Katherine Allen

Growing up, Midland College Speech Instructor Katherine Allen said if someone didn't have something nice to say, they didn't voice it in the house. But studying speech and communication taught her some valuable pointers which she will share with attendees of her "Lunchtime Learning" course, "Keeping Your Cool (when you really want to blow your stack!)."
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Most people avoid it, which is the worst possible thing to do," Allen said.

"If you're angry at someone, it eats at you. It doesn't hurt them. Often, we think what's clear to us is clear to everyone else, and often they have no idea," Allen said.

Allen suggests:

- Dealing with conflicts in a timely manner. "Get it taken care of so you don't spend a lot of energy on it and also the situation is fresh in your mind and everybody else's mind. A lot of times if you wait, they don't know what you're talking about," Allen said.
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For reference texts, Allen uses Daniel Goleman's "Emotional Intelligence," Stephen Covey's "The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People" and "Boundaries" by Henry Cloud and John Townsend.
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"We talk a lot about listening in my class, Allen said. "If people listen actively and aren't so focused on their own agenda, they can better hear the other perspective."

These tips take practice, she noted, if you want a relationship to continue in a positive way. "It's to your benefit to manage your emotions, and if you have to keep on working with people and get along, it's the smart thing to do," Allen said.

"Calming the Upset Customer" will involve a team-teaching approach with Kathy Firkins, and Katherine Allen, who is a Midland College speech instructor.
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Firkins and Allen will illustrate their points by acting out scenarios that show how to and how NOT to handle these situations.
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The fourth class will continue the pace of growing the number of instructors with a panel of three -- Duron, Allen and Gwen Lovan.

"I think (Midland College Theater professor) Dr. Allen has come up with a very entertaining concept of how to present the show," he said."A traveling comedy troupe comes in and does it."Rather than being a costumed period piece, he has made it more accessible."To do that, Allen said he ditched fancy lace collars, sweeping velvet capes and billowing court dresses.Instead, he's pared costuming down to the Commedia D'ell Arte basics. (Commedia D'ell Art was a much more informal type of theater from Moliére's era.)"(Costuming) is going to be essentially contemporary," Allen said.
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"I would say it's a pretty typical family," Katherine Allen, who plays Madame Pernelle, said.