We innately know how to hear but we need to learn to listen. While that might seem counter-intuitive, it’s like the difference between seeing words versus reading books. Overly simplified, to read (and understand) a book, we need to recognize letters, put them together into words, understand the connotation of sentences, and organize them into…
We all like to think of ourselves as honest but, in fact, we all cheat a little bit. Especially when we think our peer group is cheating too. At least that’s the conclusion of Dan Ariely, professor of psychology and behavioral economics at Duke University. Dan researches the moral side of decision making and how…
Even though I’m in the sports & entertainment industry, I worry that using sports jargon in business can get in the way of clear communication. As I’ve written about before, not everyone has a sports background and some of the phrases can be confusing. One of the most overused corporate clichés comes from hockey: “Skate to…
If you adopt the language of an active mindset, you might act more decisively and take more responsibility for your actions. People with a passive mindset tend to shirk responsibility and think that life happens to them. They aren’t in control what happens. This attitude is reflective in their language: “It’s not my fault I…
Ever wonder where the phrase ‘right as rain’ comes from? In English the phrase implies that everything is satisfactory, usually applied to good health. The phrase is often used as a contrast: He was quite ill last week but he’s right as rain now. Like many common English phrases, its origin isn’t clear. It was…
The phrase ‘it is what it is’ has exploded in popularity. I might not have noticed except it’s a phrase my Mom has been using my whole life; I may be overly-sensitized to it. I first noticed a surge in popularity towards the beginning of the US pandemic-related shutdown when it became a popular meme….
Sometimes I’m directionally accurate but not precise. My lack of precision isn’t an attempt to mislead or misinform. After all, my motto is words matter so I usually choose my words carefully. Instead, this imprecision stems from the desire to tell a compelling story or when my memory is cloudy. Here’s a recent real-life example:…
Early in my career, I was subjected to the so-called “bring me a rock” phenomenon and the experience left me with a sense of frustration which has stuck with me ever since. This phenomenon happens when a manager cannot or will not communicate their goals clearly and succinctly. Subordinates repeatedly try to fulfill their manager’s…
Have you ever had a co-worker or a teacher try to explain something to you and use words that you didn’t really understand? If so, the confusion might be theirs, not yours. The Feynman Learning Technique suggests that, if you can’t adequately explain something to a twelve-year old, you probably don’t really understand it that…
The shelter-in-place / stay-at-home orders have triggered new words and phrases in our collective vocabularies. Some of them existed before but have become more commonly used: coronavirus, pandemic, and virtual happy hour. But others are newly created to describe our COVID-19 mandated world. They are descriptive portmanteaus which aren’t likely to stay in our vocabularies…