On 14 February the first SAOUG event for 2017 was held at the Kloofzicht lodge & spa in Muldersdrift. The event was attended by various library and information professionals and colleagues.

The morning started off with an introduction of the new Chair and new committee members of the SAOUG executive committee.   The main event was a talk by Kristen Long on “Watch your Language”.  The focus of the presentation revolved around communication not only through words but through the mind and heart.  The brain uses filters to assist with communication by deleting, distorting and generalising.  Filters stem from our languages values and backgrounds.  Our language conveys meaning and simple statement such as “I don’t know”, “little” can create an actual reality.  By paying special attention to our words and the intent and meaning of our words, we are able to change our reality, our outlook on life, and our impact on ourselves and others. Kirsten explained various models during the presentation such as the model of mind, Filter model and the NLP communication model.

The presentation concluded with how to deal with difficult conversations; SSS (seek first to understand; state the problem; solution comes from them).