Congratulations to Billy Blue’s graduating class of 2011! More Volume in now on Film. I was invited to participate in the documentary, you can check out my interview in this vid! A special mention to Johnny Welch who directed the project and to all the wonderful students who where involved in creating/producing it. Well done and good luck in your careers!
Rugby world cup celebrations
Darling harbour fireworks rugby world cup
Sunday afternoon at Bronte beach
EMOTIONS & NEGOTIATION
Over recent years, academic research has reconsidered the way we think and value emotions.“I think therefore I am”, a statement proposed by French philosopher Rene Descartes, places in people’s minds the idea that thinking and intellect was all that mattered, and that emotions were to be ignored. The latest neuroscience research is proving otherwise. Today, there are more scientists than ever before exploring the make-up of emotions and how they run through our brains and bodies.
Becoming a good negotiator requires the development of a set of skills which range from self-awareness to awareness of others, as well as other skills such as self-regulation. One of the basic principles to be taken into account, is that “If you cannot know and manage yourself, how can you know and manage the other party when you are negotiating”?
Dr. Evian Gordon, a Sydney based neuroscientist explains that to understand ourselves better, how we communicate, decide, negotiate and behave, first we need to understand what are “emotions”. Dr. Gordon defines emotions as “action tendencies” that are triggered automatically and without awareness by signals of potential danger and reward that we react to, in the absence of conscious awareness. Emotions are supported by a “feedforward” mode of brain and body activity. For example, a sudden loud noise will trigger an automatic startle response (‘jump’) which is the action tendency of fear that prepares us to flee.
Emotions are triggered subconsciously in response to an encountered situation or event. Our survival mechanism is hardwired to protect us, and these emotions (made up of chemical substances) quickly flood our bodies and brains. Emotions are not good or bad; they are there for a reason. They occur to minimize, avoid pain or seek pleasure. This is the way the brain organizes itself.
Dr. Gordon also explains what self regulation is: the shaping, planning and monitoring of behaviors over time, to Minimize Danger-Maximize Reward. It encompasses regulation of emotion. For example, if you find that you have excessive fear reactions to signals in your environment, you can train your breathing so that you can better inhibit these reactions and ensure they do not interfere with your reward-related behaviors.
We cannot leave emotions at the door, neither can we ignore them, particularly in situations such as a negotiation with another human being. If we are mindful of emotions such as fear, anxiety, excitement and hope that could arise in this type of situation, we may be able to use this information to decide or adjust the way we are communicating with the other party.
Sunday Afternoon at Bronte Beach
Sunday Afternoon at Bronte Beach
Mother & Son
Illustration by Samantha Boyd
A great Illustration that was created for a new book I worked on titled “What did your parents teach you about emotions”. Check out the site!
Truly wonderful the mind of a child is
Just some humble home cookin
Button mushroom, chicken and pea risotto, sprinkled with wilted baby spinach and Parmesan, accompanied by fresh baby spinach, avocado and cherry tomato salad.
A hug is like a boomerang - you get it back right away.
Nice Shot!!!
Q:Hi Relmi, you recently added me on LinkedIn so I thought I'd say hi. Your portfolio is really impressive and you seem to do a bit of everything, (photography, design etc.) I did a six week course at Billy Blue when I was 17 but I don't know whether or not I should get a degree there, since I am already getting a diploma at CATC. Do you think it would still be worth going? Thanks :)
Hey! Jonathan, nice to meet you (virtually). Thanks for your comments, you have some good work also! :) I think it really depends what you want to do with your career, having a degree (the paper) is always helpful these days and allows you to be more competitive (of course depending what you are planning on doing) it also allows you to possibly take up further study at a later stage e.g a masters/postgraduate - if thats the way you want to take it. Why don’t you come to the end of year Billy Blue graduate exhibition, which I think is happening around the 10th/11th of November. Maybe we can have a chat then?
Just some humble home cookin
Pecan Pie

