Holiday season is upon us. The biggest change to a holiday dinner isn’t vegan turkey but getting the kids to put down their cellphones. John McGory decided to write a book to help grandparents and kids to talk.
Instead of dinner talk with grandma and grandpa, the ubiquitous head-down pose of youngsters grabbing a glance at social media feeds live alongside the nonstop photographer who captures every drop of spilled gravy for future embarrassing (and boring) social media posts.
“Yes grandma, the world has changed.”
The technological world engulfs all. Step into a Starbucks or McDonalds anywhere in the world and what do you see? Twenty people intently staring at mobile devices.
Help grandparents and kids to talk
Some believe talking is so 20th century, an outdated form of communication.
Unfortunately for those who hold fast to this conviction, normal life requires conversation. Family, work, friends, and school force the technology addicted along with the quiet and shy to come out from behind their phones sooner or later.
Ohio resident John McGory understands the global impact of mobile technology on spoken communication. He has spent the last six years teaching English to college freshmen at Jianghan University in Wuhan, China so he wrote a book to help grandparents and kids to talk.
“New Chinese students’ basic speaking skills started to decline while addiction to their phones increased. They need remedial help, I thought so do a lot of other people,” McGory said.
To combat the decline in speaking skills, he just released a book, Seeking Balance: The ultimate English-speaking guide for the shy, foreign, or frustrated.
“Much of the world has lost its balance when it comes to speaking. Many people don’t answer their phones or strike up a conversation when having dinner together. Talking is becoming a lost art.”
To help speakers gain footing McGory uses the Chinese concept of yinyang.
“Struggling or reluctant speakers deal with conflicting emotions. They want to talk but distractions, nervousness or shyness stops them. Yinyang teaches opposite forces are complementary, interconnected, and interdependent so the question isn’t to talk or not to talk but how to balance the one concept of communicating.”
The book walks readers through ten common speaking situations with suggestions, model conversations, and ideas for improvement when dealing with emotions. Other chapters cover the importance of body language, talking strategies, a personal talking improvement plan, and 365 talking tips.
“I’ve taught oral English for six years at a 25,000-student university. My belief is most conversations fall apart because people wonder, ‘What do I say?’ or ‘How can I talk when I’m this nervous?’ This book’s focus on yinyang looks to help people answer these questions,” said McGory.
The author says the self-help book eyes helping speakers improve relations with friends and family. He says the book contains numerous ways for parents, grandparents, or friends to build a conversation with the shy, foreign, or frustrated.
“Poor speaking skills hurt relationships. Personal connections lose balance when one person talks and the other doesn’t. Seeking Balance gives people a working guide to find common conversation ground.”
The book can be found on Amazon.com, Barnes and Noble.com, iTunes, and KOBO.