Communications Skills

Recently I underwent a diagnostic medical test that I knew was going to cause me a great deal of anxiety. In addition, I had to arrive at the medical facility at 7 a.m., couldn’t have a cup of coffee in advance and had been told that I was ...

Perhaps the most ridiculous construct I see and hear regularly is the conditional introductory phrase that prefaces content in documents with, “If you are reading this,” or that starts voicemail greetings with, “If you are hearing this message.”

In our product-oriented culture, people are encouraged to define and exploit their “personal brand.” I have always resisted the idea that individuals should come up with a self-definition that parallels Disney or Apple. Both people and careers ...

Every group of listeners is a multi-eyed monster that a speaker must confront, eyeball to eyeball.

Okay, I'll say it and get it out of the way: "A picture's worth a thousand words." Trite as the aphorism may seem, it has been proven true time after time that a good solid image can be far more powerful than any block of text. Why do the most ...

A change has crept up on us in the past couple of years. Just when you were starting to roll your eyes back into their sockets at the talk of "the death of email," up popped expressions like "WhatsApp me that file" or "I just Vibered my brother ...

Nothing draws a smirk or an arched eyebrow in certain circles as quickly as mispronunciation of the brand name of an automobile. This faux pas is especially damning when entertaining clients in businesses related to the auto industry, but ...

Recently I offered suggestions — aimed at Gen Xers and Baby Boomers — for improving communication with millennials. Here is the promised corollary version: Guidelines to help millennials communicate with Gen Xers and Baby ...

Last month, I was asked to speak at BlogPaws, a national conference for pet bloggers. (Yes, I got to take Rosie the basset hound with me.) I was part of a panel that presented a three-hour workshop called "Legal Dos and Dont's of Blogging and ...

In Part 1 of "Purge Toxic Clients," we walked through how to identify a bad client. Today, having identified them, let's look at how to actually end the relationship. When ending a client relationship, you have three goals: 1) Politely explain ...