Over the years I’ve authored literally hundreds of articles on a variety of topics from finding a therapist to improving employee engagement. It’s a bit hard to find things because of the volume of material, so here’s what is available on THIS site. As we continue to centralize our web presence, more and more material…
Welcome to our 2024 Edition
Welcome to our 2024 version of The Bacal & Associates Personal and Work Store. It’s more than a store, since we’ll have tons of free material on all kinds of topics, both work, and personal development. As you can see, everything is under construction and will likely not be completed until the end of January,…
What Is The Viewers Distortion Syndrome as It Applies To Social Media
How We Overestimate the Reach and Influence of Social Media Tools The “Viewers Distortion Syndrome” is a term developed by Robert Bacal to describe the situation where the number of viewers, or communication recipients is drastically OVER-ESTIMATED. It works like this. Let’s say you own a website and you count how many unique people view…
Exploring the Satir Modes: Understanding Communication Dynamics for Healthy Relationships
Introduction: Communication is the cornerstone of human interaction, shaping the dynamics of relationships, whether personal or professional. Virginia Satir, a renowned family therapist, introduced the concept of Satir Modes, offering a framework to comprehend various communication patterns and their impact on relationships. In this essay, we delve into the Satir Modes, exploring their characteristics, effects,…
The MAIN Difference For Writing On Social Media
Social Media Readers Want To “Get To Know You? What’s The Main Difference Between Writing For Print, and Writing For Major Social Media Platforms? The biggest difference between the more formal writing one reads in newspapers (or used to) and writing on social media platforms is that readers want to feel they know you. If…
Navigating the Divide: Writing for Social Media versus Writing for Print
Introduction In the modern landscape of communication, the realms of social media and print media stand as two formidable pillars. Each possesses its own unique set of conventions, audiences, and purposes. Writing for these distinct platforms requires an understanding of their disparities, as well as the nuances that distinguish effective communication within each domain. This…
Neurolinguistic Programming and Non-Verbal Behavior – A Caution
Why We Don’t Include NLP Techniques In Our Discussion of Non-Verbal Behavior Neurolinguistic Programming, or NLP, has become a common way for many non-psychologists to talk about human thinking and communication. It’s a pop psychology version. While it’s way beyond the scope of our discussion to critique NLP (since such a critique would cover many…
Important issues with assertiveness and listening use in the real world
While in theory, the use of assertive skills and various forms of active and reflective listening should work in real life, the reality is that they often do not work the way the experts contend, or the books teach us. You should know about this before you jump in to learn and use assertiveness and…