Finding the human side of academic research
Readers appreciate when the writer does the heavy lifting to explain the complex and figure out “what’s in it for me?” That’s a big part of what I do. In 2016 and 2017, I had the honour of interviewing brainy researchers at Western University’s Faculty of Science. My...
Get creative! Problem solve with Post-it notes
Post-it notes were flying in a session on creative problem-solving. Trevor McAlpine of Synergetic Management had members of IABC/Toronto’s Professional Independent Communicators covering the Post-its with ideas in a fast-paced session on creativity. The tactic was...
Can you conquer your inner packrat? I’m trying
I’m a packrat. There. I said it. And it’s true. I hang onto things way too long. Sometimes it’s due to sentimental value (Baby’s first stuffed animal! Photos! Letters from loved ones!), but other times it’s just that I’m busy. I file and forget. I don’t even see the...
Take the dull out of digits
Toronto’s Royal Ontario Museum (ROM) launched an exhibit this week that explores the story of nine rare blue whales that became stranded in thick ice and died. The ROM recovered two of the skeletons after the creatures washed ashore in Newfoundland and Labrador in...
Jargon? Doesn’t sound best of breed to me
My colleague Sheila Gregory posted on Facebook that it starts to bug her when a word becomes trendy and is used everywhere. Right now, that word is “myriad.” A few of us chimed in with other overused or jargony words we find annoying. But jargon isn’t just annoying....
Eyes and ears still key in the digital age
Whether your organization has five people or 50,000, there is no “silver bullet” that will solve all your communication challenges. And despite the shiny toys of the digital age, panelists at an IABC event on Feb. 28 agreed that old-school listening, talking to...
3 steps for newbies to get the most from Twitter
While chatting with a colleague this week, we got on the subject of Twitter. She didn’t see much value in it and wondered if I did. I do. I’ve made connections with new people on Twitter, and gained better visibility myself. I regularly find and share interesting...
Content as a ‘Russian doll’ – use expressive writing to explain complex ideas
Humans are funny creatures. We’ll binge-watch hours of TV episodes or movies, yet barely tolerate a fraction of a second for a web page to load. That means you need a shortcut to meaning if you’re explaining something complex or unusual. Seth Godin says the best way...