It’s not just an act to manipulate the people you are talking to when you inject smooth sweetness into your voice. Next time you find your mental temperature on the rise, try this:

Speak with a calm voice. This will trigger the avoidance of cortisol, that pesky little hormone that spikes when we get angry or fearful.

Dr. Ellen Weber, the wizardess over at Brain-Based Business blog gave a perfect example of how communications - or miscommunications - can occur even among trusted peers. Her blog post is worth the read.

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This post comes from Laura Ricci, who has a neat blog about Winning Ideas at work. Here’s an excerpt from a post on May 5, 2006:

Burnout is a biologic reality, not a psychological weakness.

The brain works by creating pathways for specific projects. Communication is passed between cells along these synaptic pathways by electrical charges. The gap between cells has a conducting property. Think of it as a gel that holds a charge, similar to a battery.

Synaptic pathways wear out. When the synaptic pathway is fired continuously, like your last proposal, the gel loses its charge after awhile. Communication slows. By the time you notice a slowdown, burnout has already occurred.

The gel will re-charge, but it takes a day or several, and the pathway must be closed to most traffic.

Laura recommends taking plenty of time at lunch, eating well, even a 20 minute nap.

Gosh this is the 3rd post recently about taking breaks; do we see a theme here? When is my next vacation? Oh yes, June 2. Gotta go take a break now.