Douglas Speech Associates

Communication Tip: Texts and emails are powerful, convenient, fast...and frequently misunderstood! To avoid miscommunication you have to look at what you’ve written from the recipient’s perspective- watch this video to see how easy it is. :)

One of the best parts about working in Southern California on Team DSA- we know how to have fun in the sun! @ Malibu, California

Communication Tip: Want to sound more powerful? Lose the filler words!

If you are in the Los Angeles area call me to schedule an in person speech coaching session! And if you’re not in L.A., or you are still more comfortable staying home for now then let’s get our Zoom on!

Communication Tip Tuesday: The average person listens with only about 25% efficiency. Yikes! Want to improve? Try practicing with a child! Reflect, ask questions, use "interested" body language- you'll be amazed at the difference it makes in forming cohesive relationships, gaining trust, and managing conflicts.

Communication Tip Tuesday! Let’s continue to cultivate our powers of persuasion with the But you are free technique!

So proud of our DSA Teammate @fairycrysta for her role in this wonderful event! Posted @withregram @slpsofcolor SLPs of Color - Los Angeles Chapter is having a zoom party and you're invited! These are some of the beautiful faces in boxes you can expect to see our LA admin group Jimmy, Celia, Crysta, and Joyce (who isn’t pictured). Feel free to stop by for however long you'd like! Come welcome our new grads to our field with a mini graduation celebration! If you'd like... to be included or nominate a friend, send the following to [email protected]: 1) your/their name, 2) type of degree, and 3) the name of your/their school. If you're nominating a friend, please be sure to CC them! If you're starting at a school in the fall, please send your info as well! Nominations CLOSE FRIDAY at NOON. We will be sending out the Zoom link by email so please connect with us at [email protected] if you haven't already! See more

Fun Language Fact: A group of porcupines is called a prickle... and that is just so cute!! #languagelearning #funlanguagefacts #porcupines #cuteness #language #happyfriday #english #animalfriends #douglasspeech #ESL

Thursday Therapy Inspiration: Working on writing with any of your clients? Consider contacting a facility in your area whose residents would love to connect!

Communication Tip Tuesday: Want the power of persuasion? Speak in the affirmative!

Happy Juneteenth from your friends at Douglas Speech!!! Juneteenth is the oldest nationally celebrated commemoration of the ending of slavery in the United States. Dating back to 1865, it was on June 19th that the Union soldiers, led by Major General Gordon Granger, landed at Galveston, Texas with news that the war had ended and that the enslaved were now free. Note that this was two and a half years after President Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation - which had become o...fficial January 1, 1863. The Emancipation Proclamation had little impact on the Texans due to the minimal number of Union troops to enforce the new Executive Order. However, with the surrender of General Lee in April of 1865, and the arrival of General Granger’s regiment, the forces were finally strong enough to influence and overcome the resistance. #juneteenth #celebratefreedom #history #phonetics #repost @speak.fromtheheart See more

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Smoky was found in a foxhole in New Guinea in Feb 1944. The American thought she must have been a Japanese soldier's dog, but when he took her to a POW camp, they found out she didn't understand commands in Japanese of English. The soldier sold Smoky to Cpl. William Wynne of Cleveland OH for 2 dollars Australian. Over the next two years Wynne carried Smoky in his backpack, fought in the jungles of Rock Island and New Guinea, flew 12 air/sea rescue, She survived 150 air raids ...on New Guinea and made it through a typhoon at Okinawa, made a combat jump in Lingayen Gulf, Luzon, in a parachute made for her. She would warn G.I's of incoming artillery and was dubbed the "angel from a foxhole." Early in retaking the Philippines combat engineers were setting up a telegraph line to an airfield. The joints collapsed filling them in with sand. Cpl. Wynne knew that Smoky could climb through the pipe with a new line and that is what she did. Smoky's work saved approximately 250 ground crewmen from having to move around and keep operational 40 fighters and reconnaissance planes, while a construction detail dug up the taxiway, placing the men and the planes in danger from enemy bombings. What would have been a dangerous three-day digging task to place the wire was instead completed in minutes. In her down time she preformed tricks with the Special Services to improve the moral of the troops and visited hospitals in Australia and Korea. Visiting with the sick and wounded, she became the first recorded "therapy dog". After the war she became a sensation back int the states, had a live TV show, and often visited Veterans hospitals. Smoky's work as a therapy dog continued for 12 years. Wynne had Smokey 14 years before she passed away. He buried her in a 30 caliber ammo box in Rocky River Reservation, Ohio. Smoky, the smallest war hero weighing in at 4 lbs even and standing 7 inches tall. Pictures copyrighted by William A. Wynne (1996) and used by permission. Read the book "Yorkie Doodle Dandy" (1996) by William Wynne!