April 2008 Meeting

December 19, 2007 · Filed Under Calendar 

DATE: April 8, 2008
TIME: 7 - 9 p.m.
LOCATION: Marie Callendar’s restaurant (Loop 360 & Hwy 183) - view map
SPEAKER: Frieda Knezek
TOPIC: Body Language - The Magic Beyond 7%

Roughly speaking, seven percent is:

A daily caloric intake of ten cashews.
A professional dress code of perfume.
The right to keep and bear.
As for romance…

Seven percent just doesn’t do the job, let alone satisfy. The same holds true for communication, the mission of a writer. If only seven percent of effective communication is verbal, then the other ninety-three nonverbal percent is an endless smorgasbord of possibilities. Come join us to:

  • See what nonverbal communication can do in, and for, a story
  • Explore types of nonverbal communication and their meanings
  • Experiment with six ways to use body language in your story
  • Decode unconscious messages
  • Find out what we can learn from the Reid technique
  • Learn how casinos make millions with carpet

BIO - Frieda Knezek:

My fascination with nonverbal communication began in fifth grade when my mother volunteered me at a family reunion to recite Poe’s “Annabel Lee.” Much to the consternation of my proper California grandparents, I decided to spice it up with plenty of action and an overly thick Texan accent. It worked. Without a doubt, I had everyone’s undivided attention, and I knew I was on to something good.

While attending Baylor University, I got my first formal training in nonverbal communication. Two summers spent working with a ministry in Tennessee put that initial training to use. Not long after that I headed off to Germany where I received more in-depth training in decoding and interpreting nonverbal cues. (Handy tool when you’re working with hormonal teenagers and drunk Neo Nazis.)

Working as a fitness instructor and personal trainer added different elements of nonverbal communication such as breathing patterns, skin coloration and signs of fatigue, not to mention growls and miscellaneous “Curse you, evil Trainer” facial expressions. These days I spare folks the “Annabel Lee” show, but I’m still a die hard, nonverbal ham. That’s OK. I’m in good company.

“Look, I don’t want to wax philosophic, but I will say that if you’re alive you’ve got to flap your arms and legs, you’ve got to jump around a lot, for life is the very opposite of death, and therefore you must at very least think noisy and colorfully, or you’re not alive.” — Mel Brooks

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