DALLAS _ Jim Whiddon says old school is new again.
So the 56-year-old financial consultant has written a how-to-communicate guide for millennials who want to jump-start their careers and employers who want to connect with the largest generation in the U.S. workforce.
His book, "The Old School Advantage: Timeless Tools for Every Generation," released in February by Brown Books Publishing Group, started out two years ago as a lengthy love letter to his four millennial children, who are now ages 17 to 24. He noticed that they and their friends just didn't have the same observation and listening skills that most boomers learned from their parents.
"Remember those station wagon vacations and listening to your mom and dad talking?" he asks. "Today they sit in the backseat with earbuds on.
"The economic climate all over the planet is going to make things more challenging for millennials than it was for my generation," he says. "It's really about equipping them for the future."
One chapter deals with having a pointed discussion without letting it disintegrate into pointless bickering.
You start with leading questions:
_What do you mean by that?
_How did you come to that conclusion?
_Have you ever considered ... ?
The first clues you into any bias.
The second asks for evidence. "Too often my kids and their generation listen to bumper-sticker messages."
And the third allows you to take the other side offense without being offensive.
