New Jersey Communication Association
Powered By Connection

27th Annual Conference
Rutgers University (East Brunswick, NJ)
March 15, 2025

Clara Capano (Forbes, 2020) noted: “The internet is amazing. It allows us to have a vast amount of knowledge and information at our fingertips. It allows to do things we never thought imaginable 50, 20 or even 10 years ago. It has been a real gift to many of us. At the same time, this gift can also be a curse. As it allows us to connect, it has also caused us to become more disconnected. Many opt to watch and stream videos than have a conversation with a loved one or client face to face. We often live in our emails and social media and not in our moments. We download versus read. We move so fast and can miss each other. So, in a time where we have the ability to be so connected, we need to watch becoming disconnected.”

In their book, Missing Each Other (2021), Brodkin & Pallathra explored the notion of “attunement.” “Attunement” is the ability to be aware of your own state of mind and body while tuning in and connecting to another person. It’s the ability to be “in tune” and “in sync” with both your own feelings and others’ feelings over the course of the sometimes unpredictable twists and turns of an interaction. This is an endlessly useful skill, both in the workplace and in our more personal relationships.: Attunement should not be viewed as simply fostering a touchy-feely emotional connection with others, but as a unique power — a power that enables us to perceive communications from others, to connect and have our message understood, and to manage conflict.”

We are experiencing a world of division, extremism, acrimony, and an overall lack of civility and respect. The theme of our Conference is driving more attunement as a means to return to an environment of civil, respectful and dignified discourse to create much more productive connections.

MORE DETAILS ABOUT THE CONFERENCE COMING SOON!