"You May Talk Too Much About the Best of Subjects"

-- Benjamin Franklin

For the first time, I'm including a video instead of funny words.

Here's a short video about Amazon's "yesterday delivery."

http://tinyurl.com/cpo3etm

Meaning: A person who starts a business to support a charity.

First coined in 1997 by Loren Ekroth, then publisher of The Philanthropreneur Newsletter.

Example sentence: "Actor and philanthropreneur Paul Newman started 'Newman's Own' products for the purpose of giving all after-tax profits to selected charities."

(Do you know of any other philanthropreneurs?)

The World Science Festival put together this explanation of how information is transmitted over the internet.

View 3-minute video at http://bit.ly/L4EQsr

Pronunciation: MAY-uh KUL-puh

Related English words culpable (adj), exculpate (verb), culpability (noun)

"It is only with the heart that one can see right.

What is essential is invisible to the eye."

--Antoine de Saint-Exupery.

Here's where I can say mea culpa. My fault for

including a blurry graphic of the semantics ladder

of abstraction. Here is a link to a detailed explanation

and clear graphic of the ladder.

http://tinyurl.com/9dlr7o4

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Reprinted from "Better Conversations," an ezine featuring articles and tips to enhance conversation skills. Subscribe free and receive immediate access to 32 articles at www.conversationmatters.com

Are You Sometimes Wrong?

Answer: Yes. We all are wrong, aka incorrect, from time to time.

"Most of us have encountered a person in our lives who can accurately be referred to as a know-it-all. This person seems to know everything about anything that gets brought up and tends to dominate the conversation. They don't take well to being questioned, and they have a hard time ever admitting that they were wrong."

--Madisyn Taylor

I myself prefer to be corrected when I'm wrong. Not in a scolding way, but in a civil, respectful way.

Sometimes I have my facts wrong. For example, I may attribute a quotation or even a complete book to the wrong author. Acting on my misinformation by reporting it to others, I lose credibility as a source.

Sometimes I draw the wrong conclusions (as do we all.) I prefer to have someone point that out so I don't remain ignorant of the truth.

Sometimes I misjudge a person based on too little, or incorrect, information. I prefer to know a person's true character rather tha something I imagine, and am grateful to be corrected.

Here is a related comment by Dr. Alan Weiss:

"I meet far too many people who respond to a new idea or suggestion with, 'Let me tell you how I do it,' or, 'I disagree.' Their immediate response is to protect their own thinking patterns or try to prove they know more. These are people with sclerosis of the mind. Too many people don't change because they're afraid to admit they're wrong or inefficient or ineffective. Strong people change all the time because they know that's how they continue to improve. With whom are you associating daily? Are you with those who build moated castles to defend against intellect, or those who sally forth daily to find better ways? Only you can decide with whom you'll ride. But even horses have the sense to follow those who move on to new pastures where food is more plentiful and the view changes."

We all can welcome correction by sharing our idea and asking well-informed others "What do you think?" or "Do I have the right idea here?" (Asking poorly informed or ideological persons is a fool's errand. It doesn't work.)

When you have the wisdom to check on the accuracy of your understanding, you'll continue to learn and grow. Absent that, you'll stay stuck in being wrong. You'll feel "right" but be wrong.

I recommend seeking the correct and accurate idea in matters from trivial to grand. Often, everyday conversation is the way to do this.

Loren Ekroth ©2012, all rights reserved

Loren Ekroth, Ph.D. is a specialist in human communication and a national expert on conversation for business and social life.