The communications patterns we learn from our families, and later interactions at school or university, on sports teams, at our first job, and from mass media, shape the way we see and react to the world. It’s within our families or our grade-school interactions that we develop patterns of communication that drive how we connect or don't with others. Understanding these patterns can prevent communications crashes.
The truth has always been elusive, And, now, in the age of social media, algorithms expose us only to information and beliefs that conform to and reinforce our own beliefs. Alternative facts masquerade as reality. The truth is even harder to discern. In our work and home lives, we must make the effort to actively seek the truth and protect it as a valuable business and national resource.
When it comes to framing messages, conventional wisdom says going negative is best. But sometimes sounding the negative note isn't the one that will get your point across. Knowing which side of the message coin to flip--positive or negative--is key.
As more and people companies turn to video to tell their stories, they waste their viewer's time with boring and irrelevant content. Get your audiences to tune in by following these three simple tips.
Most business messaging fails because it speaks to what we do not why it matters to our audience. Break out of the list maker syndrome that ticks off all the products and services you offer. Instead, make your case by talking about great things that can and will happen with and through you. Get people excited about the big things so that they understand why all the smaller things you do every day are so important—and how they fit into making things better for the people you need and want to reach most.
In this digital age, when with the push of button we can reach masses, we’ve lost sight of the most important aspect of communication – meaningfulness. Rather than trying for quantity, we should be thinking about quality. So in 2019 here are five things you can do to enhance the quality of your communication.
There is an old saying that the shoemaker’s children are often the last to get shoes. The same thing holds true for communications professionals. We are so busy helping our clients and bosses reveal and reinforce their value that we often neglect the same efforts for ourselves.
For a runner, nothing is more exhilarating than coming to the finish line after giving it your all in a road race. That same feeling overwhelmed me when the brown UPS truck showed up a few days ago with six cartons of my new book, Prism of Value: Connect, Convince and Influence When It Matters Most...
What happens when clients, bosses, clients, family or friends don’t get you? You don’t get that coveted job. Your competitor wins the business you have chased for two years. You can’t get your co-workers to help you on a project.
It’s an election year and with the primaries in full swing in my county, my mailbox overfloweth with postcards from candidates. They all look and sound alike with promises of fighting for me, for better education, for jobs, for better health care. In order to stand out, these political hopefuls are putting their bland messages on bigger card stock.
