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Monitor the Hackneyed Things You Repeat Repeatedly Over and Over Again, Excessively
Hackneyed: A phrase or action that is used so many times it becomes commonplace and dull. My mother, Creola Kincaid Lewis, told me that her parents ordered her to stop making Egyptian-dancer hand gestures after she had done it dozens of times in one evening. Those hand gestures were popular with teenaged girls that year–1924–because King Tut’s…
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Straight Talk–Say What Needs To Be Said
Try Straight Talk Many of the problems at work and elsewhere could be reduced dramatically if people would tell the truth in appropriate ways. Instead, problem solving is stalled by those who hint, pretend to joke, talk in round-about ways or try to avoid having conflict. I’m not talking here about the oft-mentioned Abilene Paradox, in which people…
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For Worthwhile Communications, Avoid Junk Talk
At the risk of sounding like a school marm, I’ll mention Gresham’s Law. It is an economic theory that bad (debased) money will drive out good money. I think it also applies to communication. Some people use so much junk communication that they have diminished their ability to write or speak in a way that is effective, persuasive…
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Been Bitten? Back-Off or Bite Back?