VERBAL TREATS ©
What a person delivers by word of mouth can be a really 'tasty’ treat.
We are creating A POOL of verbal treats – stories, jokes, riddles, discoveries, etc. from various corners of the world, from people of all backgrounds. Ideally, verbal treats shouldn’t be too long to 'consume’, preferably 2-3 minutes only, so that they can be remembered and serve social occasions.
We AIM to
(1) DEFY THE NEGATIVE IMPACT OF TECHNOLOGY (AI) ON INTERPERSONAL COMMUNICATION,
(2) PROMOTE INTERNATIONAL AND INTERDISCIPLINARY SPOKEN EXCHANGE,
(3) PRESERVE THE TRADITION OF VERBAL TRANSMISSION, AND
(4) SERVE INCLUSION, DEMOCRACY, and PEACE.
We SEEK AND DISSEMINATE
VERBAL TREATS IN THE FORM OF SHORT AUDIO RECORDINGS WORTH SHARING IN ANY OF THE FOLLOWING CATEGORIES:
SECRET PROPERTIES OF VERBAL TREATS
1. VERBAL TREATS FALL INTO A WIDE RANGE:
BETWEEN FUN AND ART
Compare:
It was a pretty amazing story, you know, I was walking here last night and met a man talking to himself. He stopped, looked at me, and showed me a book which was this thick, and asked me if I’d ever read it…
vs.
John Hinckley Jr was 25 when he tried to assassinate newly inaugurated president of the US, Ronald Reagan, outside a hotel in Washington DC on 30 March 1981, by firing 6 shots from just a few metres away…
On the one hand, verbal treats can be SIMPLISTIC and not subject to any rules
– with regular redundant elements, no names/dates/places specified, frequently speaker-oriented
On the other hand, verbal treats can be ARTISTIC and follow a set of rules
– with no redundant elements, all names/dates/places specified, generally not speaker-oriented
Most verbal treats fall in between the simplistic and artistic extremes.
2. VERBAL TREATS HAVE ONE COMMON DENOMINATOR:
TRANSFERABILITY
Transferable
verbal treats
in the form of
STORIES
are
FACTUAL
(not fictitious).
Transferable
verbal treats
in the form of
JOKES
are
CIVIL
(not offensive).
Transferable
verbal treats
in the form of
RIDDLES
are
PLAYFUL
(not strenuous).
Transferable
verbal treats
in the form of
DISCOVERIES
are
ACCESSIBLE
(not specialistic).
3. VERBAL TREATS SERVE DIFFERENT PURPOSES:
MULTIFUNCTIONALITY
SOCIAL PURPOSES
Verbal treats bring people together and become content which is discussed and remembered. They help break ice, enrich all kinds of social gatherings, reflect culture, and form the common good of local, national, and global community.
EDUCATIONAL PURPOSES
Verbal treats support the process of learning by making students’ knowledge active. They show and enhance understanding, serve peer and group work, and, most importantly, cause people to speak and increase their learning outcome.
PERSONAL PURPOSES
Verbal treats serve individual needs on multiple levels and support one’s overall development. They add to one’s confidence and self-esteem, and can work as means of organising one’s own everyday experience of people and reality altogether.
PROFESSIONAL PURPOSES
Verbal treats inject to one’s work an extra dimension upon which all kinds of work can be enjoyed more and performed more effectively. They provide a way of pushing employees and companies forward by making best use of their speaking skills.
4. VERBAL TREATS BELONG TO EVERY PERSON’S UNIQUE REPERTOIRE:
COLLECTIVITY
