After spending this past week on vacation with my 18 year old stepdaughter I’ve come to wonder if this generation of young people will be able to hold a conversational exchange (verbally that is)  in their future lives.  My daughter is a pretty, fun and a social kind of gal, just finished her freshman year of college and aspires to become a grade school teacher.

I observed all week that all while I was talking, she was texting,  added a few comments, grunts and nods to let me know she was listening but I never got the warm fuzzy feeling she was present in many of my  conversations.  This went on all week in all of our social situations with the exception of my telling her to “leave the phone home” while we went to dinner with friends who invited us to their home.  When I said that you’d thought I just said “leave your right arm at home!”

Now my  daughter isn’t alone in the world of texting and ignoring,  because I obeserved the same behavior in my niece and nephews the same age group. So it got me wondering this week…

Am I a prude and not “hip” to technology and respectful of their generations preferred communication style?

Should I not expect these teenagers to be fully present when in the company of others who are not their peers?

I ask myself am I judging to harshly and should I let go of the notion that the most intimate  communication is verbal and that perhaps nonverbal communication is just as effective?

Should I not expect a teenager to participate in dialougue which requires them asking questions and waiting for an exchange to begin (conversation) ?

I happen to believe that relationships both personally and professionally are built on verbal communication, getting to know one another, paying attention to body language and making eye contact – has this become passe’ or will the coming generation do business and create their personal relationships differently?

I’ve been thinking about how big a part technology plays in our lives and the love hate relationship I have with it.  I am not a techo geek and therefore struggle with staying up on all the latest and greatest. I truly am amazed at all the tech gadgets we have to make our lives easier or so we’re told.  But I also wonder have we lost the human touch?  When we actually pick up the phone and talk with someone either for business or personally or have we become a society of people guilty of shooting off that quick email to make ourselves feel like we reached out an touched someone.

It is interesting to think we would hire a coach on-line to manage our business or personal goals and never come face to face with that person, or bank on-line and never make a connection with a “real” person hoping to never need to step foot in a banking institution.  So as I continue to ponder the human condition, I for one still like to look into someones eyes, feel their hand shake, get a hug and simply connect on a more human level.

How will you reach out and connect with people this year?   I for one plan to pick up the phone more than I click the “send now” button.

Last Wednesday I attended the California Conference for Women. The theme for this years event was “Be Who You Are. Feel it. Live it. Pass it on. This event is the largest of its kind in the country with the goal to educate and inspire women from all walks of life. Hosted by California’s First Lady, Maria Schriver and some of the notable speakers were; Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger & Warren Buffet who discussed the state of the economy. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, CNN’s Christiane Amanpour and many more. What I took away from the day was feeling more empowered and focused and a desire to connect and inspire other like-minded women.

Some of the comments that I found most thought provoking for me were;

“It can take a really long time to be the person you want to be”

“What are you going to do with your one wild and precious life?”

“Fear keeps us from who we want to be”

A great read is Maria Schriver’s book called “Just Who Will You Be?”

Here’s a few photos’ from the day.

This week I was working on a list of names I was given of people who were volunteers from the community and as I was reviewing the list of names, I see the name of a woman I met through a networking group I used to belong to.  I decided to email her to let her know I was in the area working. Well what a small world, she knew many of the people I am now affiliated with.  I love when you see these types of connections, makes you feel the world is much smaller than we might imagine and how our circle of friendships intertwine in remarkable ways.

The Republican Party united tonight for the big opening of McCain Headquarters in Torrance, CA and we were there for the kick off! We were trying to gain support and volunteers for Gabriella’s campaign and discovered it’s not great timing to run for office during a Presidential Election because you have to split the money and volunteers too many ways!

Lesson Learned…..and so it goes.

L-R JoAnne – McCain – Gabriella Holt