Technology can change the world, in part because it's new. Computers, airplanes, antibiotics, and nuclear bombs empower people to do things they could not do before -- for good or ill.
But personal communication is almost as old as the sun.
Everything we do in personal relationships has doubtless been done billions
of times before in human history. So it may seem that nothing's new --
and therefore no personal-communication development could make any real
difference in world affairs.
But there is something new. Today we live in a worldwide
mass society far larger than any human community in history. A large society
opens possibilities that would not have worked as well before. And a social
movement around personal communication can take advantage of them.
A large society increases the potential of a "market"
type dynamic (not necessarily financial), allowing many people who may
not know each other to work together and contribute their talents to a
common project. Size matters, because a mass society has access to the
talents of millions of people. The best work from anywhere in the world
can be widely replicated and used.
Communication Practices is about developing ways to teach
and learn communication and relationship skills, through educational "practices"
used within everyday life. These practices work with ordinary human interactions
-- so they do not require money or other material resources, nor formal
education, nor permission, nor special settings, nor privileges. This means
that rich and poor are equal here -- and that we can focus immediately
on the heart of what we want to do, without waiting for resources to become
available. And there's no need to fight over resources, avoiding that major
distraction.
These practices are low stress because they are fully
integrated with everyday life. They do not require scheduled time, because
you do them through whatever you are doing anyway. So you can practice
as much as you want, building skills quickly.
This work -- both developing better training practices,
and using them to improve our lives and our world -- is truly open to everyone.
The best communication or relationship training practices could come from
any place on Earth, from any culture or society. We are proposing a social
movement to link people interested in this activity, so that experiences
and results can be shared.
Communication Practices uses assisted-performance education,
recognized by many experts as a highly effective way to learn. It brings
this learning into everyday life, which is always available and doesn't
cost money -- not just into the classroom. And it brings to the table a
key ingredient -- a way to modularize this work so that it becomes open
and flexible, not tied to any particular practices or methods. Each practice
stands or falls independently; it can be added, changed, or deleted at
will. People anywhere can use their particular talents and experiences
to improve existing communication training practices, design new ones,
apply practices to their own circumstances, or promote ones they believe
in. They can work independently yet within a community. They can receive
guidance from others, yet can proceed on their own, without having to stop
and wait until others are ready.
To look at it another way, think of the many serious hobbyists
out there -- people who become among the best in the world at some obscure
and often seemingly useless activity. Suppose one could also choose a new
activity: creating or promoting a line of designer life practices / educational
tools, which people anywhere could use to help them build a better life
for themselves and a better world around them. This activity could offer
the same opportunities for self-improvement and recognition that attract
people to conventional hobbies, while also offering major practical and
community benefits. We believe it could develop a constituency.
Our goal for Communication Practices is to create enough
of this process for a proof of principle, a demonstration of useful possibilities.