Why is awareness so important for the 21st century individual, executive or business owner?

As we reflect back on human progress, awareness appears to be a critical part of every day life from avoiding the elements of Mother Nature to keeping your possessions safe from unregulated institutions or nefarious individuals. In today's world, our awareness has been heightened through the continual advancement of technology from cell phones to E-mail. The capacity of awareness is even more important today than 100 or even 1000 years ago.

In the 1960's, a professor by the name of Albert Mehrabian, Ph.D., of the University of California, L.A. along with his colleagues established the 55 38 7 Rule of Communication. Although this rule has been challenged, the premise is still worth understanding. From his research, Dr. Mehrabian suggested that 93% of all communication is non-verbal (55% non-verbal and 38% para-verbal such as syntax, speed, loudness or softness) and that only 7% of communication is verbal from the perspective of the receiver. Even if his percentages are off, what we see as the receiver is almost always "heard" first over what is actually said. This is the critical piece of awareness from this research.

An aware individual can leverage this knowledge to her or his advantage. Through active listening, anyone can become aware to the nuances within the communication process. Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP) is a direct result of the capacity of awareness.

Mark Twain, among many others, is cited as saying: If the good Lord wanted us to speak more than listen, he would have given us two mouths and only one ear. By becoming more aware of others through their body language and their speech nuances from word selection to speed, we are able to connect with our intuitive self and validate what we unconsciously believe based upon our life experiences.

The capacity of awareness builds a bridge between our past experiences and knowledge to our current experiences. Communication is just one means to O.P.E.N. awareness to our selves through new Opportunities that excite our Potential, Engage our senses to New ideas.

Leanne Hoagland-Smith

Good Day. Thanks for visiting. I hope that you have enjoyed my articles. In 1999, I founded ADVANCED SYSTEMS because I saw that performance could and should be doubled in warp time. Individuals, small and large businesses could not afford expensive solutions that may or may not deliver improved results in 12 months.

From my corporate, small business and education experiences, I recognized the individuals must have opportunities for connecting their passion to their purpose to secure the desired performance results, but many lacked the necessary skills, strategies and tools.

With over 20 years in sales management and 10 years in education, I understand how to unite productivity with profitability by developing a proactive working culture. My previous experiences resulted in cost savings through one of the first implementations of a computer software in a wholesaler distributor to the creation of a vendor performance assessment.

Since facilitating over 500 sessions, developing and editing over 25 training programs and writing numerous articles focusing on performance improvement, I bring a results focused approach to my clients. Also, I am proud to be one of the first five nationally certified facilitators of America?s Rising Stars (a Student Leadership developmental curriculum).

My passion is to help others connect their passion to their purpose to double performance. As The small business coach in Chicago, my clients have easily doubled their performance. Since our greatest resource is our young people, I am now working with large urban schools to generate the same results.

Education Background

• Graduated with honors from Purdue University with a B.A. in Education
• Earned M.S. from Purdue University in Instructional Design and Curriculum
• Published in the national trade journal, The Supply House Times, and numerous national newsletters
• Developed seminars and training on diversity, communication, leadership, sales, effective trade show behavior, networking, knowledge management, goal setting and improved educational outcomes
• Co-authored M.A.G.I.C.A.L. Potential: 7 Capicities for Living an Amazing Life Beyond Purpose to Achievement, to be available in 2006
• Working a another book focusing on performance in public education
• Speaker in a national bureau - Resource Associates Corporation