on the job. Soft skills, by contrast, are things like crafting an appropriate email message that resonates with your client; training others to use company-wide computer and data systems; and incorporating the bottom line points of a sales script into your own, authentic language. They are the little extra flourishes you put in your résumé's objective or cover letter to ensure you land the job (and get along with your co-workers and employers)—things like "people person," "great listener" and "works well on a team." Here's more:

1. "Soft skills are personal attributes that enhance an individual's interactions, job performance and career prospects" and are "broadly applicable both in and outside the work place." (Wikipedia)

2. "Screening or training for" these types of skills "can yield significant return on investment for an organization." Studies have proven this to be true. (Wikipedia et. al.)

3. It's been suggested they're more important long-term than hard skills, or the occupational skill sets that can be more readily taught and learned—and even remembered by rote. (Wikipedia, KiKi Productions Inc. Communications Coaching et. al.)

4. Whereas "hard skills" are typically related to one's IQ, soft skills relate to your EQ, or your emotional intelligence quotient. (Wiki, KiKi)

5. Some of the top soft skills that employers look for can be found in this article.  (AOL Jobs)

Here are a list of soft skills that I teach my clients daily:

communication skills
conflict resolution
creative problem solving
strategic thinking/enhanced focus
icebreakers/cold calling
sales closing
rapport building
team building/team goal setting
personal goal setting & achievement
time management/effective appointment setting

Join me in the campaign to add this fabulous phrase, soft skills, to the dictionary—or at least the open/slang dictionary at Merriam-Webster.com. Click the link, submit the phrase and credit the article or blog entry of your choice!

And to add some much-needed soft skills to your own repertoire and résumé—or to improve your soft skill set—consider working with a coach like me or other communications coaches. Google the search term or check out my website to begin your journey to personal and professional improvement.

© KiKi Productions, Inc. 2012

WOW WORD OF THE WEEK: Aboulia

Summary: Pardon my aboulia of late. It's taken me awhile to decide which direction to go toward with my 'next' blog post. Read on to see what broke the spell—and just what the heck aboulia is, anyway.

 On a recent trip to Terry Abner Salon to get my nails done by Jamie Fritze, nail tech extraordinaire, I spotted a book that jumped out at me amid the usual selection of home decor and celebrity gossip magazines. Although its title escapes me today (something along the line of Weird, Wonderful Words), the 1980s font is emblazoned in my mind's eye, along with the physical feeling of joy that overcame my being when I realized I could sit down in the lobby and escape into my favorite subject of all. ... And, well, that's weird and wonderful words.

I didn't get very far into the book before Jamie came to greet me with her usual stylish and sweet look and demeanor, accompanied by the lilting-voiced, "Hi, Kealah." (If you haven't read it yet, that's KEY - la. Think cartoonized singing house key.) But no matter: I only had to read the first entry to find a word I could newly love.

Aboulia (ay - BOO - lee - YAH) – (n.) the absence of willpower or decisiveness; an abnormal lack of ability to act or to make decisions that's characteristic of certain neurotic or psychotic conditions. Typically used as a medical term, the word can be spelled without the O, as in abulia. It hails from the same ancient Greek word that literally means "without will." With an adjective form, aboulic, it's been used in English presumably since the language's dawn.

What are some cognitive challenges that have aboulia as a symptom? They can include depression, mood disorders (bipolar disorder or schizophrenia), addiction/alcoholism, autism, and even ADD, especially when it comes to decision-making.

© KiKi Productions, Inc. 2012

WOW WORD OF THE WEEK: Agita

Summary: If you've ever experienced agita, or serious jitters, over a conversation or presentation, you can tune in to my radio program tomorrow to learn tips for calming your nerves. In the meantime, read the post below to discover the short history of the word agita.

Nod your head if this has ever happened to you: You're about to have a momentous conversation—something that impacts your career or your livelihood in a very important way—and you've rehearsed exactly what you want to say ... but every time you think about the impending moment, your knees get weak, your stomach turns somersaults and your throat closes up like a boa constrictor has your neck. Sound familiar?

That's agita, also known as agitation to most of us, and it isn't pretty. Want to know how to cure it? Tune in tomorrow morning to WVLP-LP FM 98.3 (or listen online anytime, including to the live broadcast) and hear some simple exercises you can do to dispel your nervousness and gain confidence.

Tomorrow's broadcast kicks off a brand new program called "Transformational Radio." Hosted by Randi Light, the show will share ways to better yourself in such important areas of personal growth as finances, health and wellness, personal and professional organization, and of course, communication. In this first episode, healing coach and hypnotherapist Randi and her guests (financial adviser Carey Yukich and communications coach Kealah Parkinson—hey, that's me!) will discuss "Overcoming Fears." I'll share what I know about overcoming your fears of public speaking or speaking with confidence in intimidating conversations, such as with a boss, potential clients, troublesome co-workers or even personal loved ones who just don't seem to know how to listen.

Comment here to have your questions answered on-air—or visit our Facebook events page and leave us a message anytime about this or future episodes.

Think you understand agita? Here's a little more info for the road:

AGITA (A - jih - TUH) – (n.) A feeling of extreme nervousness, agitation or anxiety. It sounds like an old, archaic word, but its first known use in the English language was actually 1982, making it a bit of a baby. As such a new word, not all dictionaries contain it. However, it does have old origins: It comes from the Italian acido, which is literally translated as heartburn or acid. Agita's grandparent is the Latin word for the same, acidus.

Merriam-Webster.com gives a fitting sample usage of the word: "She took a deep breath to dispel her agita as she stepped onstage." Tune in tomorrow to find out what's wrong with that tactic.


© KiKi Productions, Inc. 2011

WOW! WORD OF THE WEEK: Carillon

Summary: How is carillon related to clarion? Do these words make beautiful music together? I guess that depends on who's listening ...

Last night, lying in bed and reading, I came across a word that I pretty well figured out by context, but still wanted to look up, because it was new to me. Not only that, it's a word I would categorize as "pretty." After learning the exact meaning, "pretty" really does it justice, I think.

Carillon (KAYR - eh - LON) - (n.) a set of fixed, chromatically tuned bells sounded by hammers that are controlled from a keyboard; also an electronic instrument that imitates the carillon or a musical composition created for the carillon. The etymology of the word carillon is straightforward, but rich—perhaps a little like the instrument, itself. 


Entering English in 1775 from the French (same word, different pronunciation [don't forget to click the link by the word above to hear how it sounds in English today]), it derives from the Old French carignon, meaning "set of four bells." This traces to the Latin for "set of four," quaternionem, which derives from quarter, also Latin and meaning "four times." Carillon's base origin traces back five and a half thousand years—well before such an instrument was ever even in idea form, likely—to the Proto-Indo-European word for four, kwetwer. (Now, that's one I'd categorize as a "funny" word! Say it as fast as you can, and it sounds like a sneeze.)


Researching this all for today's blog post, I wondered if this WOW! Word were any relation to clarion.  The answer is yes—and no: While the two don't share any similar root words, they do follow the same path to the English language, from Latin to Old French to French, then English. Look up the definition, and you'll find even more they share in common. Then check out the history of the carillon, too.


As a sidebar, the book I was reading used this lovely word in a beautiful metaphor. The exact quote is: "While that first gloss had not set off any bells for Alan, Evan-Wentz's translation set off a carillon." [From Destructive Emotions: How Can We Overcome Them? (A Scientific Dialogue with the Dalai Lama, narrated by Daniel Goldeman, author of Emotional Intelligence)] ... Don't you just think that sentence has a nice ring to it?


© KiKi Productions, Inc. 2011

Blog Hiatus & Contest Winner: Welcome to Your New Normal

Summary: If you found another blog to help you build your vocabulary while the writer of this one was M.I.A., I don't blame you. Share your fave finds—and read my whiner explanation for absence below. (It may surprise you.)

After a month and a half without WOW Word of the Week vocabulary building—and without posts about communication skills or cognitive/thinking skills challenges; without even personal updates—I'm back! And so are all of these posts and more.

Why the radio (or internet) silence? Life got crazy at the end of the summer as my client list grew at just the exact same moment that my husband and I (and our two cats) moved from a mold-ridden home into the brand new home we'd spent the better part of a year building ... with the amazing assistance of an organization called L.A.R.R.I. that's a division of the United Way. This "organization" is made up of very generous and giving people, and funded by some just-as-generous grants. Words cannot express the gratitude that I feel for this very amazing gift.

As I enter into this new era of life—in a new home (with a new home office, too!), a new list of clients, and a new book due out this fall—I'm glad to be restoring a sense of normalcy to my day-to-day routine. The fact that this "normalcy" is so upbeat and inspirational is another gift altogether.

And speaking of gifts, or prizes at any rate: I'm pleased to announce (though saddened to announce so belatedly) that the winner of July's blog contest winner is Melissa Osika. Melissa earned bonus points for using truculent in a sentence. For that, she gets pure bragging rights. She also happens to be the winner of a free copy of the electronic workbook that aims to improve communication skills, Speak Your Truth: How to Say What You Mean to Get What You Want. Here's wishing Melissa a new time of new growth in her own life as she completes the workbook exercises and discovers her personal truth. Melissa, welcome to your new normal!


© KiKi Productions, Inc. 2011