Listening

Listening is that part of communication where the message is received and understood.  Many people would say that they listen, but do they really?  It's really different than hearing. Hearing is just when the sounds enter the ear canal and make vibrations.

I've been asked a few times about the best way to listen and I've come up with really one that answers the question. It's a simple test.

You're on a plane sitting comfortably on your way to someplace adventurous and then all of a sudden the pilot comes up on the intercom system to say, "Hello, everyone. I'm sorry to inform you that the we've lost both of our engines and that we'll be making an emergency landing in the next city."  You sit at alert anticipating the next few seconds and what's to come - Yes, instructions to save your life! 

Can you see the difference this would make on your professional life? Listening to every conversation like your life depended on it?

Here are a couple more examples. You're now at a sales meeting and your client states the conditions you and your company could stand to gain their business tripling your commissions.... Or your CIO states that your company has decided to reduce headcount and that you will be impacted ... Or your CFO states that your company has exceeded their financial goals and will be handing out bonuses.

In all of these situations and others, you're required to listen. I won't go into the details of the techniques of listening, but if your life depended on it, you'd be listening.

Regards,
Gil Gido
NAAAP Seattle
President

NAAAP Natl Webinar Series: NING

If you missed my webinar on social media, yesterday, I presented a walkthrough of NING, a new-age social networking tool, and showed how it helps businesses and associations set up a community for collaboration and to nurture relationships. I illustrated two examples, one of my clients (Vibrant Teams) and another for our own Women in NAAAP (WIN) program.

It was very exciting.  In preparing for the webinar, I had the opportunity of working with great people: Seattle Chapter members as well as the International Board Committee for the Women In NAAAP Program, most importantly with Judi Rhee Alloway, the National Chairwoman of WIN. Their support and their creative ideas led us to creating a NING network for the program as what’s evident to make the WIN program successful was to create a supportive network and moreso, using social media.

This network is in BETA though so we can gather feedback to make improvements to the network. Throughout this year, Women In NAAAP will continue to build this network for local and National participants in WIN to discuss topics related to women in the workforce, re-entering the workforce, community and family matters and much, much more.

To sum up, I'm super energized about the NING platform and the Women In NAAAP Program.  If you would like to help us test and grow this network, you're invited to sign up on NING and check it out.

Regards,

Gil Gido

NAAAP Seattle

President

Links:

 Join these social networks to join the conversation.

• Women In NAAAP on NING: http://winaaap.ning.com/
• Vibrant Teams on NING: http://vibrantteams.ning.com/

NAAAP-ing amid the cherry blossoms

This past weekend (April 16-18), twenty NAAAP members swilled unlimited supplies of Seattle's Best Coffee, listened to Taeko drums and watched kites fly, and learned about the intricacies of Japanese culture and history as they volunteered at the Seattle Cherry Blossom and Japanese Cultural Festival at the Seattle Center.

"I worked at the Information booth and helped with the stage and the kite games," said Cody Li. “This event sent a message to people who don't know a lot of Japanese culture: Learn & explore Japanese culture. We should do this more often."

Mayor Mike McGinn and Consul General of Japan Kiyokazu Ota spoke at the Opening ceremony. Bob Hasegawa, Harold Taniguchi, and Sharon Tomika Santos were also in attendance.

The Festival was manned by a corps of dedicated volunteers who brought homemade meals to keep each other energized throughout the three-day affair.

Community Service Chair David Eam said, “Everyone on the committee was so kind, helpful, and very humble. It was great working with them.”

On the last day of the Festival, many NAAAP members came out to visit their friends in volunteer-i-tude.

Tazue Sasaki, the chair of the Festival, acknowledged NAAAP’s service to the event.

"I would like to thank the volunteers, especially NAAAP,” said Sasaki. “You all came through, not just doing what you were asked to do, but going beyond the call of duty. We really appreciate that.”

To find out about NAAAP-Seattle volunteer opportunities and/or become a part of the community service committee, please email david.eam@naaapseattle.org