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Weird English idioms and some history behind the “Ides of March” in this month’s newsletter!

March 2023 Vol 5 Issue 3

 

Tell Your Story Newsletter (TYSN):
Specializing in Entrepreneurial and Linguistic Communication
Let me teach you to tell your story!

Welcome Mid-March, 2023!

After enduring unseasonably cold weather for the first 10 days of March, we have seen temperatures gradually rise, as we reached a calendar milestone— the famous “Ides of March!” You may recall that March 15th is the day when Roman Emperor Julius Caesar was assassinated (in 44 BCE, an event made famous by Shakespeare’s tragedy in 1599).

Although Saskatoon sidewalks and roads continue to be slick with ice, for the most part, there are no toga-clad conspirators, waiting with daggers for us at work! (Perhaps the risk is why some of us prefer self-employment? Lol!)

If such “workplace safety” isn’t relief enough, our daylight hours are lengthening beautifully and, after a stretch of grey days, our familiar prairie sunshine has returned!

I expect that none of you, good readers, were accosted (much less, assassinated) by Roman senators (or other “back-stabbing” colleagues) on your commute to work, yesterday! And hopefully, you weren’t headed for the Theatre of Pompey, either. . . . You may remember Wayne & Shuster’s
famous retelling of the story of Caesar’s demise on the Ides of March, from his wife Calpurnia’s perspective: “I told him, ‘Julie, don’t go!’”).

After having addressed serious philosophical and psychoanalytic concepts of stoicism, shame and resilience in recent postings of this newsletter and my blog, today I share some more lighthearted “fare.”

In “Article One,” I present some “weird and wonky” English idioms from a list compiled by the team at Tefl.org in the UK (from whom I earned my accreditation to teach ESL, in 2021). Newcomers and native English speakers alike may have been puzzled by some of these expressions.

And in “Article Two, “Word Nerd’s Corner,” I present some humourous aspects and history of the date of March 15th, more than two millennia after the date gained its murderous origins. (Thinking Edward Gorey, anyone?)

May the coming of spring dispel any superstition from your minds, good readers, so that yesterday’s “Ides of March” will connote no disloyalty or violent ends!

Sincerely,
Elizabeth
Principal
Storytelling Communications
www.elizabethshih.com
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IN THIS ISSUE:
ARTICLE 1: Ten weird English idioms from Tefl.org (in the UK)
STORYTELLERS’ CORNER:
Some history behind the date, the “Ides of March”
SHOP NEWS
ABOUT US
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Article One: Ten weird English idioms from mentors and colleagues at TEFL.org (UK)

While other languages may be very direct and use fewer figures of speech, English has many idioms that arise everywhere, whether in ordinary “watercooler” chat to official government documents.
Some of our simple phrases sound normal to native-speakers, but very odd to newcomers as they study English:

(1) “The Elephant in the room”: The metaphor of the “elephant” generally refers to a controversial or difficult topic that most people want to avoid. The idiom as a whole is attributed the Russian writer, Ivan Krylov, who wrote a fable (in 1814) of a man who visits a museum, observes small trinkets but not a large elephant in the room.

Fyodor Dostoevsky then used the idiom, writing in his book, Demons (1871-1872), that “Belinsky was just like Krylov’s Inquisitive Man, who didn’t notice the elephant in the museum.”

(2) “You can say that again”: This idiom can cause confusion, as it seems to ask a speaker to repeat themselves, when it means simply to express agreement on something. For instance, if I tell you that the weather is unseasonably cold for late March, you might say, “You can say that again!”

(3) “Lose your marbles”: To lose one’s marbles is to forget something, be frustrated or confused by something. These connotations are common, especially in UK English, since competitive marble playing has occurred for centuries there, and with much attention.

A secondary meaning known better in Canada, connects “losing marbles” with “cognitive deterioration” (i.e. insanity). “The mail deliverer must be losing his marbles today, because he stooped down while delivering our letters, to pet our Rottweiler.”

(4) “Butterflies in my stomach”: The metaphor of having insects occupy your digestive tract reflects the feeling of “flutters,” or nervousness about something. This idiom gets trotted out when you have a job interview, go on a blind date, or worry that a costly parking ticket awaits you, as you leave an appointment that ran late.
So, when you are nervous, your mind kicks into “fight-or-flight” mode, and this causes a fluttery feeling in your stomach or digestive tract..

(5) “Easier said than done”: This is an unusually literal idiom which refers to something that is challenging to do, but may not be acknowledged as such. So a newcomer student might say, “I’m going to master the perfect conditional tense” today, when that is much easier said than done.

(6) “To let the cat out of the bag”: refers to revealing a secret, especially if it occurs by accident. To accidentally reveal a surprise retirement party to a good friend would be a typical example. TEFL friends clarify that the idiom “has nothing to do with cats, or indeed, bags.”

(7) “Hit the sack” or “Hit the hay”: these are two idioms that refer simply to “going to bed.” Historically, human beds were not always bought in furniture stores (“move over, IKEA”), so people commonly rested their heads on some loose fabric (sack) or even on some harvested farm crops (hay).

(8) “The best thing since sliced bread”: In the US, where sliced bread was first sold in the 1920s, it was advertised as “the greatest forward step in the baking industry, since bread was wrapped.” The convenience of buying pre-sliced bread led to the simplified phrasing of “the best thing since sliced
bread.” Americans started to apply the term to all kinds of modern conveniences and it persists today.

(9) “The bees’ knees”: this idiom was part of a popular movement in language in the 1920s that used the animal kingdom to create fun expressions of praise. This idiom means something of high quality; and there other idioms that had similar meaning, such as “the cat’s pyjamas” and “the sardine’s whiskers.” While none of these may strike you as terribly persuasive today, the 1920s were a completely different time, linguistically.

(10) “It takes two to tango”: TEFL writers say that the “tango” originated in the border between Argentina and Uruguay and was considered a “risqué and working-class” dance when it began. Now it’s a regular influence on network television, such as on the American program “So You Think You Can Dance.”

Do you use any of these weird and wonky idioms in your conversations in English? Do you know some that didn’t make it to the list? Please share; I’d be happy to post them in a future issue!

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STORYTELLERS’ CORNER . . . 

STORYTELLERS’ CORNER: Words, stories, riddles and more on writing and editing . . . Some history behind the date, the “Ides of March”

• The word “Ides” (the 15th day of a month) comes from the Latin word, “idus,” which refers to the middle day of any month in the ancient Roman calendar.

• The Ides refer the 15th day of the months of March, May, July or October; and the 13th day of the remaining months.

• There is much superstition surrounding the origins of the date, but in fact it only marks the first day of a full moon in every month (falling between the 13th and the 15th days).

• Part of the negative connotations of the “Ides” is that they were designated as the date to settle outstanding debts each month in the ancient Roman calendar. Debtors who could not pay their debts were typically thrown into prison or forced into slavery. Therefore, the “Ides” were thought to be especially unlucky days.

• The connotations of an unlucky day with particularly disastrous implications is, of course, tied to Ancient Rome. Roman Emperor Julius Caesar was murdered on the “Ides of March” in 44 BCE. Historians have said that Caesar’s senators murdered him out of fear that his popularity would turn him into a dictator (and them into slaves).

• A lot of the story surrounding the “Ides of March” comes from Shakespeare’s sensational dramatization of the murder of Julius Caesar. For instance, Shakespeare dramatizes that Brutus was Caesar’s best friend and the leader of the assassination plot, which are not true.
In fact, there were three conspirators, among whom Decimus, not Brutus, was most trusted and known by Caesar. And it was Decimus who led the murderous plot.

• Caesar was not warned to “Beware the Ides of March” by an anonymous soothsayer (in Shakespeare’s version). The omen was actually “Beware the next 30 days,” uttered on February 15, 44 BCE by an Etruscan soothsayer, called Spurinna (historians tell us).

• Dictator Adolf Hitler chose this day in 1939 to attack and seize the provinces of Czechoslovakia.

• Some parts of the world observe March 15 with national holidays that are not deemed unlucky, such as Constitution Day in Belarus; National Day in Hungary; and even Youth Day in Palau.

What was your “Ides of March” (yesterday) like?

Do you have a concept, story, joke or problem involving any aspect of writing or communications? Please share it with me; I’d be delighted to use it in an upcoming issue

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SHOP NEWS:

Every month brings new ways for me to thank my Raj Manek mentor and dear friend, Monica Kreuger. This month, she included me, among other team members of Global Infobroker’s ”Praxis School of Entrepreneurship,” in a deferred Christmas party.

A death in Monica’s family sadly occurred shortly before last Christmas, pre-empting the usual holiday festivities.

But amazingly generous soul that she is, only three months into the new year, Monica graced Elaine Mantyka, Deanna Litz, Silvana Cracogna, Grace Wang, Carmen Karin Rosner and I with pampering spa services (including several kinds of facials, sugaring, ion cleanses, foot wax, eyebrow and nail
treatments!).

It was heavenly! Missing but in our thoughts were also team members Marie Weinkauf and Jolene Watson. (On who the magical service providers were for the evening, see below.)

And in Monica’s impeccable way, the food was scrumptious, featuring the charcuterie and desserts of local entrepreneur, Colleen Middlemiss, of Colleen’s Catering.

Thank you, Monica, and to fellow entrepreneurs of the Praxis team, who have learned from Monica’s genius and generosity!

Entrepreneur of the month:
Writing two days after the above evening spa event, my skin still feels great. So I’m delighted to shine a spotlight on the service providers at Bailey Kreuger’s woman-owned business, “Drop Dead Gorgeous Day Spa.”

Along with estheticians Sara Kreuger, Megan Kent and “Essentials” hairdresser, Crystal Hill, “Drop Dead Gorgeous” provides a wide variety of services that will make you feel as beautiful as you look, including facials and skin care, lashes and brows, hands and feet, makeup application, hair
removal, tanning, tattooing and permanent makeup.

As proud daughters of amazing entrepreneurial parents, Monica and Brent Kreuger, Bailey and Sara belong to the Chamber of Commerce and support “Totally Locally Saskatoon.” They do so by also promoting the work of entrepreneurs who are among their regular and loyal clients.
Ready to feel as gorgeous as you look? Visit their website or their Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/DropDeadGorgeousDaySpa !

There are always new businesses and new ideas to promote and discuss. Please write me to shareyour stories! . . . . But for now, this is a wrap for mid-March!

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ABOUT US:
Between 2011 and December 2018, Elizabeth Shih Communications chronicled the stories of B2B marketing and communications on the Prairies and across the country.

Effective January 1, 2019, I rebranded as “Storytelling Communications.” I now help newcomers to Canada land better jobs by improving their English skills; I help SMEs close more sales by communicating more effectively, and I help major companies tell their legacy stories.

Interested in learning more? Please contact me through my CASL-compliant
website (www.elizabethshih.com).

After I receive your message, I’ll be pleased to discuss projects with you!
Please visit my website for more information (www.storytellingcommunications.ca)

 

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Does stoicism bring resilience? Read this month’s issue for an answer!

February 2023 Vol 5 Issue 2

Tell Your Story Newsletter (TYSN):

Specializing in Entrepreneurial and Organizational Storytelling

Let me tell your story!

Welcome Mid-February, 2023!

Although winter hit us early and hard toward the end of 2022, more recent weeks (apart from a cold interval in January) have been unseasonably mild—and lately sunny, too!

However, in the middle of February (often thought in Saskatchewan to be winter’s “cruellest” month), the cold has returned and more of it is promised next week.

Friends who suffer from migraine headaches, people with sinus challenges and those with weakened immune systems, can be overheard lamenting recent weather fluctuations. But now into year three of the global pandemic, good readers, aren’t we all happier that 2023’s cold spells don’t seem to last? Saskatchewan winters demand such resilience from us.

The principals or directors of “ei advantage (Emotional Intelligence Advantage),” Winnipeg-based Hayley Hesseln and Janice Gair, published a blog posting recently on how stoicism can foster that same resilience in all of us–especially in these costly, challenging, Covid times. So in “Article One” this month, I review some of the arguments of their posting, “10 Stoic Quotes to Build Resilience.”

What’s in store in Article Two, “Word Nerd’s Corner,” you may ask?  For a change of pace this month, I present some compelling book dedications— intriguing or inspiring statements that I’ve encountered when reading business books, entrepreneurial guides, fiction and more.

May the next month be kind to you, good readers, as we are closing the long loop of winter!

Sincerely,

Elizabeth

 Principal

Storytelling Communications

 www.elizabethshih.com

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IN THIS ISSUE:

ARTICLE 1: Does stoicism build resilience?

STORYTELLERS’ CORNER:  Book dedications from assorted authors

SHOP NEWS

ABOUT US

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Article One: Does stoicism build resilience?

Hayley Hesseln and Janice Gair offer progressive programming for leaders and entrepreneurs through their “ei advantage” company. In one of their recent blog postings, they offer “10 stoic quotes that build resilience.” Why? Because as part of our unending global pandemic, soaring inflation affects every sector of life, the bottom drops out of the stock market and even routine aspects of life now sometimes feel that “they’re too much to handle.”

When “such vicissitudes have always been part of the human experience,” Hesseln and Gair are among many business thinkers who give credence to stoic philosophers whose writings (as early as 300 BCE) still have value and “ring true to this day.” Ryan Holiday’s book (whose title encapsulates his value for stoicism), The Obstacle is the Way (2014), has sold like hotcakes.

Hesseln and Gair write that stoicism has been practiced by “kings, artists, thinkers, presidents and entrepreneurs” from the likes of Adam Smith, Ralph Waldo Emerson, George Washington, and many more. Its perspectives, from writers like Marcus Aurelius, Seneca and Epictetus, are designed “to increase resilience, manage adversity” and (writes Aurelius), to “stand ready and firm to meet sudden and unexpected onsets.”

“Emotional Intelligence,” Hesseln and Gair write, can arise from the four central virtues of Stoicism: (1) Courage—reframing the world of difficult situations as opportunities to learn and better ourselves; (2) Temperance—doing nothing to excess when being brave can lead to recklessness; (3) Justice—doing the right thing because it is more important than anything else; and (4) Wisdom—recognizing that there is always more to learn, so we should strive to deepen our understanding of the world around us.

Among the 10 quotations of ancient Stoics that are cited in the blog posting, more than one  argues Seneca’s point that “we are more often frightened than hurt; and we suffer more in imagination than in reality.” In other words, most of what we worry about is in our heads, or that things do not disturb people but only the judgments we make of those things. So we get anxious running imaginary arguments, mapping out situations in our minds that never occur and worrying about risks that never lead to disasters.

These thought patterns are what contemporary psychologists and psychoanalysts call anxiety. The key to resilience, then (say the stoics), is to “pay attention to your thoughts and the things you worry about” and ask this: “are these real problems or just my imagination?”

 

Some other quotations advocate against hoping that events will turn out as you want them, but welcoming whatever happens, as the “path to peace” (Epictetus). It can be hard to welcome pain, loss and violence and make peace out of them, I might counter.

 

The posting concludes with Seneca’s teaching that “Wherever there is a human being, there is an opportunity for a kindness”–i.e. that “we [can be] remembered for how we treat others in our lives.”

 

Hesseln and Gair show that Stoicism does underpin some of contemporary thought and familiar expressions, such as “learn to roll with the punches” and “be the change you want to see in the world.” It’s good to know that such thinking dates to times as long ago as 300 BCE—we should not reinvent the wheel!

 

But while I admire the leadership training and coaching of Hesseln and Gair,  and I while I admire some of Holiday’s writing (that I reviewed in an earlier blog posting), what concerns me most about such ideas is that they assume that we can all “hurry-harder” (to borrow a curling term) in trying times, and that adopting an attitude of “tough-love” for oneself is healthy, tenable, and sustainable.

 

To push through the obstacles we meet in life (as Holiday’s title suggests), we would have to curtail our emotional lives, bracketing off our feelings indefinitely and apparently without repercussions. This assumption is patently false. Who among us hasn’t experienced a breakthrough in our work only after we have grieved heavily over stressful obstacles, disappointments and lost time and energy that undermined our goals?

 

To deny our emotional lives is guaranteed to lead to thinkers’ and writers’ block (i.e. more obstacles) which reflects depression, not progress. Yes, contemporary life requires us to grapple with life’s obstacles first-hand. But if we are to force ourselves through them, blind to the pain and emotion involved, that would

require self-abnegation.


 

American psychologist Kristin Neff has argued over the past 20 years that we need compassion for ourselves, not self-denial, if we are to find satisfaction in life. She cites the Buddhist belief that “suffering = pain x resistance”–that when we resist emotional pain, we only compound our suffering. But the “highlights” of stoicism by their very nature resist pain and fail to connect how it pertains to suffering. When we experience at least some of the pain of our lives (instead of denying it), we stop resisting it, and, with the support of a therapist, good friends or family, that process can (albeit counterintuitively) actively reduce our suffering.

In my 2017 book of interviews, Keep Going: Five Creatives Build Resilience, I cite the Concise Oxford English Dictionary’s definition of “resilience” as the ability “to withstand or recover quickly from difficult conditions.” More intensive definitions come from psychoanalysis, which a whole volume of blog postings could only begin to address. (But do consult Diane Coutu’s masterful article on the topic in the “Harvard Business Review”).

But if we are to recover and so find resilience from these “stressful and overwhelming times” (Hesseln and Gair), I still contend that we won’t be able to do it with stoic thinking or “self-mastery”– an inconvenient truth.  The annual mental health expenditures of most Western nations (including ours) provide ample evidence that many sufferers are not achieving resilience, despite the popularity of Holiday’s and others’ tracts on stoicism.

We also need leaders who recognize the importance of health care and, in particular, mental and senior health care, so that our communities have resources to turn to, in especially these “stressful and overwhelming times.” Not coincidentally, evidence shows that quite the opposite is happening.  In this week’s news, our second (and last) gastroenterologist has announced that she’s departing Saskatchewan, leaving more than 1000 local patients without specialist care. And at the same time, support is growing among seniors for physician-assisted dying, as at least some of the time, a tragic alternative to the very broken senior health care system in SK.

On these matters, stoicism could (and may already) underpin political quietism. For that reason, either the stoics’ ancient or contemporary formulations should be vigorously analyzed before they’re adopted as truisms for life.

And now it’s your turn: Do you find writings of stoicism (whether ancient or recently adopted) to help you find resilience within? Please write in; I’d be delighted to hear from you.

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STORYTELLER’s CORNER

STORYTELLER’S CORNER: Words, Stories, Riddles and Jokes on Writing and Editing . . .

This Month:  Memorable Book Dedication Pages

Do you ever wonder about the “dedications” of the books you read? I often find them intriguing. Here’s a recent sample:

  •   “To Amazon Addict” (Dr. Jud Brewer, Unwinding Anxiety: Train Your Brain to Heal Your Mind [2021]). Psychiatrist Jud Brewer dedicates his latest book to the anonymous reviewer of his first book. The reader protested in his/her Amazon review (ie. s/he is the “Amazon Addict”) that Brewer provided no insights on how to heal. And I agree! (His comprehensive online program of the same name now addresses  that.)
  • “To Evan, who always trusts his cape. And to Caroline, who does things that scare her.”  (Ann Handley: Everyone Writes: Your Go-To Guide to Creating Ridiculously Good Content [2014]).
  • “For all the children left behind when fathers and mothers go off to war.” (Laurel Corona:  Penelope’s Daughter [2010]).
  • “To my wife Maggie, who always believed. She just always believed” (Pete Savage, co-author of The Wealthy Freelancer [2010]).
  • “To all the well-fed writers around the globe—past, present and future” (Peter Bowerman, The Well-Fed Writer: Financial Self-Sufficiency as a Commercial Freelancer in Six Months or Less [2009]).
  • “To Dad, for driving an old tan Chevette while putting us through college.  To Mom, for making us breakfast every day for eighteen years. Each.” (Chip and Dan Heath: Made to Stick: Why Some Ideas Take Hold and Others Come Unstuck [2007]).

Do you have a book dedication or a story, riddle or joke on any aspect of communications? Please share it with me; I’d be delighted to use it in an upcoming issue. 

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SHOP NEWS:

 

Special thanks every month to Parish Nurse, Laura Van Loon, for so generously assisting me as I continue to provide elder care. As I’ve observed in past months, the cuts to senior care in Saskatchewan for more than 20 years have left the burden of care to living family members, who often lack the time, funds, space and health to bridge the gap.

Laura has witnessed much mishandling and mismanagement and still advocates for fair and better senior health care. The words “thank you” do not really suffice, but I offer them again here to her (she is also  a faithful reader of this newsletter)!

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And in other spaces and places . . . .

A hearty thanks this month (and maybe a Reuben sandwich?) to Brent Kreuger, IT specialist, VP of Global Infobrokers and founder of Praxis International Institute (the province’s first entrepreneurial high school, based in Craik, SK). Why?

Brent continues patiently to handle the tech side of meetings and classes for a local charity’s “Women’s Employment Readiness” program, for whom he also facilitates on diverse and numerous topics, including digital competency and software skills. He teaches on expansive terms how to think and live well, to our newcomers and to budding entrepreneurs.

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The same local charity recently contracted me to facilitate on business communications these same newcomer women, who are already fluent in English. (And thanks for the referral go to Monica Kreuger, CEO of the  Praxis School of Entrepreneurship).

Thank you also to Employment Specialist, Nuru Nyoni, and Women and Family support coordinator, Hannah Enti-Brown, for discussing the contract with me, last month.

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And as a part of this work, I’ve been delighted to start learning about the experience of African-Canadians in Saskatchewan by tuning into activities for “Black History Month.”

Discussing themes of “Black resistance, resilience and resolution” and leading to a discussion on black women entrepreneurs in Saskatchewan, our local African Canadian network (in SK) asserts many ways that our province’s history is black history. I look forward to discussing further some aspects of that history, as I meet course participants.

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Entrepreneur of the month: I have meant to add for months (if not years) how much I appreciate Massachusetts-based Michael Katz’s postings on LinkedIn, where he grapples with some of the most vexed aspects of freelance creative life.

For instance, how do entrepreneurs sustain prospecting, when they have been self-employed for over a decade (and suffer burn out)?

 

How do we adapt to AI, without losing our writing practice, or our minds (e.g. ChatGPT, air tag surveillance, etc.) !?

 

And how can we value fellow newsletter-ists and bloggers, despite their differences (or because of them)?

 

Michael’s humourous approach belies his shrewd and well-read mind. As “Chief Penguin” of Blue Penguin Development, he inspires his followers: a few sentences from him can warm even the coldest winter morning!  (And, btw, Michael tells me he once dated a woman from Saskatoon whom he met as an undergraduate student at McGill University in the 80s! Small world. . . .)

 

Thank you, Michael, for caring and not just doing!

 

There are always new businesses and ideas to promote and discuss. Please write me to share your stories . . . . . .But this is a wrap for mid-February.

 

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ABOUT US:

Between 2011 and December 2018, Elizabeth Shih Communications chronicled the stories of B2B marketing and communications on the Prairies and across the country.

Effective January 1, 2019, I rebranded as “Storytelling Communications.” I now help newcomers to Canada to secure better jobs by improving their language skills; I help small- and medium-sized businesses to close more sales by communicating more effectively; and I help major companies tell their legacy stories.

Interested in learning more? Please contact me through my CASL-compliant website (www.elizabethshih.com).

After I receive your message, I’ll be pleased to discuss projects with you!

Please visit my website for more information (www.storytellingcommunications.ca).

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Do you know newcomers seeking better jobs? Read this month’s issue of ‘Tell Your Story Newsletter’

January  2023 Vol 5 Issue 1

Tell Your Story Newsletter (TYSN):

Specializing in Entrepreneurial Storytelling

Let me tell your story!

Welcome Mid-January, 2023!

Although Saskatchewanians (indeed, Western Canadians) had extended blasts of arctic cold during November and December, the new year has brought much welcome relief, with daytime highs in (only) the minus teens or single digits. As Jeff Rogstad quipped on a recent weather report for CTV Saskatoon, “It’s like we’re in England,” with the fog and mild air.

Although January is often thought to be the gloomiest month in the calendar (and January 16th, “Blue Monday”), I continue to thrive while connecting with die-hard locals at Saskatoon’s YWCA! And this isn’t any “New Year’s Resolution,” as 2023 marks my 17th year of gym membership. . . .  Enthusiastically staffed by kinesiology grads, customer service reps and personal trainers, the YW provides reasonably priced memberships to land fitness classes, a fully appointed gymnasium, a cardio theatre and weight room. And you can’t beat their extended daily hours.

Covid has been brutal for gyms like the YW. So if you find January and February to be times of winter blues or blahs, please consider stopping by! Previous fitness training and conditioning are not required.

The appreciable lengthening of our days, as winter proceeds, also give us hope. If you have not been able to travel successfully this winter (given the woes of holiday travel on Sunwing and other airlines), I hope that you, good reader, found time for a staycation of reading great books and maybe catching up on Netflix releases for December!

Happy midwinter and keep moving! To quote Tom Webster in Paul Feig ‘s holiday classic film, “Last Christmas,” “Keep looking up!”

Friends, the sun will return–and with it, eventually, spring.

Sincerely,

Elizabeth

Principal

Storytelling Communications

www.elizabethshih.com

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IN THIS ISSUE:

ARTICLE 1: Do you know any newcomers searching for better jobs? 16 tips in this month’s issue of ‘Tell Your Story Newsletter’

STORYTELLERS’ CORNER: Word nerd alert: The case of “weasel words” with Bryan Garner

SHOP NEWS

ABOUT US

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Article One:  Do you know any newcomers searching for better jobs? Sixteen tips to help them in this month’s issue of ‘Tell Your Story Newsletter’ 

One of the “side-effects” (as I jokingly call it) of becoming an ESL facilitator (a term I prefer to “teacher,” because “students” range so widely in age, approach and skill level) is that one’s often asked to bridge a gap between a newcomer’s English language skills and the career goals they want to achieve in our community.

As a result, while discussing phrasal verbs or idioms in Business English classes, I sometimes receive questions on how best to search for jobs, how to write a strong cover letter or how to prepare for an interview that uses behavioural (or other, intensive) questions.

So in this inaugural issue of 2023, I thought I might automate some of my advice for newcomer clients by sharing some knowledge about the job search process, as promoted in various webinars I’ve attended with the Career Centre (University of Saskatchewan), over Linkedin and/or Flexjobs.com .

So let’s get started. One of the first tips professional career coaches give is to job seekers is to “manage your expectations”: On average, it takes three to six months to obtain a new job, especially if it is not an entry-level one.

The higher the salary, said Toni Frana recently (over Flexjobs.com), the longer the search will take. But continuing to customize your resume for each application and networking in your field and among targeted companies can speed up the process.

(1) Career coaches generally recommend that job seekers analyze their own values, interests, skills and cultural fit; these can be assessed on sites like careeronestop.org . Be sure to research companies you view as potential employers: consider what you most (and least) want to do in a potential job and if such preferences would fit with the job they’re interviewing for.

(2) Job seekers should also explore the field(s) of their expertise. Sites like onetonline.org, Statistics Canada (https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/en/subjects?MM=1),

YouTube and independently organized informational interviews can help inform job seekers, early in the process. Try to talk with someone doing your “ideal job.” Ask them what an ordinary day looks like in the position and whether the job is sustainable or (too often) viewed as a stepping stone to something else.

(3) Companies of particular interest can be researched over  LinkedIn (where companies will have detailed profiles), Google Maps (to locate companies), professional associations in your industry (not-for-profit organizations) and Chambers of Commerce in relevant cities.

(4) Although it’s been said for decades in Canada, newcomers may not know that one should never send out “mass applications” to a number of employers, effectively spamming them with one’s resume and generic cover letter (itself an oxymoron).

(5) Job seekers should always keep their application materials updated: customize each draft of resume that they submit to target the job in question. What transferable skills and experience do you have, if the position is not in your niche?

(6) Always send a customized cover letter (even if the employer says it’s “optional”). Whereas one’s resume describes the candidate, the cover letter should reflect the needs of the employer, as gleaned from the job posting and research one can do to learn more, beyond it.

(7) Build a strong Linkedin profile—after reading you resumes (taking 30 to 45 seconds, maximum), employers next go to Linkedin. Applicants should update their profiles so that the employment section matches their resume and use the opportunity to upload special projects, detail volunteer work and provide work samples, which a two-page resume alone cannot convey.

(8) Applicants should also check their social media (including searching their own names) to clean up one’s profile (if you have photos from high school in it), and to adjust one’s privacy settings. Make sure anything about you online is acceptable for an employer to see or read.

(9) It’s still true that the number one way for a person to get hired is by networking to increase their connections. People should take care to contact others inside of the companies they like, to seek advice. Tell family and friends about what kind of work you are seeking, so as to benefit from their networks, too.

(10) Informational interviews have helped many ambitious executives to secure a foothold in companies they eventually lead, as described by many, including Lisa Lisson, in her 2017 memoir, Resilience: Navigating Life, Loss and the Road to Success (and reviewed in an earlier issue of this newsletter). And do be gracious enough to return support provided by others with professional favours, gifts, “thank you” cards and the like.

(11) Seven to 10 days after applying for a position, send a follow-up email, of two to three sentences (short, sweet, positive), making sure they received your application. Job seekers should keep track of all applications, as they go, updating  notes with new developments of a company, in case if they are contacted for an interview (and possibly not even one for the job they had in mind!).

(12) While many job seekers dread interviews, they can be manageable. Researching the company and its online postings is the place to start; job seeker should learn their own resumes very well, to be able to defend the claims they make there.

Rehearse answers to challenging behavioural questions (predicated on the theory that one’s current and future work can be measured by their past performance), using the STAR method (name situation, task, action and result). Now’s the time to bring forward questions for the company. Since most interviews are now held via online meeting software, make sure you can handle that and that your technology is functioning properly before any interview starts.

(13) Make sure the physical background for the interview (in your home office, for instance) is neutral and professional (e.g. without clutter, inappropriate furniture, food, etc.).

(14) Before leaving any interview, seekers should secure the hiring committee’s contact information (if they don’t already have it), so they can send a “thank you” note within 24 hours. Then follow up on that note. If the job is not offered, seekers should ask if there are other opportunities in the same company, saying “I’d be happy to know and be considered for another position, because I believe deeply in this company,” etc.

(15) And on their own time, I tell seekers to research issues like salary. “Know your worth, or you leave money on the table,” says Frana. Most of us have looked at glassdoor.com,  but salary.com, payscale.com and careeronestop.org can also be helpful in tracing remuneration levels.

(16) For those lucky enough to get the job offer and resign their old posts, virtually everyone would agree that it’s essential to resign gracefully (never “burn bridges,” even if the company was a poor fit), wrap up loose ends, offer to train the next hire and prepare for an “exit interview,” where you can suggest some changes you would like to have seen, while also being gracious and professional.

The above are 16 tips I’ve uncovered during my own research and that newcomers (not to mention job seekers born and raised in Canada) may find helpful. “This isn’t rocket science,” many professionals would say. Yet  committing to the process with sustained energy is crucial to any job seeker’s long-term success.

And now it’s your turn: are there particular strategies not mentioned above that have helped you in your job search? Are you a newcomer or were you born and raised here and how has that affected your job search?

Please share your thoughts through the “contact” link below. I’d be delighted to hear from you.

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STORYTELLER’s CORNER
Word nerd alert! The case of ‘weasel words’
with etymologist, Bryan Garner

American etymologist, Bryan Garner, recently blogged on the phenomenon of “weasel words.” Garner quotes the former US president, Theodore Roosevelt, who first used the term in a speech in Missouri on May 31st, 1916: “One of our defects as a nation is a tendency to use what have been called ‘weasel words.’ When a weasel sucks eggs, it sucks the meat out of the egg and leaves it an empty shell.

If you use a ‘weasel word’ after another, these is nothing left of the other.”

Garner writes that “some writers have incorrectly assumed that the metaphor (‘weasel words’) suggested itself because of the wriggling, evasive character of the weasel. In any event, sensitive writers are aware of how supposed intensives (e.g. “very”) often have the effect of weakening a statement.”

Some other words have a similar effect of making uncertain, or hollow, the statements in which they appear, such as “candidly,” “clearly,” “manifestly,” “seriously,” “obviously,” “perfectly,” and more.

Garner recommends using such words sparingly, at best, and more in casual conversation than in print.

And now it’s your turn: can you share ‘weasel words’ that have infiltrated your speech or writing? Please write in; I’d be delighted to hear from you. 

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SHOP NEWS:

As the first month of 2023 flies by, here are some “bits n’ bobs” of items that have crossed my screens or desk . . .

I’m delighted to share that two talented and valued colleagues, podcaster and communications specialist Christine Cherneskey; and geographical planner, sociologist, facilitator and interviewer extraordinaire, Lenore Swystun, have joined forces to broadcast over Saskatoon’s community radio station, CFCR!

As the page of their shared program,  “Civically Speaking,” says, it is now “a podcast that focuses on all things civic in the 21st century.”

These two multi-talented hosts “invite guests and guest panels to discuss all things current and topical. . . . We talk planning, politics, people . . . civically speaking!”

You can read more (and tune in) here:

https://www.buzzsprout.com/252451

Last week’s interview featured Dave Meslin, author of Teardown: Rebuilding Democracy from the Ground Up.

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Although I prefer not to exchange many gifts with family and friends at Christmas, especially during pandemic financial times, I was deeply touched by the handmade gift that an dear friend mailed me last month.

My former copywriting buddy Christine Loff, with whom I trained through the American Writers and Artists Institute (AWAI), back in 2010, has since worked as a freelance photographer, and now enjoys extensive sewing, embroidery and handmade craft making.

Although not “local” in the strictest sense of living in Saskatoon or Saskatchewan, Christine is an entrepreneur whose creative talents and instincts warrant promoting, this month!

She has formally retired to a farm near Riverton, MB, in the province’s interlake region with her husband, a professional bassoonist, formerly of the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra.

There, when Manitoba’s flooding does not destroy the family garden, Christine plants and harvests enough food for a large army (!), makes crafts using skills she learned as a child from her mother, a European-trained tailor. She makes everything from dolls’ clothes to cell phone cases, bookmarks and mug pads.

You can learn more about Christine’s work here: https://www.sew-fashion-doll-clothes.com/aboutme.html

She takes custom orders on handcrafts- and finds the work both soothing and fulfilling.

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Special thanks this month go to the recently departed Fitness Director at the YWCA, Fred Dyck. For the past seven years, Fred has manned the helm of the cardio, gym and weight rooms, welcoming everyone, while also maintaining a respectful atmosphere in which all of us could move, safely and positively.

Fred could often be found helping at the reception desk, teaching classes and even shovelling snow behind the building, to make the facility more accessible.

Fred has moved on to direct the SPCA and we “regulars” miss him already! Thank you so much, Fred, and all the  best for your next chapter!

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And as I prepare intensively to teach business communications to local newcomers for a local charitable organization, I remain ever grateful for the sharing of resources and mentorship offered me by my long-term advisor, dear friend, and (always) attentive listener, Monica Kreuger. 2023 marks ten years that I have known her through another of our province’s gems, the Raj Manek Mentorship Program.

When not chairing our local Chambers of Commerce, or LutherCare Communities with umatched insight, Monica continues to forge new markets as the Chief Visionary (and Executive) Officer of the Praxis Group of Schools, including the Praxis School of Entrepreneurship (PSE), where many of my colleagues and I are alumni.

Bringing passion to everything that she does, Monica inspires her proteges and affiliates to reach beyond their limits, and strive for the greater good of our community–and ourselves.

And speaking of that, intake for a new cohort of PSE’s flagship course, the startSMART program, is underway: Help support a fledgling entrepreneur in your life by contacting PSE administrator, Elaine Mantyka, for all the details. And do so now, so you don’t miss out on the programming!

(306) 664-0500.

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ABOUT US:

Between 2011 and December 2018, Elizabeth Shih Communications chronicled the stories of B2B marketing and communications on the Prairies and across the country.

On January 1, 2019, my company rebranded as “Storytelling Communications.” I now  assist new and economic newcomers to secure better jobs by improving their English-as-a-Second-Language skills; I facilitate business communications courses for job seekers and budding entrepreneurs; and I write the legacy stories of major companies.

Interested in learning more? Please contact me through my CASL-compliant website (www.elizabethshih.com).

After I receive your message, I’ll be pleased to discuss projects with you!

Please visit my website for more information (www.storytellingcommunications.ca).

Posted on

Feeling the Christmas or Holiday blues? Here are some solutions . . .

December 2022 Vol 4 Issue 12

Tell Your Story Newsletter (TYSN):
Specializing in Entrepreneurial and Organizational Storytelling
Let me (teach you to) tell your story!

Welcome Mid-December, 2022!

Winter started early (in November) this year, with snow that has stayed and an early cold spell that will soon be repeated. But despite this, Saskatchewanians are resilient folk; many of us have found
that the intervening warmer weather brought hope and joy to our Hanukkah, Advent, Christmas and other holiday preparations.

Through the “Advent Appeal” program in my faith group, we have continued our annual practice of collecting clothing, warm blankets, and hygiene supplies on behalf of the city’s homeless and at-risk people.

This month’s “Storyteller’s Corner” returns us to an “Advent Miracle” that one of my church’s organizers witnessed two years ago, but which reminds us that small acts of kindness can have a miraculous effect on others.

In spite of the soaring inflation at our grocery stores and gas stations and (even worse) the empty shelves of children’s (and adults’) cold and flu remedies, I hope that you, good reader, have warm, safe and stable living environments, not just this season, but throughout the year.

And if you (like me) are so blessed, please do consider donating to those who lack basic necessities, whether through your “office pool,” the Salvation Army Kettle Campaign, or similar work done by your faith or neighbourhood communities.

Since our global community has now entered its third Christmas, Hanukkah and New Year’s seasons in the grip of the ever-mutating Coronavirus, this year will not be a “ho-ho-ho” holiday time for many. Our hospitals are teeming with infections, many of which have taken the lives of beloved family members, ended careers and delayed timely medical treatment. Hopital workers, too, are
facing burnout to an extent unprecedented in our history.

So in this last issue of the year, “Article One” of “Tell Your Story Newsletter” revisits “Coping with Christmas,” a publication of the American Hospice Foundation (AHF). Coping may be the “new normal,” in pandemic days.
For those of us who care for others on a daily basis and/or who face complex health problems ourselves, the AHF reminds us to be aware of our own emotional needs and to take care to avoid burnout.

Despite the challenges that fill the daily newspapers, I hope, good readers, that you’ll find at least a little time to enjoy the final days of this year, giving thanks for the family, friends and mentors who grace our lives.

May you find peace this holiday season; and good health, happiness and prosperity in 2023.

Sincerely,
Elizabeth
Principal
Storytelling Communications
www.elizabethshih.com

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IN THIS ISSUE:

 

 

ARTICLE 1: Feeling the Christmas Blues? Here are Some Solutions . . . .
STORYTELLERS’ CORNER: A Local “Advent Miracle” Story
SHOP NEWS
ABOUT US

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Article One: Feeling the Christmas or Holiday Blues? Here are Some Solutions . . . 

For many of us, even if we have been blessed to enjoy Advent, Christmas, Hanukkah or other spiritual traditions at this time of year, the holiday season can be painful.
The pain may come from to the loss of a loved one, a job, separation from a “significant other,” health or financial difficulties, the excessive pressure to buy and give, and so on. The so-called “holiday season” can in reality be anything but “ho-ho-ho.”

This holiday survival guide, written originally by the American Hospice Foundation, offers some ideas that may help us as we plan (or choose not to plan) holiday festivities. Please read on and share with others who may need this. And know you are not alone!

Christmas or Holiday cards (choose one like these):
1. Mail as usual, or email to save on stationery and postage
2. Shorten your list
3. Include a Christmas letter that you’ve written
4. Skip it this year

Christmas or Holiday music (choose one like these):
1. Enjoy as usual
2. Shop early, to avoid Christmas music
3. Avoid turning the radio on
4. Listen to the music and allow yourself to feel sad (or to cry)

Decorations (choose one like these):
1. Decorate as usual
2. Let others do it
3. Choose not to have decorations
4. Have a special decoration for a loved one, who may have died or left
5. Modify your decorations
6. Make changes, such as putting up an artificial tree
7. Ask for help from others

Shopping (choose one like these):
1. Shop as usual
2. Shop early
3. Make your gifts by hand
4. Make a list of gifts to buy
5. Shop online
6. Ask for help wrapping gifts
7. Shop with a friend
8. Give cash
9. Give baked goods
10. Ask for help
11. Go giftless and (if possible) make a donation to charity

Traditions (choose one like these):
1. Keep the old traditions
2. Don’t attend Christmas parties
3. Open gifts on the usual day
4. Attend a worship service
5. Attend a totally different place of worship
6. Visit the cemetery
7. Attend Christmas or holiday parties
8. Go to an entirely new place
9. Open gifts at another time
10. Do not attend a worship service
11. Light a special candle to honour your loved one
12. Bake the usual foods
13. Modify your baking and cooking, to save money
14. Buy the usual foods
15. Spent quiet time alone, in meditation or relaxation

Christmas or Holiday Dinner (choose one like these):
1. Prepare as usual
2. Invite friends over
3. Eat in a different location of the house
4. Go out to dinner, possibly with someone else who is alone
5. Eat alone
6. Change time of dinner
7. Have a buffet/potluck and share the clean-up, after
8. Ask for help
Post-Christmas and New Year’s Day (choose one like these):
1. Spend the days as usual
2. Avoid New Year’s parties
3. Spend time with only a few friends
4. Write in a journal about your hopes for the next year
5. Go out of town
6. Host a New Year’s Party
7. Go to a movie, watch a movie on a streaming service or even borrow a movie from the library
8. Go to bed early and feel refreshed the next morning for the new year ahead

And now it’s your turn: Does the Christmas, Hanukkah or holiday season present challenges and pain for you?

Please consider some of the above options you have to experience the holidays on your own terms.

And remember that Mobile Crisis (Saskatoon Crisis Intervention Service) is available, 24 hours, at (306) 933-6200

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STORYTELLER’s CORNER . . . .

STORYTELLER’S CORNER: Words, Stories and Riddles on Writing and Editing

This Month, a Story: A Local “Advent Miracle”

A couple of years ago, Alan, a friend and colleague in my faith community, shared a remarkable story of how our church’s seasonal gift donations benefited a downtown charity that helps victims of abuse and homelessness.

He says: “One spring I went into the [church] parlour and noticed that the Advent gifts still sat where we’d left them, last December, since the office of the recipient agency was never open. I had phoned, left messages and visited in person multiple times, only to find the office closed.”

He continues: “As I was driving past one day, the following spring, I decided to give it one last chance and showed up to the agency, just after lunch. They were open!

It was obvious that the staff had just come from a meeting. One of the folk there came over and asked me what I wanted. I told her that I was from the church and had some very belated Advent gifts for them.

She looked confused when I said gifts, but when I said that the gifts consisted of toiletries and other items, it changed to surprise. She asked how many, and I told her that the trunk of my car was full.

Again, there was a look of surprise on her face. She spoke with the director and then went into the back and got a small cart. We then went down the car and loaded it up. It was a small cart, so I carried the extra packages that didn’t fit.

When we got back to the office, she took the items into the back and the director came over and thanked me profusely. She told me that the topic of conversation at the meeting they’d just finished was how they were going to find toiletries to fill packages for some of their clients. They had a few
items, but not nearly enough, and there wasn’t money in the budget to purchase more. They left the meeting wondering how they’d find the remaining items, and that was when I walked in!

We called it Christmas in June! We could have delivered the gifts the prior December, when other churches were doing the same and when the need was largely met. But by delivering them in the spring, we met a great need at a time when others had stopped giving.

We can put this down to coincidence or fate or luck. I look at it as an Advent miracle and a sign that our Higher Power is alive, well and living among us.”

And now it’s your turn: Have holiday activities of years past surprised you with any small miracles? Please write in and I’ll share your stories in a future issue.

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SHOP NEWS:

Heartfelt thanks go out in this final issue of 2022 to friends, colleagues, followers and mentors who enable me to facilitate language and communication classes; who respond to my blog postings and
monthly newsletter; who have coached or encouraged me to achieve greater clarity in my entrepreneurial goals; and who have lightened some of the weight of family caregiving that I regularly carry.

With apologies to anyone whose name I temporarily forget, here are some of the truly beautiful  people who grace my professional and personal lives:
Chief Visionary Officer, Monica Kreuger, and the amazing team at the Praxis School of Entrepreneurship (PSE); English and ESL teacher, Steve Cavan; Saskatchewan’s best entrepreneurial coach (and PSE facilitator), Deanna Litz, of Powerful Nature Coaching & Consulting, Inc.; Minister of Word and Sacrament, Rev. Roberto De Sandoli of St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church; Ashleigh Mattern (of Vireo Productions) and Julie Barnes (of Julie Barnes Creative Services) for co-leading the monthly writers’ group that we pioneered, some 10 years ago, and for offering me contracts or
leads when I’ve needed them; Fellow writers, including both Ashleigh and Julie, along with Merle (Massie) McGowan, Naomi Hansen and Ann Chatfield, who keep pushing the envelope as they write (and publish) their remarkable books.

Thank you also to Kanchan Manek and the Manek family of the Raj Manek Mentorship Program, who since 1998 have provided monthly seminars and facilitated mentoring relationships between junior entrepreneurs and seasoned mentors on the Prairies; and to fellow alumni of the PSE’s startSMART, staySMART and digiSMART programs, including Christina Cherneskey, Megan Kent, Barry Frain, Malvina Rapko, Rory Perron and Joan Kleinsteuber, amongst others.

Thanks also go to my students including newcomers to Saskatoon and a citizen in France, whose conversation and studies vivify my life. And finally, if you or a senior whom you know needs a safe and comfortable home with minimal assistance (and the option to add private care to increase assistance in the future), please take a tour of The Franklin Retirement Residence by Revera. The team there has remarkable empathy for seniors in their twilight years and offers safe physical environs, a tasty menu with plenty of variety, seniors’ programming, transportation, and more.

At a time when senior care in our province is in a total crisis of underfunding, and when many special (private) care homes offer inadequate support at high costs, buildings like The Franklin remain a bulwark.

For a complimentary tour and information about a variety of options, including short-term stays through the winter, please call Sales consultant, Daniel Knudsen, at Daniel.Knudsen@reveraliving.com (or call [306] 664-6366).

As we look back over the past Covidian year, while losses and disappointments have been challenging, I find the support of the above people and organizations have given me much to be grateful for:

Merci beaucoup, mes amis!

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ABOUT US:

Between 2011 and December 2018, Elizabeth Shih Communications chronicled the stories of B2B marketing and communications on the Prairies and across the country.

Effective January 1, 2019, I rebranded as “Storytelling Communications.” I now help newcomers to Canada to land better jobs and economic immigrants to secure better contracts by improving their English skills; I help SMEs (small- and medium-sized enterprises) close more sales by communicating more effectively; and I help major companies tell their legacy stories.

Interested in learning more? Please contact me through my CASL-compliant website.  After I receive your message, I’ll be pleased to discuss services with you! Please visit my website for more information:  www.storytellingcommunications.ca

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Posted on

“Do you know the secret to feeling alive?” On fun in this month’s issue of “Tell Your Story Newsletter”

November 2022 Vol 4 Issue 11

 

Tell Your Story Newsletter (TYSN):

Specializing in Entrepreneurial and Linguistic Communication

Let me teach you to tell your story!

 

Welcome Mid-November 2022!

What a difference a day makes! November fourth was a beautifully crisp autumn day, followed by our first snowstorm of the season–on November fifth and sixth, which has stayed! Since transitions in seasons in Saskatchewan tend to be brief (or non-existent), I’ve been especially grateful for the frequent updates on weather conditions from Environment Canada!

Unseasonable cold caused many of us to break out our long-johns and parkas in the first week of this month, as I started to prepare this issue of “Tell Your Story Newsletter.”

Winter often feels like the cruellest season of the year in Saskatchewan, since it brings reduced daylight hours and at times brutal cold, wind and snowstorms. But it’s also a time when many professionals like you, good reader, dig deep and excel in your work, since the distractions of the outside world are minimized (unless you’re a winter enthusiast!).

If you can (like a neighbour of mine) already foresee “winter blues/blahs” coming, then I encourage you to keep reading–or, rather, to widen the topics of the books you’re already reading. My writerly colleagues (and friends) Julie Barnes and Ashleigh Mattern are regularly posting the books they’re devouring on Goodreads (aka “Facebook for writers”).

And what about music? Have you tuned into opera from “the Met” (Metropolitan Opera House) in New York, which is often broadcast at Cineplex theatres across the country? My ESL student in France has introduced me to the recordings of German tenor, Jonas Kaufmann, whose subtle voice would make anyone forget the breath of hoary-bearded, “Old Man Winter.”

Whether through books, music or other activities, I find the perfect antidote to prairie winters is to have more FUN!

FUN, you say? An absurd suggestion?

In Article One, this month, I visit science journalist Christine Price’s recent TEDTalk on the topic of FUN. While most of nature sleeps during winter, how can we feel fully alive? Price suggests that “fun” is the best answer.

Most of us enjoy some fun during winter, whether from hitting the ski trails or curling up by a crackling fire to read Alexander McCall-Smith or Louise Penney.  But how do we go about having more fun, on a regular basis? Article One shares some hints on that.

And in “Storytellers’ Corner,” I visit a potentially troubling phrase that itself sounds fun-ny–“tuna fish“–in the words of our resident etymologist (and a man of humour), Bryan Garner.

Perhaps we can view the snowy and cold portion of winter as being like the influence of a schoolyard bully? We can work around his (or her) blasts of nasty wind and frigid air, by immersing ourselves in our own creative activities and exercise . . . .

I wish more FUN for you this winter, good reader, that even the coldest of winds and the heaviest snowfalls cannot dispel.

Sincerely,

Elizabeth

Principal

Storytelling Communications

www.elizabethshih.com

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IN THIS ISSUE:

ARTICLE 1: “Do you know the secret to feeling alive?”  On FUN and how to get it 

STORYTELLERS’ CORNER:  The case of “tuna fish” from American etymologist, Bryan Garner

SHOP NEWS

ABOUT US

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Article One: “Do you know the secret to feeling alive?” Christine Price’s TEDTalk on FUN and how to get it

In her recent TEDTalk, science journalist Catherine Price observed something that should make us all pause: “It’s harder than we think it should be to actually feel alive.”

Consider that statement: We’re so busy constantly scrolling (and often “doing” things) that we have forgotten how to live! We forget that life is more than days filled with frenetic activity.

Price says: “We keep ourselves busy to the point of exhaustion. But we’re also languishing. We feel a little bit dead inside.” She thinks we’re living something close to despair, staying busy because we know that we are not truly living, but we simply don’t know what else to do about it.

Her answer? “Have more FUN!”

But what does that mean?

Our confusion over what actually constitutes “fun” arises from the “sloppy” way that we use the term: we often use it to describe what we do in our leisure time (e.g. “We had a fun weekend with my in-laws at the family cabin”), when the activity is often not enjoyable and may even be “a waste of time.”

Price gives as an example our scrolling through social media, which we assume is “fun,” but which she says can “make us feel bad about . . . everything.”

Even our best English language dictionaries have trouble defining the term “fun”: According to them, fun is “amusement or enjoyment, or lighthearted pleasure,” and refers to what children experience “in the play area.”

Fun seems to be, Price observes, “frivolous and optional.”

 

When she was working on a project, collecting stories about having “fun” from people all over the globe, they would “tell you about some of the most joyful and treasured memories of their lives.” That means that FUN is not simply “lighthearted pleasure, it’s not just for kids and it’s definitely not frivolous.”

Price suggests on the contrary that fun is “the secret [to] feeling alive.”

Clearly the term deserves a new, “more precise” definition!

Fun is a feeling, she asserts, not an activity, although when asked to describe “fun,” most people still list “dancing” or “skiing,” or “pickleball.”

Some “serendipity” (or downright chance) is involved in the word, since activities or events we expect to be fun often disappoint us, while those we don’t expect to enjoy can become “ridiculously fun.” Sound familiar?

Price says that it’s easy to identify someone who is having fun, because they look as if “they’re being illuminated from within.” True fun “produces [a] visceral sense of lightness and joy.” People can radiate fun.

From her interviews with dozens of people from diverse cultures, Price says that “three factors are consistently present” when we experience fun, yielding a much more accurate definition than what the OED or Webster’s tells us.

These three terms are “playfulness,” “connection” and “flow.” Where these experiences overlap (see the venn diagram, courtesy of Price), is the space of “true fun.”

“Playfulness,” she says, is not playing games or make-believe but “having a lighthearted attitude, of doing things for the sake of doing them and not caring too much about the outcome. Letting go of perfectionism.” Playfulness means not being defensive and “not taking ourselves too seriously.”

“Connection” refers to “the feeling of having a special, shared experience.” It is possible to be alone when this happens (and so to feel connected to oneself and/or to an activity), but most often, another person is involved—“even for introverts.”

“Flow” is a state where we’re so intensively engaged and focused on what we’re doing that “we can even lose track of time.” (e.g. “in the zone” as a musician or athlete).

Price argues that “it’s possible to be in flow and not [to] have fun, like if you’re arguing. But you cannot have fun if you’re not in flow,” she says.

Each of these three factors is enjoyable on its own. “But when we experience all three at once, something magical happens: we have fun.” And that “doesn’t just feel good, it is good for us.”

(i) Price says that fun is so beneficial that it “is not just the result of human thriving, it’s its cause.” For instance, fun is “energizing,” so that when people talk about such moments, “they glow: It’s like a fire has been lit inside of them and the energy and the warmth they give off is contagious.”

Whereas “so much of life drains us . . . fun fills us up.”

(ii) Fun requires us to be “present,” or in-the-moment, but doesn’t require meditation, yoga, etc. Apart from being present, there’s no other way that fun can arise.

(iii) Fun also unites us in a “really polarized world.” When we have fun with others, “we don’t see them as having different ethnicities or religions from ours. We connect with them as human beings.” She adds that such a connection is the first step whereby we can begin to solve the world’s problems.

(iv) “Fun also makes us healthier.” Isolation and loneliness can cause hormonal changes in our brains and bodies that increase the risk of disease. But when we have fun, we become “relaxed and more socially connected,” both of which are health-giving. So, Price argues, “having fun is a health intervention.”

(v) Finally, fun is “joyful.” While we read books or listen to favourite music, the truth is that “when we are in a moment of having fun, we are happy.” Price says this: The “secret of long-term happiness may be simply to have more everyday moments of fun.”

In order to have “more fun,” she says, we should do all we can to increase our everyday moments of playfulness, connection and flow.

Here are some ways:

(i) Reduce distractions in order to increase flow. Distractions disrupt flow. The chief source of distraction in 2022 is our smartphones. (Act accordingly!)

(ii) Increase connection by interacting more with other human beings in real life. This is easier and less scary than we (huddled over our phones) tend to fear.

Interaction starts by making eye contact with someone. “Say ‘Hello,’” Price advises. If that goes well, introduce yourself. From there, ask an interesting question (e.g. “What’s one thing that delighted you today?”)

(iii) Increase playfulness “by finding opportunities to rebel.” This doesn’t mean becoming a total iconoclast, but to show “playful deviance,” to “break the rules of responsible adulthood” and “give yourself permission to get a kick out of your own life.”

(iv) Finally, Price recommends that having fun should be a “priority.” Try to reproduce the circumstances (including other people’s presence) that have created fun for you in the past. Make some time in your schedule to have fun. “Treat fun as if it’s important, because it is,” she enthuses.

Fun brings “more creativity, more productivity, more resilience,” Price says. Fun can make us, as she claims, a better spouse, parent and friend.

Fun, she concludes, for anyone still puzzled by it, is “a distillation of life’s energy. And the more often we experience it, the more we will feel that we are actually alive.”

And now it’s your turn: do you agree with Price’s definition of fun and why it matters? 

Please write in; I’d be delighted to hear from you!

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STORYTELLERS’ CORNER . . . . 

STORYTELLERS’ CORNER: Words, storis, riddles and articles on speaking, listening, writing and editing . . .

The case of “tuna fish” with American Etymologist, Bryan Garner

In his recent blog on modern English usage, American Etymologist Bryan Garner observed that the term ” ‘tuna fish’ is redundant (see last month’s issue that differentiates between “redundancy” and “tautology’) because “tuna” is always a fish. The issue surrounding whether to write “tuna” or “tuna fish,” he says, arose around 1914.

Garner cites three more recent examples of this use, including this one in Sports Illustrated (“Letter from the Publisher, July 9, 1984):

“If he had his way, he would rid the world of ‘tuna fish.’ What else can a tuna be? asks Anderson.”

But the term “tuna fish . . . denotes a useful nuance,” Garner observes. ” ‘Tuna fish‘ is the type of processed, canned fish that is commonly served in sandwiches, whereas tuna typically refers to fresher types, such as those found in seafood restaurants and sushi bars.

How’s that for a fishy example for this month’s usage tip?

Do you have an, idea, problem or joke involving any aspect of language or communications? Please share it with me; I’d be delighted to use it in an upcoming issue. 

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SHOP NEWS:

Special thanks this month to the very gifted business coach and facilitator, Deanna Litz, of “Powerful Nature Coaching & Consulting Inc.” In previous years, Deanna has coached me through Praxis’  startSMART, staySMART and digiSMART programs, and through her excellent private coaching program, as I pivoted in 2021 toward teaching English as a second language (ESL/EFL).

Deanna and her husband, Saskatchewan Polytechnic facilitator, Rick Cumbers, own and operate “Lazy Hounds Farm,” located in Marysburg, SK (near Humboldt), where, for over 110 years, Deanna and generations of her family before have been stewarding the land.

Why is this relevant? Because in a recent delivery, Deanna shared with me some of their farm’s tantalizingly flavourful tomatoes, succulent peppers and zesty garlic!

In fact, Deanna and Rick grow free-range, naturally grown fruit, vegetables and herbs, raised by earth- and bee-friendly methods, for humans (and when the wildlife and the couple’s three lazy hounds don’t beat them to the harvest).

You may already have eaten Deanna and Rick’s beautiful fruit, vegetables and spices without even knowing it.

Their food has been enjoyed by folk from all walks of life, from Saskatchewan’s premier to those needing a helping hand. Deanna and Rick supply produce for some of Saskatoon’s finest restaurants, caterers, regular folk, foodies and local food banks. Their produce will spoil you for mass-produced, grocery store crops!

To learn more about “Lazy Hounds Farm,” purchase some of this year’s bountiful pumpkin and garlic crops (still available), or to tap into 2023’s harvest, please email Deanna at this address:

deannalitz@sasktel.net

Delivery to/within Saskatoon regularly and readily occurs.

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Special thanks also go out this month to Lisa Focardi, Community Development Worker at Saskatoon’s Open Door Society (ODS). An Italian-Canadian immigrant, Lisa capably organizes (amongst many programs) the volunteer-led conversation circles, throughout the calendar year.

At Lisa’ s invitation, I offered an introductory presentation on “brain health” last week, pitched at a beginner level of English, and found newcomers from Europe and Asia all very interested in the topic.

Lisa’s organizational efforts and generosity with others makes sharing conversation skills with newcomers a great pleasure. Thank you, Lisa!

Are you a native speaker or are you otherwise fluent in English? Do you have 60-90 minutes (each week) to share your skills with others? Please drop me a line and I will connect you with Lisa, who is always glad to have more volunteers on board.

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There are always new businesses, non-profits and entrepreneurial programs to promote.   

Please write me to share your success stories!

I’m excited for what’s ahead in our entrepreneurial community.

But for now, this is a wrap for mid-November!

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ABOUT US:

Between 2011 and December 2018, Elizabeth Shih Communications chronicled the stories of B2B marketing and communications on the Prairies and across the country.

Effective January 1, 2019, I rebranded as “Storytelling Communications.” I now help newcomers to Canada land better jobs and economic immigrants to secure contracts by improving their English skills; I help SMEs close more sales by communicating more effectively; and I help major companies tell their legacy stories.

Interested in learning more? Please contact me through my CASL-compliant website (www.elizabethshih.com).

After I receive your message, I’ll be pleased to discuss projects with you!

Please visit my website for more information (www.storytellingcommunications.ca).

Published by www.storytellingcommunications.ca–Storytelling Communications – Copyright © 2022.