You need a great headline.

What’s the first thing out of your mouth when you’re explaining a tough situation to someone who will be affected by it? Do you have a long “on-ramp,” when you’re explaining all the backstory? Do you start with  why it’s not your fault? Do you take forever to get to the point?Think carefully about how ... Continue Reading

“I had to say it.”

I was just part of a meeting when someone unloaded a short, angry-sounding rant that made the room uncomfortable. Afterwards, she said, “I’m sorry, I just had to say that.” Questions sprang to my mind. Are you sorry? If you’re really sorry, why not just apologize and leave it at that? And what does it ... Continue Reading

How we wait

No particular reason why I was thinking about the idea of “waiting” recently…:) But here’s what came up for me. How do we wait? Do we sit chewing our fingernails, treading a path on the floor? Or can we lift up our heads and focus, for moments or minutes, on moving forward?

Filed under: I never thought I’d have to say this, but…

If you’ve been on the internet in the last couple of weeks, you may have seen that a journalist got into trouble when he did something during a Zoom call that, let’s just say, was an activity better suited to being in private. So! If you’re on a videoconference, here’s a good rule of thumb: ... Continue Reading

What’s next?

What does this day bring you? How are you doing? What’s next? (I tried to locate the designer of this poster, with no luck. If you know, shoot me an email!)

The farmer and the stallion

There is a famous Taoist story that I am finding so much solace in these days. It goes something like this: A farmer’s horse ran away. His neighbors came to him to commiserate, saying, “We’re so sorry! What bad luck!” The farmer replied, “Maybe. Who knows what is good and what is bad?” The next ... Continue Reading

What I learned about communication skills from my son’s teacher

My son Cameron started high school this year. In our city, all public schools are currently doing virtual instruction only.  The transition from middle to high school is one that educators point to as being tricky under the best of circumstances. Many students are coming to a large school for the first time, they are ... Continue Reading

Popping particular pronouns

When you’re speaking, especially if you’re working from notes or a script, be careful not to emphasize pronouns.  Why? Take the following sentence as an example. “Her influence is one reason I’ve been able to drive success.” If you pop the pronouns, it looks like this: “Her influence is one reason I’ve been able to ... Continue Reading

In the beginning was…

I was speaking with a good friend of mine recently, a man who has thought a lot about faith and action. He spoke about how, in this culture, we place a lot of emphasis on “the word.” We celebrate speakers and are inspired by words and talk, but, in his view, the real transformation happens ... Continue Reading

You can’t win friends or influence people.

There are thousands of books and articles that will tell you How to Persuade a Potential Client, or the Three Tips That Will Engage an Audience, or What Not to Do If You Want People to Follow You. There is no book or TED talk in the world that will guarantee that something you do ... Continue Reading