by Sandy Pfaff
As communicators, we’re constantly surrounded by buzzwords and jargon that no one outside of our companies or communications teams may understand. So isn’t it fun when we all get to talk to each other? We can “build on” each other’s perspectives, we can “to your point” each other to death, and we can [...]
by Aaron Heinrich
Thirty years ago the unifying force in the workplace was more often than not what you watched on TV, possibly the movie you saw that weekend, and maybe the latest music. Because this was all truly mass media, for the most part the way a 25-year old in 1980 interacted with it was [...]
by Roger D’Aprix
One of the saddest things about political campaigns is the abuse of language and intelligent dialogue—the tendency to make words connote something other than their real meaning and to mask intent. Or worse, to disseminate outright lies. At this phase of the presidential campaign there’s plenty of both.
For anyone interested in truthful communication, [...]
by Roger D’Aprix
I’ve just returned from a long and happy vacation at the same Maine coastal cottage my family and I have visited for the last 38 summers. It’s located right smack on the Atlantic on a high rocky bluff with a 20 or 30 foot descent to the water. It’s a modest cottage in [...]
by John Pollack
One of the great strengths of American English is its adaptability. Unlike many other languages, it tends to welcome new words easily – the verb “to Google” is perhaps the most famous, recent arrival. This linguistic mutability reflects America’s wonderfully informal, innovative spirit, but also sometimes comes at a price: the common abuse, [...]
by Roger D’Aprix
The July-August issue of The Atlantic features a cover story entitled “Is Google Making Us Stoopid?” by writer Nicholas Carr. His thesis essentially is that our online proclivities are short-circuiting our powers of concentration and affecting our ability to focus. In his words, “My mind isn’t going—so far as I can tell—but [...]
by Roger D’Aprix
A fascinating dialogue took place online a few weeks ago. The subject was the proper role of internal communication professionals in their respective organizations. It’s a subject that badly needs airing in a time when increasingly I believe that internal communication practitioners are losing their way.
The people that were engaged in the online [...]
by John Pollack
I recently read an excellent book entitled Why Societies Need Dissent. Citing examples from the public and private sector, its author, University of Chicago law professor Cass Sunstein, methodically explores how and why groups often make bad decisions, as well the characteristics and behaviors of groups that make good decisions.
One common denominator is [...]
