Word-Dancing Together Towards Noble Outcomes

The Communication Doctor's keynotes are thought-opening sessions with a scientific backbone. They can be delivered as a keynote, a public lecture, or a facilitated reflection session, depending on the context. The series below consists of four talks that can each stand on their own, while also forming a continuous reflection on language, culture, interaction, and meaning. Intercultural Communication Under the Lens What we really need beyond clichés about language and culture The Ecology of Conflict The third outcome beyond winning or losing Understanding Japan in the West: The Case of Aikido Between meaningful appropriation and empty banalisation Aikido: A Modern Tradition History, context, and meaning About Greet Publications Book Greet The keynotes are available in Dutch, English, German, and French. Keynotes with backbone | Communication Doctor 1. Intercultural Communication Under the Lens What we really need beyond clichés about language and culture Intercultural communic...

How can you make professional communication training at once more engaging, easier to understand, and more memorable? That question was central to a research project that ran from December 2022 to December 2023. All participants took part in a communication training programme based on an interaction model developed from recent research. This model was implemented differently across groups: some groups worked exclusively with cognitive knowledge transfer and exercises, while others combined the model with explicitly embodied movements and principles drawn from aikido. From Training to Publication The analysis of the results has since been published. This process took time, as is typical of rigorous academic research. The article went through a double-blind peer-review procedure: independent experts assessed the study anonymously, without knowing who the authors were, while the authors in turn did not know the identity of the reviewers. This procedure guarantees a critical, careful, and ...

In communication training, learning outcomes are often framed in terms of techniques: better questions, clearer arguments, more effective structures. In our mixed-methods study on aikido-based communication training, however, participants consistently described something different. They spoke of eye-openers , surprising insights , and experiences that continued to resonate long after the training ended. Physical interaction: Powerful understanding Rather than listing newly acquired techniques, many participants characterised what they learned as edifying : physically learning from the aikido as a theoretical model for interaction and communication. The following excerpt is taken word for word from our article: When screening the open-text answers, most participants in the aikido-embodied groups reported that they found the interaction skills they learned to be edifying: ‘gave a few eye-openers in conducting conversations’ (Nina, Aikido-Embodied Group D), ‘a very interesting experience...

Inzichten uit recent onderzoek Hoe maak je een professionele communicatietraining tegelijk boeiender, beter begrijpbaar en makkelijker te onthouden? Die vraag stond centraal in een onderzoeksproject dat liep in van december 2022 tot december 2023. De deelnemers volgden allemaal een communicatietraining gebaseerd op een interactiemodel dat was ontwikkeld vanuit recent onderzoek. Dat model werd in verschillende groepen op een andere manier uitgewerkt: sommige groepen werkten uitsluitend met cognitieve kennisoverdracht en oefeningen, andere groepen combineerden het model met expliciet lichaamsgerichte bewegingen en principes genomen uit aikido. Van training naar publicatie De analyse van de resultaten is intussen gepubliceerd. Dat proces nam tijd, wat eigen is aan degelijk academisch onderzoek. Het artikel doorliep een double-blind peer-reviewprocedure : onafhankelijke experten beoordeelden het onderzoek anoniem, zonder te weten wie de auteurs waren, terwijl de auteurs op hun beurt niet w...

[ ABC  is the Association for Business Communication.] This October (15–18 October 2025), I had the privilege of joining the Association for Business Communication’s annual conference in Long Beach, California. It was a vibrant gathering of scholars and practitioners dedicated to exploring how communication shapes organizations, leadership, and learning. I was fortunate to contribute in two very different formats: a 20-minute presentation and a two-hour workshop. Each offered its own rhythm, its own kind of attention, and its own possibilities for connection. The presentation, From Embodied Practice to Linguistic System,  followed a more traditional academic structure: a slideshow, clear sections, and the familiar discipline of fitting a complex argument into a tight time frame. In these twenty minutes, I first traced how experiential learning — including aikido-inspired pedagogy — deepens clarity, engagement, and retention far beyond what knowledge transfer alone can achiev...

  Verwijsbrief 🧭  In drie stappen voorbij de weerstand Wat aikido ons leert voor uitdagende interacties In vele organisaties zijn er mensen die instaan voor veiligheid, gezondheid, welzijn of het goed functioneren van de werking zelf. Zij zorgen voor rust, overzicht en menselijkheid in systemen die vaak onder druk staan. En toch ervaren net zij geregeld weerstand. Niet altijd luid of vijandig, maar wel voelbaar. Vragen worden niet beantwoord. Antwoorden worden verwacht nog voor de vraag helder is. Er is drang naar vlugge oplossingen – terwijl de situatie baat heeft bij ruimte voor nuance, dialoog, draagvlak. Ze voelen zich soms de boodschapper, de buffer, of gewoon degene die de brandjes moet blussen. We kennen de regels van goede communicatie vaak al. Toch hebben we soms geen flauw idee wat de beste gang van zaken zou zijn. Een opleiding of workshop rond weerstand vertrekt vanuit een eenvoudige maar krachtige vraag: Hoe breng je beweging in gesprekken die dreigen te v...

There is no single accepted definition of conflict. The many definitions, whether they refer to international, political, religious, cultural, generational, organisational, interpersonal, or intrapersonal conflicts, focus on the incompatibility of concerns (Thomas & Kilmann, 2012, p. 2) , adversarial values (Dorjee et al., 2013, p. 115) , and the collision of cultures (Lewis, 2018) with the connotation that conflict is a negative, destructive, or inhibitive force. In reality, conflict can be healthy. It can bring to light previously unseen pressures or discontents, promote problems to be addressed, and improve understanding of goals and motives (Mohammed et al., 2009, p. 4) . Upon moving away from the negative connotations, conflict becomes more of an intriguing challenge and its resolution can be found in communication. Approaching conflict with a positive outlook, coupled with effective communication, can turn conflicts into opportunities. | Excerpt from the author’s  doctor...

  | In memory of Professor Jan Blommaert |  This is an account of how Jan Blommaert made me stop saying that I sell hot air. It happened when my doctoral advisory committee met in December 2018. It was an exciting meeting in which all the professors got acquainted who had agreed to accompany me on the long road to a doctorate. Jan was one of them. We soon shared perspectives on the research topic and discovered the alluringly diverse interests of the committee members. It was a refreshing dive into academic talk, especially for me because I had just stepped out of a career as a free-lance business communication trainer. When I humbly linked the subject of my PhD research with my professional experience, I claimed that this research may well show that I had been selling hot air for years, “ dat ik al jaren gebakken lucht verkoop .” Jan promptly replied that I must not say that. He eloquently explained that if participants of a business communication train...