Thank you so much for your interest in The Insight, by Sheba. I hope you enjoyed this week’s blogs about “The Importance of Human Interaction.”

Next week’s topic will be “The Tools You’ll Need.”

Friday Review: Happy Reading!

1. Avoid Isolation.

• It’s simple, fun, and convenient to be attached to your phone or computer all day. You can communicate with your friends, your employers, and access all sorts of information with a touch of a screen or the click of a mouse. But is convenience worth sacrificing personal, physical interaction with those you love and care for? Turn off the phone and the computer and avoid isolation. Take the time to go for a walk or sit and talk with another person face to face. That sort of interaction helps us to validate our own human experience and reminds us that we’re not alone.

2. Who are You?

• Whether or not you perceive life as a stage, we are performers and as such, our behavior is a choice. Choose to show the real you. It’s okay to show others you are nervous when you’re vulnerable, or giddy when you are elated.  The important thing is that you stay true to who you are in any company. Others will respect and trust you because of it.

3. You’ve Been Doing it for Years.

• Social Interaction is not a new concept. People have been building their people skills and interacting since their first exchange. The one set back is that we have a tendency to get in our own way. If your goal is to engage others, then be receptive and open minded to their needs when communicating.

4. Connection.

• Connections are an important part of a satisfying life. We, as human beings, have an innate need for connectedness. Filling that void is essential when life presents challenges. Create an action plan to build and increase the constructs that you feel are lacking in your life. Decide which measures you will take and make them a daily practice.

The Insight: We cannot escape interaction with other people, and we ought not to try. It is beneficial to our well-being to engage in fulfilling relationships. But engagement means that investments are made on both sides. Offer your support and friendship and put your best self forward to create lasting connections.

Have a wonderful weekend!

By Sheba

www.bySheba.com

A Positive Perspective for Life, Love, and Relationships

The Scenario – You are lacking the feeling of connectedness in your relationships and don’t know how to change it.

Is there a way to build greater connections in relationships?

The Gallup Management Journal suggests that we:

1.     Evaluate Relationship Roles

• Contemplate the roles you play in various relationships. If you are a leader or mentor you have the opportunity to influence and guide the relationship and the other person to pursuing stronger connections.

2.     Meditate

• Make time in your schedule to meditate, and make sure you are connected with yourself. If you’re not in-tune with your own body, mind and spirit, you won’t be able to make meaningful connections with others.

3.     Make a List

• Create a list of the events, people, and places in your life that inspire connectedness and interject more of those moments in your life.

4.     Try New Things

• Seek and attempt new activities to facilitate connections and connectedness in your life.

5.     Acknowledge Connections

• With your family, friends or co-workers, acknowledge each person’s function in building and maintaining healthy connections. Encourage each person to continue building connections by letting them know how important their role is in the bigger picture.

6.     Support Others

• Offer a helping hand and encourage others to search for meaning and purpose in the trials they experience.

(Read More)

The Insight – Connections are an important part of a satisfying life. We, as human beings, have an innate need for connectedness. Filling that void is essential when life presents challenges. Create an action plan to build and increase the constructs that you feel are lacking in your life. Decide which measures you will take and make them a daily practice.

How much effort do you put into connections?

By Sheba

www.bySheba.com

Creating Positive Perspectives for Life

The Scenario – You are shy and introverted by nature. Socializing in a foreign environment makes you a little nervous and networking is difficult. You want to be able to engage people better in public settings, but don’t know how.

What steps can you take to improve social interaction?

Dale Carnegie, author of How to Win Friends and Influence People and several other self-improvement books, offers six suggestions to improve social interaction and ultimately make people like you:

1. Become genuinely interested in other people and ask questions.

2. Smile.

3. Remember that a person’s name is to that person the sweetest sound in any language.

4. Be a good listener. Encourage others to talk about themselves. Become an active listener.

5. Talk in terms of the other person’s interests.

6. Make the other person feel important—and do it sincerely.

(Read More)

The Insight - Social Interaction is not a new concept. People have been building their people skills and interacting since their first exchange. The one set back is that we have a tendency to get in our own way. If your goal is to engage others, then be receptive and open minded to their needs when communicating.

Do you practice good social interaction skills?

By Sheba

www.bySheba.com

Creating Positive Perspectives for Life

The Scenario – You have a friend that behaves completely different in one group setting than he or she does in another. You’re not sure which personality to trust. How do you know what that person tells or shows you won’t change when he or she is with yet another group? You often want to ask, “Who are you?”

Do people act “naturally” or do they just act?

Social theorist Dr. Erving Goffman developed the theory of “Dramaturgy.”  It’s a sub concept of the larger theory, symbolic interactionism, created to understand human behavior and social interaction. The Dramaturgical theory suggests that people behave as actors do, perceiving life as a stage, with behavior as a subject of audience and situation. The theory relies on two main components:

1.     Impression management:

• We base our actions, verbal and nonverbal alike, on our audience. We behave in a manner that we believe would present our “best self” to a particular audience.

2.     Definition of situation:

• A person does not behave “naturally,” or based on initial reaction, rather he or she assesses the situation to choose the most appropriate response or behavior within the given context.

(Read More)

The Insight – Whether or not you perceive life as a stage, we are performers and as such, our behavior is a choice. Choose to show the real you. It’s okay to show others you are nervous when you’re vulnerable, or giddy when you are elated.  The important thing is that you stay true to who you are in any company. Others will respect and trust you because of it.

How many faces do you have?

By Sheba

www.bySheba.com

Creating Positive Perspectives for Life

The Scenario – A dad instant messaged his daughter on Facebook to ask what was for dinner. The daughter sent her mom a text to find out.  The mom read the text, set the phone down and sighed. She yelled, “Spaghetti and meatballs!” Then heard a “Thanks!” from the living room, and “Yeah!” a few seconds later from the upstairs office.

Does technology get in the way of social interaction?

A study conducted by Robert Kraut, Ph.D., Michael Patterson, Vicki Lundmark, Ph.D., Sara Kiesler, Ph.D.,  Tridas Mukopadhyay, Ph.D., and William Scherlis, Ph.D. at Carnegie Mellon University, found that increased internet usage negatively affects social interaction. The more heavily a person relies on the Internet as a means of communication, the more likely that person is to:

1. Lessen communication with members of the household

2. Experience a decrease in the number of people in his or her social circles

3. Increase the likelihood of depression and loneliness

(Read More)

The Insight – It’s simple, fun and convenient to be attached to your phone or computer all day. You can communicate with your friends, your employers, and access all sorts of information with a touch of a screen or the click of a mouse. But is convenience worth sacrificing personal, physical interaction with those you love and care for? Turn off the phone and the computer and avoid isolation. Take the time to go for a walk or sit and talk with another person, face to face. That sort of interaction helps us to validate our own human experience and reminds us that we’re not alone.

How often do you engage in real social interaction?

By Sheba

www.bySheba.com

Creating Positive Perspectives for Life