February 8, 2019
Think of the last time you were going about your business and someone came along with advice about a problem you hadn’t even been thinking about. And then he was grandiose enough to tell you the solution. How did that go over? Then, think of the last… Continue Reading…
October 15, 2018
Business Communications • Communication
People tend to underestimate one another’s bullshit detectors and overestimate their own. Some of the best evidence of this is how frequently we resort to the following phrases. Don’t use them unless you want to trigger people. 1. “No offense, but …”… Continue Reading…
October 4, 2018
Communication • Storytelling • Writing
The Economist warned last January that “In the future, ‘fake news’ put together with the aid of artificial intelligence will be so realistic that even the best-resourced and most professional news organization will be hard pressed to tell the difference… Continue Reading…
June 4, 2018
Business Communications • Communication • Writing
Updated: Jul 6 The ability to write well is scandalously undervalued. Both the benefits of quality writing and the economic costs of poor writing are underestimated by organizations of all sizes. Although I’ve written about this before, I thought using… Continue Reading…
May 23, 2018
The drawn-out email. The flowery, keyword-dense blog intro with no substance. The rambling, 550-page novel that lacks continuity. The podcast with 20 minutes of information crammed into 45 minutes. The 120-slide business pitch. These things suck. I’ll soon revisit this… Continue Reading…
April 24, 2018
Business Communications • Communication • Writing
Updated: Apr 27 He’s the worst roommate you ever had. He leaves dishes in the sink and never vacuums. He has to be asked five times to square up on his share of each month’s utility bill. He spills bong… Continue Reading…
April 18, 2018
Business Communications • Communication • Writing
With writing, as with so many other disciplines, it’s easy to spot others’ mistakes but hard to recognize our own. Nobody realizes when he or she is coming across as an amateur, but there are introspective tools you can use… Continue Reading…
April 14, 2018
Business Communications • Communication • Storytelling
If facts are the backbone of a well-crafted argument or pitch, stories are the heart. We greatly overestimate the extent to which facts and logic influence those around us. This misconception is reflected in the language used in board meetings,… Continue Reading…