Chanukah begins December 24. Christmas follows on December 25. It’s a time for gifting, and we don’t want to be remiss. So here are a few stocking stuffers and a little gelt to add to your growing pile of presents. We’re not sure we saw everyone’s wish list, but we’re pretty sure these are things everyone desperately wants to know at holiday time.
Read More... to paraphrase the U.S. Air Force
I didn’t mean to misquote the Air Force, but perhaps simply to get your attention. And this is a topic that cries for attention. Nobody wants to do it. Most organizations don’t want to stop their forward momentum to figure out where the heck they’re going.
Maybe repeating that last phrase would be a good idea: “…stop their forward momentum to figure out where the heck they’re going.” So often small businesses and nonprofits simply continue to move forward, to keep on keeping on, turning the wheels and taking care of business, without taking the time to regroup and reconsider the destination and the resources needed to get there. And, most important, how they’ll measure their progress to the goal.
Read MoreLess or fewer? Number or amount?
Do you care if you get this right? I’ll assume you do; if not, we’ll catch you next time.
Do you feel a little queasy saying “We found fewer negative responses than positive responses”? Think it might sound a little funny, so you fall back on “less responses”? Or maybe you’ve always thought that “few” couldn’t possibly have an “-er” at the end.
And how about conveniently using “amount” to describe things that are counted when, in fact, they are to be numbered? Doesn’t “amount” cover just about everything. Uh uh.
Read MoreRetreat from the crush of communication.
Take refuge in a book. That’s the best I can offer, and I offer it with confidence that it is, indeed, the best advice you’re going to get today!
I’ve been wounded (perhaps not mortally) by the use of language over the past year to bully and frighten, cudgel and cajole the great unthinking masses. And it continues, as if neither the losers nor the winners can be satisfied with the results. It is hard to bear.
Now for the good news: I have borne it with the help of one of North America’s most fabulous novelists.
Read MorePreserve or Repeal - just say it correctly!
With just few minutes of research you can learn the history of this institution and quickly understand why Democrats want to repeal it and Republicans want to preserve it. What might give you trouble, though, is how to pronounce it. If you, like me, haven't discussed this strange institution of our democracy since eighth grade civics class (because there wasn't a lot about the electoral college to discuss until recently), you might have forgotten the root of the word: "elect." And I think every American has got that word down pat, right? If we can pronounce "elect," we can all pronounce "electoral."
Read MoreRead 'em and weep.
Well, just a few post-election observations, tossed out at random. Draw your own conclusions.
Sixty-two percent of Americans now say they get their news from social media. Social media! News! And forty-four percent of Americans say they get their news from Facebook, specifically. Have you ever, in your wildest dreams, considered Facebook a source for news? I must be a real dinosaur!
Twenty percent of Americans still claim to read newspapers.
Last summer Facebook apparently got rid of the humans editing its trending topics list. Now veracity is checked by an algorithm. (And I’m sure “al” is smart and all.)
Last July Pope Francis endorsed Donald Trump for President of the United States. I know it’s true because I saw it on Facebook.
Read MoreHe might! He might!
I’ve gone searching for a word, and instead I found a great candidate for President of the United States! And we’ve still got 24 hours left before we vote. Talk about serendipity!
Do you remember that I asked you in early September whether you thought we “might” have lost the word “might”? It seemed everyone around me was misusing the word “may” to mean possibility or likelihood. Losing a simple, functional word from our language is tantamount to losing a species from our earth. Once it’s gone, it’s gone, and there’s really no substitute for it. The fewer words we have at our disposal for clear, correct, finely nuanced communication, the less our communication will be clear, correct and nuanced. Simply, we humans communicate with words. We can’t afford to lose our words any more than we can blissfully lose our teeth or our hair or our children.
Read MoreIt's worth the effort.
Whether you’re a big, powerful corporation, a tiny nonprofit struggling to be heard, or a small business hoping to grow, you have a brand, and it’s worth some attention and valuable staff time. Failure to pay attention to how your staff or membership or reps are communicating about your organization is a pretty sure indicator that, eventually, if not already, your brand is going to be fuzzy, feckless or forgotten. Does it matter? Only if you hope to have a future.
Read MoreWhere do we go from here?
When I wrote “The Election: Who Stands to Lose the Most?” last week, after agonizing about it for quite some time, I really expected people to voice their opinions, share their perspectives, post some comments of one sort or another. Frank Robinson, Licensed Mental Health Counselor, posted a most substantive comment (and the only one), building on the case I had made and further explaining it from a psychological point of view. (The comment is there; you can still read it.) So I did get a response – just not a public one. And, you know what? It wasn’t the response I expected
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How communication has failed us
I’ve agonized a long while over writing this article, for two good reasons: I’ve committed not to allow politics into this space, and this is a weighty topic, requiring research on my part and a real commitment to understanding on the part of my readers. What finally drove me to take on the task was actual fear that, due to the way humans quite naturally make and defend their decisions, our country might be torn apart or at least face an ugly, painful period of violence and dissension. And there’s more: I suddenly realized that the outcome of this election is going to allow both candidates to win – and possibly all of us to lose.
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