Some conversations are difficult, and with the convenience of email and text many people manage to avoid having any of those difficult conversations. They tell themselves that it’s easier to ‘just send a note’, but the real reason is they’re afraid to talk. Talking involves a...
Priscilla tells me that her resolution for 2019 is to renovate her personal lexicon. A lexicon, or specialized vocabulary, personal and specific to you consists of the words you most frequently use. We each have our own. Many words appear in the lexicons of many people,...
A poll of random* folks asking them to comment on The State of Communication in our Union, yielded some of the following: I wish people would use the word ‘said’ Example: Yes: “They said ‘This takes too long.’” No: “They were going, ‘This takes too long.’"Dear God,...
Marble has learned to give feedback in constructive and helpful ways, and she prides herself on maintaining steady communication with her staff. Good work, Marble. But recently Marble’s new supervisor invited her to a meeting to discuss work assignments. It seems that the supervisor has ideas...
Maybe you do want to avoid committing to a statement, position, or opinion, but there’s a way to do so that makes your indecision clear and unambiguous. “I’m not sure what I think about this, but…..” If, however, indecision is not your goal, there is a phrase...
Wouldn’t you think that concerns about appropriate and effective emails have been settled by now? But, no. Voices continue to be raised about messages that are incomplete, incomprehensible, rude, or appear to have been written by a hamster. When faced with criticism, many email writers defend their...