April 16th:
Gentle Art of Verbal
Self Defense with a Technical Communicator
by Jim Korth, PR committee
Do you find yourself in verbal interactions that start out civil and for little or no apparent reason become confrontational? Are you tired of being misunderstood in verbal and written communication where the other party becomes aggressive and even abusive? Elisa Miller, Arroxane (Ullman) Eder and Kristin Kirkham will tell you about defending yourself verbally while accomplishing your objectives and still maintaining peace and civility. These fine ladies are the featured presenters at the April LSC meeting where they will present on topic of “The Gentle Art of Verbal Self-Defense for Technical Communicators.” Based on the work begun in the 1970s by author and linguist Suzette Haden Elgin, the approach discussed by the presenters teaches how to defend oneself |
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“The Gentle Art of Verbal Self-Defense” is:
- Gentle because aggression usually cannot be solved with reciprocal aggression nor does it mean permitting the other party to continue the aggressive behavior. It is an art since it is not a science, a therapeutic approach or a treatment for social or psychological problems. It is rather a theory with techniques for practical application.
- Verbal yet it can also be useful in dealing with written attacks. It may prove vitally important as physical attacks are often preceded by verbal confrontations.
- Self-defense because you as potential victim need to recognize when you are under attack and take measures to prevent the situation escalating. It’s your problem that could imminently become dangerous and you’ve got to resolve it peacefully.
There are two goals in verbal self-defense:
- To establish and maintain a language environment around you, by your own behavior and by the power of your presence, in which verbal violence almost never happens.
- To be able to deal with verbal violence—on those rare occasions when it really cannot be avoided—efficiently and effectively, with no loss of face on either side.
By the end of the presentation, you will know when you are being verbally attacked, what type of attack you are under, how to defend yourself without escalation, and how to follow through. Please join us on April 16 th for what should be an interesting and valuable program.
About the Presenters
Kristin Kirkham is the lone writer for BearCom, a wireless solutions company. Her duties include creating white papers, crafting request for proposal (RFP) responses, creating marketing copy, crafting success stories and news releases, as well as maintaining the writing standards and branding guidelines for the company. Kristin graduated from Texas Tech University in 2006 with a BA in English, specializing in Technical Communication.
Elisa Miller is the current president of the Lone Star Community of STC. Although she has never held the title of technical writer, Elisa has been involved in technical communication for the last 25 years as an instructional designer, information architect, usability specialist, user experience architect as well as researcher, editor, marketer and educator. She's also actively involved in the Usability and User Experience (UUX) SIG and Usability Professionals Association (UPA).
Arroxane T. (Ullman) Eder is a Senior Technical Writer for Sundance Digital, a part of Avid Technology. She has a Masters in Technical Writing from the University of North Texas and a Bachelor’s in Liberal Arts from Excelsior College. Arroxane is a former U.S. Marine, a member of the National Space Society, a staff member of two literary conventions, and considers herself a polyglot. She has met Dr. Suzette Haden Elgin in-person and attended several “Gentle Art of Verbal Self-Defense” workshops.