I just saw someone on my Facebook timeline proudly shared about how he “made a ruckus” on some online scientific forum because he challenged the argument made by a paper titled “Language is primarily a tool for communication rather than thought” (the article on NYTimes | the paper H/T gwern) (translated) Last Sunday night, I…
Category: Communication
Hi friends, how are you? I was just thinking of a couple of funny stories of when my mother cutely used the wrong words that resulted in unexpected funnies, a phenomenon known as “malapropism”. But actually I want to use the stories as a jump off point to pick up where we last left off…
I have this pet framework I’m going to call “the five Cs of bulletproof relationships”. The more of these five that you possess or invest on building together, the more fulfilling your relationships will be. This checklist is applicable beyond romantic relationships. commitment communication compatibility character chemistry I put commitment at the top the because…
Again about the previous post: I think short form content has been unfairly demonised and long form overly romanticised A better way to think about this is: Long form helps you think / find out what you’re trying to say. Short form helps you get the points across. (This frame applies to both reading &…
Saying “I’m doing a couple of projects on Content, L&D, and Knowledge Management consulting now” is less effective than “do let me know if you knew anyone who needs help with their content strategy, L&D, onboarding, training, and enablement”. Be more direct. even if you think it’s obvious, even when you knew they do have…
Back in Sept 2020 (wow it’s been a while! just checked my note’s timestamp) I joined a group in Meetup called Unhurried Denver. What is it? It’s part of the Unhurried movement started by Johnnie Moore, a guy I came across when listening to On the Edge podcast. Quoting their section on Unhurried Conversations: https://www.unhurried.org/conversations…
Been reading Nancy Duarte’s book: Resonate. https://www.duarte.com/presentation-organization-different-structures/ Quick reference for structuring your presentations: These four structures have contrast inherently built into them, and work for persuasive presentations: Problem-solution: Arrange information by stating the problem and then the solution. Establishing that there’s a problem helps convince people of the need for change. Compare-contrast: Arrange information according…
Been thinking and reading (again) about the real challenges with trying to solve problems in a group. Thanks to these two tweets, which I stumbled upon, two days apart. https://twitter.com/mscccc/status/1430986038252654600 https://twitter.com/seanjtaylor/status/1430369389602217994 Rabbit hole, here I go. They say if you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together. My…
I’ve shared some practical tips about how to prepare for, lead, and participate in meetings in my other newsletter. Now let’s look at some principles and frameworks to help us think about meetings. Why can’t we have good meetings? One reason is because we’re still spending time sitting in bad meetings. Cancel that meeting if…
I am learning to be less efficient in my communication. Lately I realised I am too obsessed about communicating efficiently that it hurts the effectiveness. I am not getting my message across as well as I could. My tendency is to distill what I want to say into the most precise and succinct set of…