Looking for the latest communication tips? Communication is more than just the delivery of facts and data. True communication is just as much about listening as it is imparting. And there are a lot of ways to do it wrong. Here you can find all the latest news that we have handpicked on this most important topic. Communication: Everyone does it, even when they’re trying not to, and doing it well requires constant improvement. Here you can brush up your skills on ways to avoid failure, use better words, make more relevant points, understand context, make it stick and build understanding. Plus, getting great at presenting … or at least how not to dread it so much.
Information is the bedrock of engagement, so where, how and why people acquire information and news is enormously important to the work that we do. Half of the adults in the U.S. get at least some of their news from social media, which should scare the pants off of all ... read more →
From the Words Matter desk comes this strong suggestion to eliminate three specific words from your verbal and written vocabulary. Words matter. A lot. That towering elocutionator and forty-fourth U.S. Vice President Dan Quayle made that point so clearly when he said, “One word sums up probably the responsibility of ... read more →
We know through research and empirical evidence that likeability is a strong, positive factor when it comes to building trust and credibility, communicating effectively, and influencing people. Yet whenever I point this out to clients or students, I’m frequently met with a smirk or casual eye roll which says that, ... read more →
Thirty plus years ago, I shifted to a mostly public sector career from a reasonably successful one in media, and then advertising and public relations. At the time, I was astonished by government’s ineptitude in conveying information to the citizens that it supposedly worked for. The people that I worked ... read more →
If your job requires you to work with the public, at some point you’ll probably get a face to face or Zoom to Zoom audience with those people. They’ll give you their time and attention and you’ll have them in front of you or on camera. You’ll have this one ... read more →
Most of the well-intentioned, smart and highly capable people that we work with and for assume that they will be taken at their word. That their well-researched data and facts will speak for themselves – end of story. It doesn’t. You have a story. Tell it well. Here’s how.... read more →
Whether or not a majority of people ever relearn to discern truth from lies will largely determine what kind of future we leave to the next generations. Helping others recognize and believe right from wrong, real versus propaganda, or truth from bulls*** is a skill that we can learn and ... read more →
The work that you do is important. OK, maybe it’s not as important as our egos sometimes tell us we and our work is, but still, pretty important stuff. The stakes are high in the need to communicate the problems that need to be solved and engaging people in understanding ... read more →
From our “using the right words” division of The Participation Company comes some suggestions for making presentations more effective. Some of these are repetitive and redundant, some are dumb excuses, some crutches, or shoptalk, or weasel words. All are good to lose.... read more →
As I’m writing this, I’m watching a television report that Russian state media is labelling video and firsthand reports of civilian slaughter and atrocities in Ukraine as “fake news.” It’s a term that’s gotten a ton of traction since the election of the previous guy here in the U.S., but ... read more →
