One of the secrets to (re)building trust really isn’t much of a secret, but it also isn’t exactly intuitive. The clients that we work with almost always feel that they need to project professionalism and confidence in their dealings with the public. That may certainly be true in almost all peer to peer business negotiations,… read more →
There are 171,476 words in the Oxford English dictionary. The average person uses between 20,000 to 48,000 of them, so we need to pick the right ones. Complex science, engineering and public policy need to be explained in ways that normal people can understand. Mark Twain said, “The difference between the almost right word and… read more →
Facts and data will inform, but emotion is what motivates change and decisions. Emotional triggers are behind every behavior, including the ones that you need to elicit from the people you’re trying to reach and involve. Perceptions drive people to engage with you and emotion will motivate them to co-produce decisions with you. Anger is… read more →
Let’s get to the point: truth and reason are frequently losing. Your measured evaluation, research and reams of data presented in an objective way to an increasingly skeptical and mostly disinterested public, intended to appeal to their logic and common good, is competing with a steady diet of electronic and algorithmic emotional propaganda. And that… read more →
You might also consider that aside from the bot-generated posts and the active campaign to game the online world, real people like being mad. Really. We’re wired to … kinda get off on being angry; it’s a dopamine kick, a feel-good release of endorphins. And it works extra well online.
Working with people and serving the public good isn’t for the faint of heart, especially these days; it takes true grit. That sounds like a funny description for what many people consider to be a soft skill, but it’s most certainly the case. Frankly, it’s easy to become discouraged when you deal with conflict all… read more →
So much information is exchanged online in some way; it’s how most people are connecting and how government agencies are increasingly communicating with their customers. We’ve never been able to reach so many people so quickly and so efficiently, but like everything else, there are always consequences and challenges. Most experts point to the fact… read more →
I just spent several days professing with the next generation of public servants at a major university recently and a hot topic of classroom conversation had to do with big changes made by their administration without engaging the students who would be affected – they weren’t pleased. The conversation was respectful but heated, which begs the question… read more →
The changes in news, who and how it’s presented and how “news” is defined is top of mind if we’re interested in fighting disinformation and fakes. Most people now get their information from cable news and the internet. The Rand Corporation considered journalism facts vs. opinion and concludes that “cable programming today is highly interactive… read more →
If you’ve ever wondered if one of your more extrupulent (Yeah, I know there’s no such word … but it’s my newsletter) meeting attendees might be suffering from a lack of oxygen to the brain, we now have the answer – possibly. A recent study says “small rooms can build up heat and carbon monoxide… read more →