“I have nothing to offer but blood, toil, tears and sweat.” Winston Churchill “You ask, what is our aim? I can answer in one word: victory.” Winston Churchill “And that’s the way it is.” Walter Cronkite —————- Many famous people are buried beneath Westminster Abbey. But, at Westminster Abbey, there is one plaque, prominenty on… Read More From Winston Churchill and Walter Cronkite – Your Communication Tips of the Day
I’ve never watched Breaking Bad. Barely heard of it (though, I have heard the lead actor interviewed twice in recent days). But here is an article about how it nearly did not ever get off the ground, by the creator, Vince Gilligan: I Almost Broke Bad: The creator of the award-winning Breaking Bad explains how his show… Read More Vince Gilligan, creator of Breaking Bad, with the Presentation Tutorial of the Day
So, Apple had their newest big roll out yesterday. (Watch the WWDC keynote here). I am an Apple fan, but really only barely use my Apple devices (I have three; iMac, iPad, iPhone) to their capabilities. But I loaded the Macrumors live blog of the event, glanced at it frequently, and followed along. (And I… Read More Innovation + Communication – 2 Obvious Lessons From Apple’s Latest Big Event
There are two kinds of speakers. The first kind – the far too frequent kind – is the kind that is afraid of the microphone, afraid of the audience, almost afraid of their own shadow. (Yes, I am overstating this to make a point). These speakers are simply too tentative. They approach the microphone slowly,… Read More Joaquin Phoenix grabs Johnny Cash’s Guitar by the Neck – Your Communication (your Speaking) Tip of the Day
On NPR’s Morning Edition this week, the incomparable Susan Stamberg presented a look at the upcoming HBO movie, Hemingway & Gellhorn: Power Couple, Covering War (And Waging Their Own). Among others, she interviewed Clive Owen, who plays Hemingway. Here is the excerpt: Preparing for the role, actor Clive Owen read all the Hemingway he could… Read More Clive Owen Learns an Important Lesson from Ernest Hemingway – Your Communication Tip of the Day (maybe a Lifetime)
Here is a problem – a big problem – in the high-tech, digital world we all function in. E-mail, and other forms of digital communication, have trumped conversation. And that is a mistake. So, recently, I ran across this phrase, which is attributed to Peter Block. (I heard it from Mark Israelson, who works for… Read More Connection Before Content – Your Communication Tip of the Day
Every semester, I go over the masterpiece I Have a Dream in great detail. I give each student a copy of the text of Dr. King’s speech, and then together we circle key phrases all the way through to the end. One obvioius characteristic of the speech just jumps out at every student – he… Read More “The Rule of Seventeen” – If you Want to Get Your Message Across & Accepted, Repeat, and Repeat and…..
I’ve finished reading Imagine by Jonah Lehrer. It is a treasure, with story after story worth pondering. One of his exemplars of creativity is Yo-Yo Ma. Here is a brief excerpt. For Ma, the tedium of the flawless performance taught him that there is often a tradeoff between perfection and expression. “If you are only… Read More From Yo-Yo Ma, Your Communication Tip of the Day – “Make People Care What Happens Next”
Getting the steps right is proving brutally hard, even if you know them. Atul Gawande, The Checklist Manifesto —————- This week, I am presenting synopses of Made to Stick by Chip and Dan Heath and Tribal Leadership: Leveraging Natural Groups to Build a Thriving Organization, both to law enforcement professionals. (And my colleague Karl Krayer is… Read More Getting the Basics Right (Like Communication, and Team Building) – It is Still, and Always, Hard To Do
Bono recently wrote a beautiful tribute to Sargent Shriver: What I Learned From Sargent Shriver. He worked with Shriver’s son, Bobby, on some major efforts to help alleviate poverty, especially among the most desperately poor. In the midst of his tribute is some great communication advice: I have beautiful memories of Bobby and me sitting… Read More Comprehensibility & Credibility, True Communication Basics — Bono Learns from Sargent Shriver
First Friday Book Synopsis 