Writer: Kay Ledbetter, 806-677-5608, skledbetter@ag.tamu.edu
Contacts: Andy Crocker, 806-677-5600, abcrocker@ag.tamu.edu
Rachel Brauner, 979-845-1553, rbrauner@ag.tamu.edu
AMARILLO – “Communication ‘In the Crunch’” is the next monthly military caregiving professional development webinar offered through the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service’s Military Program.
The 60-minute webinar will begin at 10 a.m. May 4. The event is free and open to all who may be interested, but registration is required, said Andy Crocker, AgriLife Extension gerontology and health program specialist in Amarillo.
Rachel Brauner, program coordinator with AgriLife Extension’s Military Program in College Station, said everyone has the intention to communicate clearly and frequently.
“However, under stress or ‘in the crunch,’ most of us revert to less skillful styles of making our point,” Brauner said. “It can be helpful to recognize these styles, which present obstacles to communicating and to target specific skills which pave the way for better understanding of the other person’s world.
“Whether it is communicating with clients, family members and friends, or work colleagues, conscious choices of how we talk and listen can help,” she said.
The interactive webinar will be presented by Jane Riffe, retired West Virginia University Extension specialist in family and human development, Morgantown, West Virginia.
Riffe will discuss how personal “agendas” repeatedly interfere with effective communication and will offer a “RECIPE” for more effective and efficient communication.
– Reflective listening.
– Encouragement.
– Compromise and cooperation.
– “I” Messages.
– Practice.
– Engagement.
The webinars offered through AgriLife Extension’s Military Program provide professional development and interactive resources for those who may not be able to leave their homes for training, Crocker said.
The Military Families Learning Network will provide certificates of completion for those interested in receiving training hours.
To join the webinar or for more information on the event, go to https://learn.extension.org/events/2588. To access previous webinars, go to https://extensiononline.tamu.edu/courses/military_caregiving.php. For a list of more webinars in the series, go to http://www.extension.org/pages/62581.
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