Total Credits: 1 Advance Credits
We use it every day. It’s eminently powerful, yet most of us hardly ever think about it. Language. It’s foundational and dynamic. It lies at the heart of connection—or at least it can. What we say, what we intend, and how it’s interpreted—sometimes they all align for shared understanding; other times they don’t, and that can lead to conflict. conflict. If we don’t understand each other, how can we have the honest dialogue that’s needed to navigate the complex issues of the day—or even the simple interactions? How else can we build the foundations for healing and growth?
In this presentation, linguists and communications professionals (and QRCA members from the San Francisco Bay Area Chapter) Criscillia Benford, PhD & Anna Marie Trester, PhD will strip language down to its essence, helping us understand its structure and its power to reframe, repair and re-create connection where connection has been broken. Their lessons will resonate with both personal and professional applications.
Criscillia Benford is a co-founder of Pier Consulting Group, a boutique consulting agency that helps organizations leverage internal communications to improve employee experience and increase employee engagement. Criscillia studied narratology, rhetoric, and Victorian Literature at Stanford where she received her PhD. She has been helping people hone their communication skills for over 20 years, and has taught literature and humanities courses at the University of Chicago, Duke, and Stanford.
Anna Marie Trester is one of the co-founders of Pier Consulting Group, a boutique consulting agency that helps organizations leverage internal communications to improve employee experience and increase employee engagement. Anna Marie studied sociolinguistics at Georgetown where she earned her PhD. The author of Bringing Linguistics to Work, Anna Marie has taught courses in improvisation, storytelling, and linguistics at a variety of institutions including Washington Improv Theater, Better Said Than Done Storytelling, Howard University, Georgetown, and University of Alberta.
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