Canceled: Mastering Difficult Conversations in a Modern World

By Tia Ramey

Crisis Communications Professional Tia Ramey helps leaders prevent a personal and professional crisis in Canceled: Mastering Difficult Conversations in a Modern World.

Diversity is a big word with high expectations for many leaders trying to live up to what seems to be a moving target. As our perspectives of the word "Diversity

• Language: English
• Publisher: Ramey Marketing LLC
• Release date: Mar 2, 2021
• ISBN: 9780578885735

Book preview

Canceled

Mastering Difficult Conversations in a Modern World

by

Tia Ramey

Canceled: Mastering Difficult Conversations in a Modern World

Copyright © 2021 by Tia Ramey All Rights Reserved

Chapters

What is the Babel Effect?

The Foundations of Language

Purpose of Communication

Honest Communication

Languages

Media

Listening

Trigger Words

Managing Triggers

Avoiding Crisis

About the Author

Book Terms

If you are interested in this book, you may have been a lot like me when I was much younger. I was often misunderstood and at times I still am when speaking. When misunderstanding occurs, I would obsess over where communication breaks down and analyze how I could have done better to get my point across. I am not often bothered when there is a genuine disagreement, I enjoy the banter at times. What does bother me is a misunderstanding, because in my mind I could have done better to communicate my point, but I just did not know the right language.

Through this book, I hope that you gain the tools that you need to communicate with all the different people in the world today. However, I am not a linguist, so I am not here to translate all the beautiful dialects of the world. You will find that some languages I am referring to are likely right in your home, they are in your family, or maybe your place of work. There is even a possibility that your children may be completely fluent in a language that you did not teach them, and if you are interested in reading this book you may be interested in learning to connect.

This is a book about communication.

This book is not about winning debates but winning relationships.

In addition, I am not a therapist or a psychiatrist, but you may hear a few methodologies that will help you to understand where communication breaks down and how to build it back up again.

I am a crisis communications professional that specializes in outreach initiatives. I have unique experience in using social media strategy and content marketing to support outreach initiatives for vulnerable populations.

Understanding all the different voices there are in the social media world has helped me decipher the languages mentioned in this text. I have worked in the public and private sector, businesses big and small and usually when someone calls me, there is a crisis. It does not take much for there to be a crisis, these days. All you have to do is say the wrong thing for the digital world to take hold of it and rip you apart. It will usually last up to 2 weeks (If it is bad), but how you handle it means everything if you plan to re-emerge from the ashes.

Most of the time, leaders are not open to learning a new language until they have said something incredibly wrong that will impact their bottom line or their election results. I am hoping for those of you reading this book, knowing the language will aid in preventing the need for a crisis communications professional. Keeping in mind communications professionals like myself do not support your personal issues and the breakdown in communication may very well be happening right in your home and/or your personal sphere of influence.

In chapter one, knowing what I call, The Babel Effect and how it is impacting your relationships will aid in your personal and professional life. If we are not paying attention to how this science of communication is evolving, then it leaves us frustrated, alone, and very likely tormented by the idea of our dying connections. We have an entire technology-driven generation coming into the workforce communicating a different way than previous generations. If we cannot be proactive in building a bridge to better communicate with them, we lose the right to guide our youth into developing long term strategies for success.

This is not a book of translation, but you will come to understand the foundations of the languages so that you can at least begin to engage productively in some tough discussions. There are a few foundational themes these languages are built on.

In this text, you will learn to:

• Identify the language

• Proactively Listen

• And effectively communicate with someone that is truly speaking a different language than yourself.

Most importantly, you can earn the right to truly be heard and express your heart in a way that connects you with the people that you desire to communicate with. Everyone wants to be heard and if we can learn to get past the initial power struggle of who is right and wrong, we can learn how to land our voice in this world and guide our connections with dynamic influence.

This book will not teach you to convince people that you are right, but it is designed to help prevent misunderstandings when having difficult conversation. Thanks to social media, difficult conversations are imposed on us every single day. In my profession, I find most people tend to agree more than they disagree, but they are simply not speaking the same language. It is not enough to simply speak the same dialect; you must learn the foundation of the language and the filters that people are using in the modern world to communicate their world view.

Foreword

Tia Ramey has already established herself as a marketing/communications/social media/branding expert and entrepreneur. She has now taken all her knowledge, experience, expertise, and most important, her observations, and has created a blueprint for how to become better stewards of language and communication. Tia takes a deep and thought-provoking look at language, communications, and its impact on our daily lives in Cancelled: Having Difficult Conversations in a Modern World. She gives a rich and vivid religious, historical, cultural, familial, and professional context to the conversation of language and how it affects us and those around us. Cancelled: Having Difficult Conversations in a Modern World does not just stop there. Tia brilliantly, and not so subtly, holds the proverbial mirror up to all of us, and shows us each step of the way the role that WE play in how information and language is shared and interpreted. She holds us accountable. Tia teaches us to be better custodians of this precious gift of language and communication, and then tasks us to do a better job of managing what we can control in our communications: US.

This is a book that you will refer to again and again, as our world and how we communicate with one another continues to change. This is a book that I plan to use in therapy with clients who may be struggling to communicate their thoughts and feelings in a way that others are able to receive. This is a book that all of us will benefit from reading.

Stephanie K. Starks, LISW-S

Foreword

Communication. Language. Words. When it comes to the language of a leader – in her new book, Cancelled: Mastering Difficult Conversations in a Modern World, Tia has captured the essence of communicating with others authentically in order to make lasting connections – even in today’s tough environment.

When I first met Tia during a session with women entrepreneurs, she was presenting on social media and sharing her insights and tips on how to use social media to grow our business. I was a veteran communicator, having led communications teams for Fortune 500 companies and big brand universities, and let me tell you…I was mesmerized. It was not so much of what she was saying…it was HOW she was saying it. She had command of the room and yet, she pulled each of us in to listen to Every. Single. Word. she shared with us. She knew her audience, knew we were hungry to learn more and most important – she knew how to connect with us. I knew she was special the moment I met her.

Since then, Tia and I have become team members and continue to collaborate on large scale communications initiatives and projects that are making real differences in communities across the country.This book is a tool to help you communicate effectively with people in your professional and personal life. You will learn different ways to use language to connect with others and she underscores the importance of listening for understanding.

Tia breaks down the emotional, logical and spiritual foundation of communications so that we can communicate authentically and effectively in our interactions. And that’s how she hooked a room full of senior-level communicators during an hour-long session on the topic of social media. She understands the importance of connecting through communications and is a compassionate, effective communicator. I trust you will use some of her strategies outlined in this book to enhance your communications and sharpen your skills. I know I will.

Gayle Saunders, APR is Founder and CEO of The Saunders PR Group, headquartered in Columbus, OH. She is a speaker, thought leader and sought after expert to speak on crisis communications, diversity in PR, leadership communications and living your best life.

Chapter 1

The Babel Effect

What is the Babel Effect and

how is it impacting us?

Story of The Tower of Babel

What is the Babel Effect and why is it important to understand the differences in communication? This story originates from the Bible. Summarizing the story in the Bible about the Tower of Babel provides a genesis for where the breakdown of languages began and how the different nations were formed. Genesis 11:1-9 tells us that nations were divided not by ethnicity, but ethnicity was created by the division of language.

To get the details, you will have to explore the Apocrypha. In the post-flood world, a descendant of Noah, King Nimrod led a rebellion against God to build a