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Grand Banquet and Great Friends (PT06)

Apr 18-2013   



 

—After-Class Interaction between PT06 Students and Professors

By LU Shuo

On the evening of March 31st, a “grand pizza banquet” was held at Zhifuxuan at BiMBA, where the 2006 part-time class of BiMBA gathered together to relax and build friendship. But the more important goal of this gathering was for the students to have in-depth exchanges with Professor Barrett J. Mandel and Professor Pamela E. Berns, the two beloved teachers lecturing on Executive Communication. Under the pleasant and open atmosphere, the students held dialogues with the professors and enhanced their skills in communication and socialization in this course.

 

The organizers (David Kim, FENG Xiaoqin, and SUN Ji, all representatives of PT06 students) first made a brief introduction of the two professors. Professor Barrett J. Mandel had assumed important roles in a number of major consulting firms and had taught at business schools in the United States, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Mainland China. He had rich experience in training and teaching of communication skills and had conducted unique research into speech skills, business writing, business communication, conversation and audience, and time management. Twenty years had passed since Professor Mandel gave his first lecture in China, so it was not an exaggeration to call him a senior “China Expert”. Invited by BiMBA, he was currently cooperating with Professor Pamela E. Berns to teach Executive Communication for two classes.

 

Professor Pamela E. Berns had long engaged in consulting for companies and lecturing in colleges, and was very experienced in training on culture and communication. As a female, Professor Pamela E. Berns had her unique and subtle understanding of communication and language.

Then the party officially started, and the students, directed by the two professors, played three games.

 

The first game was eye communication. Randomly formed pairs stood still looking at each other for one or two minutes, and each tracking his/her own various thoughts in this course. Simple rule, but hard to observe. Helplessly, some laughed, some fidgeted, and some looked away. Several rounds later, Professor Mandel smiled and told the students that this game was meant to allow them to understand the meaning of “eye communication”. People usually said that “Eyes are the windows of the soul”, but what did you see and feel when you stared at the other student a moment ago? Maybe nothing. Despite the close distance, you were not sure what the other person was thinking about. The students also reported that they had been sure that the other side did not know their thoughts during the game. Professor Mandel further warned the students not to assume that they could “penetrate” the other side or that they could always accurately express themselves with eyes. In the course of communication, everyone had very complex inner thoughts, so ambiguity and discrepancy were ubiquitous in communication. In the same vein, you should not unjustifiably demand complete frankness and confession from the other side. When communicating with a person, you should allow him the psychological room to keep his private thoughts.

 

If the first game was characterized by its stillness, the second game reminded one of “dancing monsters”. It was body expression. A pair of students facing each other alternated as the “mirror” to imitate every action of the other side, who were allowed to act at will. Zhifuxuan suddenly became alive! Some grimaced, some feinted assault, and some male students were forced to twist their stiff waists to dance like girls…At last all broke into wild laughter. At the end, Professors Berns and Mandel gave an explanation of the significance of the game. Staying together, two persons would influence each other more or less, especially with some small gestures, said Professor Mandel. The longer the two persons stayed together and the closer they became, the more they would resemble each other in their demeanors unconsciously. Professor Berns said that once you came across a person with similar body language, you would naturally grew attached to that person without knowing why. All in all, the two professors suggested that body language was very important and should not be downplayed as some fragments of communication. Body language was expressive, and sometimes conveyed more information than language. What’s more, it helped to define your image and style in other people’s eyes.

 

The third game was looking for partners. Each student should close his eyes and search his innermost heart for a word to express his yearning, and then in the shortest possible time find the people who had chosen the same or similar words. Soon the students chose their words and did their best to look their comrades. Some inquired around, and some were cleverer, writing down the word in a very large size and exhibiting it from a higher point. The classroom quickly turned into a bazaar, occupied by a motley of student groups labeled with various words, like “family”, “happiness”, “responsibility”, “freedom”, and so on. Sure, some students were “unique” and defended their “belief” alone. The two professors happily inspected each group and suggested that the students of the same group, starting from their common beliefs, conduct more exchanges and reach deeper mutual understanding. Professor Mandel explained that people were different from one another, but some of them had certain similarities. Especially, one’s outlook on life and values would determine many things for him. For this reason, in communication, we must try to understand the other side’s life philosophy, which would be a big help to deepening the communication.

 

After the three games, the distance among the students and that between them and their professors had greatly diminished. To make the air merrier, delicious pizza, together with beer and Champaign was served, and accompanied by music…Joyful meal and pleasant exchange, everyone relished this beautiful moment, and giggle and laughter were heard from every corner of Zhifuxuan.

 

Following the delicious meal, the students sat again around the two teachers to make further exchanges on communication skills. Talking about her feeling during the eye communication game, a female student mentioned an odd phenomenon that she encountered in her working experience. When she worked as an interviewer of companies, she sometimes would meet interviewees who stared at her with big and sincere eyes while lying to her. This phenomenon seemed to indicate that eyes, though sometimes the windows of the soul, were sometimes a means to deceive. Professor Mandel explained that the probable reason might be that the liar was telling a story that he tried to make you understand and believe so that he could manage to look honest. However, this was hard to do, except for those experienced cynics on the job market.

 

Some students asked how to demonstrate themselves to earn effective audience. Professor Berns gave a very brief answer: Be yourself. The reason was that you could not know how others judge a person. For instance, you thought that you were wearing a very elegant suit, but it might look very ordinary in other people’s eyes. As a result, it would be enough to express yourself sincerely and be yourself. Professor Mandel supplemented that it was not easy to be yourself. To understand ourselves and express ourselves properly and accurately was already an art that needed to be learned.

 

In these conversations, the two professors repeated some witticisms every now and then, to which the students nodded their heads respectfully. The two professors occasionally encouraged the speakers with plush toys. The atmosphere at the gathering was pleasant and active, and claps, laughter and hurrahs were heard even out of the classroom…

 

The party lasted for more than 3 hours, and everybody left with satisfaction and inspiration. Meanwhile, the participating teachers and students who were somewhat strangers to each other prior to the party now seemed to have become intimate friends. We believe that in later classes they will have closer and happier relations and will harvest richer fruits from their study.

Grand Banquet and Great Friends (PT06)

Apr 18-2013   



 

—After-Class Interaction between PT06 Students and Professors

By LU Shuo

On the evening of March 31st, a “grand pizza banquet” was held at Zhifuxuan at BiMBA, where the 2006 part-time class of BiMBA gathered together to relax and build friendship. But the more important goal of this gathering was for the students to have in-depth exchanges with Professor Barrett J. Mandel and Professor Pamela E. Berns, the two beloved teachers lecturing on Executive Communication. Under the pleasant and open atmosphere, the students held dialogues with the professors and enhanced their skills in communication and socialization in this course.

 

The organizers (David Kim, FENG Xiaoqin, and SUN Ji, all representatives of PT06 students) first made a brief introduction of the two professors. Professor Barrett J. Mandel had assumed important roles in a number of major consulting firms and had taught at business schools in the United States, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Mainland China. He had rich experience in training and teaching of communication skills and had conducted unique research into speech skills, business writing, business communication, conversation and audience, and time management. Twenty years had passed since Professor Mandel gave his first lecture in China, so it was not an exaggeration to call him a senior “China Expert”. Invited by BiMBA, he was currently cooperating with Professor Pamela E. Berns to teach Executive Communication for two classes.

 

Professor Pamela E. Berns had long engaged in consulting for companies and lecturing in colleges, and was very experienced in training on culture and communication. As a female, Professor Pamela E. Berns had her unique and subtle understanding of communication and language.

Then the party officially started, and the students, directed by the two professors, played three games.

 

The first game was eye communication. Randomly formed pairs stood still looking at each other for one or two minutes, and each tracking his/her own various thoughts in this course. Simple rule, but hard to observe. Helplessly, some laughed, some fidgeted, and some looked away. Several rounds later, Professor Mandel smiled and told the students that this game was meant to allow them to understand the meaning of “eye communication”. People usually said that “Eyes are the windows of the soul”, but what did you see and feel when you stared at the other student a moment ago? Maybe nothing. Despite the close distance, you were not sure what the other person was thinking about. The students also reported that they had been sure that the other side did not know their thoughts during the game. Professor Mandel further warned the students not to assume that they could “penetrate” the other side or that they could always accurately express themselves with eyes. In the course of communication, everyone had very complex inner thoughts, so ambiguity and discrepancy were ubiquitous in communication. In the same vein, you should not unjustifiably demand complete frankness and confession from the other side. When communicating with a person, you should allow him the psychological room to keep his private thoughts.

 

If the first game was characterized by its stillness, the second game reminded one of “dancing monsters”. It was body expression. A pair of students facing each other alternated as the “mirror” to imitate every action of the other side, who were allowed to act at will. Zhifuxuan suddenly became alive! Some grimaced, some feinted assault, and some male students were forced to twist their stiff waists to dance like girls…At last all broke into wild laughter. At the end, Professors Berns and Mandel gave an explanation of the significance of the game. Staying together, two persons would influence each other more or less, especially with some small gestures, said Professor Mandel. The longer the two persons stayed together and the closer they became, the more they would resemble each other in their demeanors unconsciously. Professor Berns said that once you came across a person with similar body language, you would naturally grew attached to that person without knowing why. All in all, the two professors suggested that body language was very important and should not be downplayed as some fragments of communication. Body language was expressive, and sometimes conveyed more information than language. What’s more, it helped to define your image and style in other people’s eyes.

 

The third game was looking for partners. Each student should close his eyes and search his innermost heart for a word to express his yearning, and then in the shortest possible time find the people who had chosen the same or similar words. Soon the students chose their words and did their best to look their comrades. Some inquired around, and some were cleverer, writing down the word in a very large size and exhibiting it from a higher point. The classroom quickly turned into a bazaar, occupied by a motley of student groups labeled with various words, like “family”, “happiness”, “responsibility”, “freedom”, and so on. Sure, some students were “unique” and defended their “belief” alone. The two professors happily inspected each group and suggested that the students of the same group, starting from their common beliefs, conduct more exchanges and reach deeper mutual understanding. Professor Mandel explained that people were different from one another, but some of them had certain similarities. Especially, one’s outlook on life and values would determine many things for him. For this reason, in communication, we must try to understand the other side’s life philosophy, which would be a big help to deepening the communication.

 

After the three games, the distance among the students and that between them and their professors had greatly diminished. To make the air merrier, delicious pizza, together with beer and Champaign was served, and accompanied by music…Joyful meal and pleasant exchange, everyone relished this beautiful moment, and giggle and laughter were heard from every corner of Zhifuxuan.

 

Following the delicious meal, the students sat again around the two teachers to make further exchanges on communication skills. Talking about her feeling during the eye communication game, a female student mentioned an odd phenomenon that she encountered in her working experience. When she worked as an interviewer of companies, she sometimes would meet interviewees who stared at her with big and sincere eyes while lying to her. This phenomenon seemed to indicate that eyes, though sometimes the windows of the soul, were sometimes a means to deceive. Professor Mandel explained that the probable reason might be that the liar was telling a story that he tried to make you understand and believe so that he could manage to look honest. However, this was hard to do, except for those experienced cynics on the job market.

 

Some students asked how to demonstrate themselves to earn effective audience. Professor Berns gave a very brief answer: Be yourself. The reason was that you could not know how others judge a person. For instance, you thought that you were wearing a very elegant suit, but it might look very ordinary in other people’s eyes. As a result, it would be enough to express yourself sincerely and be yourself. Professor Mandel supplemented that it was not easy to be yourself. To understand ourselves and express ourselves properly and accurately was already an art that needed to be learned.

 

In these conversations, the two professors repeated some witticisms every now and then, to which the students nodded their heads respectfully. The two professors occasionally encouraged the speakers with plush toys. The atmosphere at the gathering was pleasant and active, and claps, laughter and hurrahs were heard even out of the classroom…

 

The party lasted for more than 3 hours, and everybody left with satisfaction and inspiration. Meanwhile, the participating teachers and students who were somewhat strangers to each other prior to the party now seemed to have become intimate friends. We believe that in later classes they will have closer and happier relations and will harvest richer fruits from their study.