It may be that the person who makes you uncomfortable, who openly challenges your actions and ideas, who unapologetically but lovingly debunks your dearly held notions is precisely the communicator you need. Good communicators are not necessarily those who make you feel good or uplifted. They are the ones who bring you clarity, who get…
Time is important. We all know this. We lead busy lives. Our days fly by. Time is valuable. Time is precious. Time is money. We bill hourly and count down minutes. The premium on time is what makes it so powerful. Time is a gift. It is respect. It is consideration. You need to give…
We live in a hyper-connected, info-flooded world. This is no secret. We have limited space in our brains to take in all the information and connections available to us. This is also no secret. Limited brain space affects the speaker (or writer) as much as the audience. The onus is on the receiver to decide…
Throw your audience a bone. Really. Give them a clue, a hint, an indication that you are opening yourself up to an intimate exchange. All the heartfelt intentions in the world won’t tell the audience you are open to them unless you give them some form of physical cue. Note what I said there: physical…
Layered meaning makes conversation so much more interesting. While plain-speak is generally the best way to conduct most business – after all, one’s goal should never be to stymie your clients or colleagues – there are opportunities where you can have some fun in a conversation and imply the Things that Cannot Be Said Aloud. Euphemisms and…
The Unclutterer had an excellent post a few days ago regarding uncluttered email communication. It’s funny how a system that supposedly increases productivity and streamlines communication needs strategies for dealing with communication pile-ups. Heavens knows I’ve fallen prey to email clutter; my inboxes are horrid messes filled with emails that will never be read more than…
“Content is king!” has been a blogger battle cry for some time now. With so much information flying from every corner at audiences, attention has become a precious commodity and a powerful currency.* All bloggers and online info provider (myself included) like to think that our content is high value, high impact, unique, or otherwise…
“Hey, we need you to fill a space in our program. This speaker just backed out, see, and it’s too late to find someone outside the organization to fill their space. The presentation needs to be related to Topic XYZ. Don’t worry, you’ll do fine – you’re so good at winging it.” I shuddered every…
Despite all best efforts, some people are simply difficult to communicate with. You’ve likely met a difficult communicator; no matter how hard you try, they seem to miss chunks of conversations. No matter how clear the note, they still twist the message. No matter how explicit the instructions, they still manage to screw them up. It doesn’t seem to…
