Language - Viv McWaters

Words that drive me nuts

November 5, 2015

Language, such an interesting topic. I’ve always been keen on plain English – or plain language, if you like. Solid words like nouns and verbs, without the added distractions of adjectives. A travel brochure landed in my letterbox this week and here’s why this particular company is “the only way to travel”. (Really?) A professionally […]

Language, please!

February 4, 2015

It’s not what you’re thinking. I have no problem with bad language, swearing, cussing. Fuck no. My friend Kay Scorah wrote a brilliant piece recently about all those words you probably shouldn’t be using. As they say, be warned, strong language – and now go read it. I’ll wait. Johnnie Moore found this gem too on […]

The meaning of words

December 3, 2014

Musing over the meaning of these words – play, playfulness, game, activity, ice-breaker and warm-up – I invited others to share their understanding. Even with a sample size of 14 responses*, there’s some interesting insights regarding word meanings and the use of language when facilitating. here’s what i discovered. Some people gave meanings for each word, others […]

Kinetic type AND language AND Stephen Fry

September 28, 2014

In my last post about interests, I mentioned that one of them was kinetic type. This can be traced back to early days in my career when I worked with a hugely talented graphic artist, Frank Moore, who taught me the ins and outs of typography (not to mention layout and design, pre-internet no less). […]

Language matters

September 24, 2014

It matters more than you think. The language we use reveals a lot. The language I use as a facilitator reveals a lot about me (so much so that Sascha Rixon did a whole PhD on facilitation language) and the language you use can be like an open door, welcoming me into your world, or […]

3 tips for science communications

August 16, 2012

It’s National Science Week here in Australia. I’m quite fond of science and scientists: I’m married to a scientist; I even studied science once; I dabbled in science communications; I failed to get a Churchill Fellowship to explore science communications; and I love just about anything to do with space exploration. I’m a big fan […]

The world is full of talented people!

August 9, 2011

Here’s just two examples. I love this video from Mr Simon Taylor about language. Brilliant. And then there’s this one by Rick Mereki. I want to know how he did it.

Voices in groups

March 28, 2011

Body language gets a lot of press when exploring group dynamics. Voice not so much. Here’s a few random thoughts and observations about different ways we use our voice in groups, based on what I do and observations in groups. Phatic communication: verbal ‘stroking’ (aka small talk) to establish a rudimentary relationship with strangers before […]

Yes! No! Maybe!

August 17, 2009

In some cultures, yes means yes, and no means no. Elsewhere yes is the answer to everything. And sometimes yes means no, and no means yes. Or maybe. And other times, it depends – on who answers first, what the question is, or even who asks it. This creates a few dilemmas for facilitators. And […]