Articles
The Journal on Active Aging brings articles of value to professionals dedicated to older-adult quality of life. Content sweeps across the active-aging landscape to focus on education and practice. Find articles of interest by searching the article archives in three ways: Enter a keyword in the articles search bar; click on search by topic; or type a keyword or phrase in the general search bar at the top of the page.
Topic- Communication
Lunacy in the lap lane by Debra J. Schmidt
My husband and I were lounging by the pool at our health club when we were rattled out of our revelry by a commotion in the lap lanes.
For 10 minutes or so we had been chatting while 2 women were swimming laps in the pool in front of us. They were in separate lanes. One woman was in her mid-40s and the other woman was around 70. Suddenly, the younger woman stopped swimming, and whacked the older swimmer on the shoulder with her Styrofoam kickboard.
Communication
Breaking through communication barriers by Debra J. Schmidt
During my training seminars, I frequently ask the class, “What’s getting in your way of delivering great customer service?”
At first, there’s silence. But when a few people begin to mention barriers, the group warms up and gets on a roll, identifying many customer loyalty barriers within the organization. It’s hard for me to keep up, as I fill pages and pages on the flip chart.
Communication
Good ideas for communication
The Active Aging 2004 conference provided a wealth of experience and field-ready suggestions from presenters with many years of experience working with older adults. These are just a few of their ideas.
moreCommunication
10 things never to say on a business call by Joanna L. Krotz, Microsoft bCentral
Good phone manners have always been important, of course. Yet too few companies make any effort to train employees in phone etiquette, says Nancy Friedman, president and founder of the Telephone Doctor, a St. Louis-based customer service training company. The result is often lost business, irate customers and squandered opportunities, she says.
moreCommunication
Speaking their language
As boomers move into the 55-plus market this decade, the characteristics and interests of this segment of the population will change. The American Association of Retired People (AARP) and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation set out to research one of the fastest changing areas: health behavior in the older adult, particularly in the area of physical activity. The initial findings of the AARP study and, in time, other research will become paramount in how our industry communicates the message of physical activity to older adults.
moreCommunication
Develop a new vocabulary by Richard Ambrosius
The research all points to the same conclusion: today's older adults are not the same as the generations before them. So why hasn't our way of talking to them changed as well?
To reach tomorrow's dominant consumer segment, our marketers need an entirely new vocabulary of inclusionary terms, not a mindless debate of yesterday's stereotypical terms. Mindlessness is thinking that labels like continuing care retirement community, life care, senior citizen, elderly and, yes, senior are not shrinking the size of our potential market. Active adults read these labels and think, I'm healthy, well-educated and active, so why would I consider something clearly not targeted at me - I'm not one of those seniors.
