The last dispatch from the dorm (probably!)
My two-year degree program ended in mid-July, but that chapter came to a true end with a one-minute or so walk across the stage at the Royal Theatre in Victoria, B.C. for convocation on Tuesday. My classmates and I don’t actually have our BA in Professional...
8 lessons for freelancers from a perfectionist kitchen contractor
Having a contractor who was a perfectionist made a huge difference to the kitchen renovation that recently wrapped up at my house. I know, it seems crazy. Aiming for perfection can be a roadblock to ever actually finishing anything. But don’t we all want someone...
Yet more expressive language
I love reading the expressive ways people find to make a point. Here are my latest finds: “But even links that have nothing to do with Chinese cooking can bolster your profile if your site is barnacled with enough of them.” From a story on search...
Friday word fun, Thanksgiving version
It’s Friday, it’s Thanksgiving weekend here in Canada and I’ve just completed two “pulling a rabbit out of a hat” projects. Phew! Time for Friday word fun! Are you good at figuring out where words come from? I can attest that this...
How do you keep up with blogging?
When IABC/Toronto asked to interview me the other day for a newsletter article about blogging, my first thought was that it was because I don’t do a very good job of it. To my surprise, that wasn’t the case, so I shared some thoughts about blogging and how...New words charm and annoy
The English language is definitely a living, growing thing. Oxford Dictionaries Online shows us proof every quarter, as they add new words made popular enough to warrant an entry. Here are some of the ones in the most recent release that I quite like or at least found...
More flattering, garbled spam
Oh, if only those spammers would just apply their endless energy to good! But no, they are spending time posting spam. At least it is often flattering and cheery, if many times incoherent: This is definitely the thing I’ve been looking for! Wonderful and...
Find prospects by connecting, not selling
“A miserable, soul-sucking experience.” That’s how speaker Steve Slaunwhite described cold calling at a meeting of IABC/Toronto’s Professional Independent Communicators. Sure, calling up complete strangers can be successful, eventually. But this “sales-getting”...